Olympics: Datsyuk says this medal means more than the Stanley Cup

[Vladnyc]

Many Russian fans would love that too.

This. I think most Russian hockey fans would love to see their players out of the NHL but playing against the NHL. SKA vs the Carolina Hurricanes was some of the most exciting hockey ever.

 

[lawrence]

ok slow down now Pavl... alot of us are happy for you.....

your country competed in an event where the best players really didn't compete like all sports at the olympics.

 

[Vladnyc]

I think people are misunderstanding what he is saying. He is not saying that these Olympics are better than the Stanely Cup in terms of hockey. What he is saying is that the Olympics in general are much more important than any domestic cup. That is a view that is shared by virtually all Russians and in this political climate, this gold means even more than usual.

 

[CherryToke]

More reason to not have hockey in the summer Olympics.. Imagine all the Euro players not giving a shit about the NHL playoffs so they will be ready for the Olympics. What a sad display that would be.

 

[Deen]

He's rubbing salt for all his loses.

 

[Hint1k]

A commercial NA league or the biggest sport event in the whole world with 2500+ years of history. What is more important?
Yeah, a really hard question to answer.

 

[Christ]

LOL, if this were truly a best on best tournament (NHL players included) I could see it. With the best players from Sweden, Finland, Canada, the US and even Russia present this Olympic tournament was pretty much a joke from the start.

 

[AveryQuietMan]

man, the trolls are coming out of the woodwork in force.......

 

[Incognito]

North American hockey fans need to understand that for an European hockey player winning Olympic gold or the World Championship means more to them then the Stanley cup. And i dont have a problem with that. Who are we to be judging him. thats how he feels thats how we feel period. we have to respect that, the NHL in Europe is not very important. Here in North America we have such a big ego about our Leagues.

The NHL might not be very important to Europeans, and that's fine, but it's still the league that has all of the world's best players. That's not even ego, it's an objective fact. I'm not telling Europeans how they should feel or what they should believe. I get that there's a cultural difference between Europe and North America in terms of which tournaments or championships are important. But to assign so much importance to a tournament (i.e. the 2018 Olympics) that basically none of the world's best players participated in seems a little strange to me, from a North American fan's perspective.

 

[Filatov2Kovalev2Bonk]

Good for him. Russia has been crapped on for ages for their failure to win at the Olympics and now they are the best.
And for those that say: "But NHLers?!", said NHLers simply had to retire, play for the Olympics, win, then come back and sign a new contract. The means were there for everyone, but lack of imagination/willingness to exploit systems did them in.

 

[Beau Knows]

It's a big win for the great nation of "Olympic Athletes".

 

[Deen]

Good for him. Russia has been crapped on for ages for their failure to win at the Olympics and now they are the best.
And for those that say: "But NHLers?!", said NHLers simply had to retire, play for the Olympics, win, then come back and sign a new contract. The means were there for everyone, but lack of imagination/willingness to exploit systems did them in.

Huh? You think people would retire from their millions of dollars contracts to restructure? That was such a dumb comment.

 

[connormcmuffin]

Reading these comments are gross, no good reason to degrade Russia by taking their flag away. People gloating losing because the winner couldn't wave their flag? The decline of Western culture on full display.

Russia still showed up and won the event that matters most.

 

[a mangy Meowth]

Ahahaha what a stupid thing to say

Silly triangle head

 

[IU Hawks fan]

A commercial NA league or the biggest sport event in the whole world with 2500+ years of history. What is more important?
Yeah, a really hard question to answer.

The Olympics are a commercial event a whole 21 years older than the NHL.

 

[a mangy Meowth]

no good reason to degrade Russia by taking their flag away

Yeah, the nearly nationwide doping is totally not a good reason to punish them. Free the OAR!

 

[VVP]

Every year less and less people in Russia know about Stanley Cup, the TV coverage is non-existent, so yes, most of Russian kids go to the NHL because of money, fame, luxuries America has to offer, but as far as Stanley Cup - I do not think many young players dream of winning it.

 

[zhok]

North American hockey fans need to understand that for an European hockey player winning Olympic gold or the World Championship means more to them then the Stanley cup.

You're speaking for every European when you say a WC means more to them than Stanley Cup?

 

[Deen]

Every year less and less people in Russia know about Stanley Cup, the TV coverage is non-existent, so yes, most of Russian kids go to the NHL because of money, fame, luxuries America has to offer, but as far as Stanley Cup - I do not think many young players dream of winning it.

Honestly, I am 30 and I would rather get paid all that money than win.

 

[zhok]

Is the Gold won by the American woman fulfilling to them because its a tournament with only 2 team capable of winning gold?

I'd say it's fulling because they won against the best athletes the world has to offer.

 

[AveryQuietMan]

this is like matt duchene saying winning the world cup of hockey was the greatest accomplishment. did anyone in NA say that was the best tourney? no. because the best the world had to offer were not there.

 

[malkins]

I wish we could ban Russians from playing in the NHL.

I wish we could ban idiots from everyday life

 

[whitstifier]

I think people are misunderstanding what he is saying. He is not saying that these Olympics are better than the Stanely Cup in terms of hockey. What he is saying is that the Olympics in general are much more important than any domestic cup. That is a view that is shared by virtually all Russians and in this political climate, this gold means even more than usual.

And it has about as much weight as U.S. Men's basketball team winning gold to everyone else

 

[albator71]

You're speaking for every European when you say a WC means more to them than Stanley Cup?

No not every European, but many.

 

[Esq]

no of course not. but its doesnt matter to them, they are Olympic champions and no one can ever take that away from them.

I must confess that I have never understood this expression. Who exactly are these mysterious award-stealing bandits? Why do they want to dispossess champions of their titles?

 

[zhok]

Interesting that not 12 hours after winning the gold, Kovalchuk is talking about his desires to win a Stanley Cup...