NHL is damaging its reputation with useless ASG and missing Olympics

[Eisen]

The players are the product, and you don't risk your best product, and pay $20+M in insurance to get no quantifiable benefit, except "growing the game" when there hasn't been any correlation to the Olympics actually creating new fans.

Again, the IIHF was going to pay the insurance. This was about using Olympic footage for free or getting some other form of compensation.

 

[Pandaman11]

The amount of players refusing to participate in the ASG is becoming pretty overwhelming.

It’s absolutely obvious there’s very few people desiring to watch Kreider vs Bertuzzi vs Tkachuk figure skating with sticks while most fans suffer without real hockey for almost 10 days.

Now, what every hockey fan in the world is waiting for is the best on best Olympics hockey.

The ratings in the USA were amazing for Russia vs USA game despite the early game start.

The NHL needs to abolish the All Star Game whatsoever and replace it with true ASG happening once in four years.

The arena seemed pretty full to me on Saturday. And the year before that. And the year...

As long as they sell out the ASG (or get close), nothing will change. Fans complain about it but at the same time they sell out the arenas.

Also, have you heard Bettman talk to MacLean on SN? The NHL won't be at the 2022 Olympics, deal with it.

 

[Pandaman11]

What would actually help promote growth of the actual sport of hockey more, the international stage of the Olympics where arguably the best hockey has ever been played?

The World Cup of Hockey where you can showcase NHL talent instead of boring teams like Switzerland, Latvia, etc. Where you can earn money by selling out stadiums at horrendous ticket prices.
Where you can get TV money and broadcast the games at North American primetime.

Also, Bettman and the owners don't give a shyte about the growth of the actual sport, just about the growth of the NHL and, thus, by extension their wallets

 

[Voight]

The players are the product, and you don't risk your best product, and pay $20+M in insurance to get no quantifiable benefit, except "growing the game" when there hasn't been any correlation to the Olympics actually creating new fans.

NBA sure doesn't have a problem sending their highly paid players to the Olympics.

Yes, its not in seasons but they still send them out there every 4 years. Paul George broke his leg training for the FIBA championships with Team USA and his team still let him play in the Olympics the next year.

 

[ViD]

The arena seemed pretty full to me on Saturday. And the year before that. And the year...

As long as they sell out the ASG (or get close), nothing will change. Fans complain about it but at the same time they sell out the arenas.

Also, have you heard Bettman talk to MacLean on SN? The NHL won't be at the 2022 Olympics, deal with it.

Do you understand that even players consider this event an irrelevant joke, hence all the declines to participate ?

I realize the events will be selling out as they area held in different cities every time, in sine of them for the first time ever but it’s not making them any more relevant.

 

[Voight]

Do you understand that even players consider this event an irrelevant joke, hence all the declines to participate ?

I realize the events will be selling out as they area held in different cities every time, in sine of them for the first time ever but it’s not making them any more relevant.

If the players really wanted to make a statement, they should all collectively decline to go one year. Take the meager 1 game suspension.

 

[Chrisinroch]

All the IOC has to do is pay the insurance.

^ this plus the IOC refused to share the rights

 

[sandysan]

What you think about my ethos I give exactly zero flying ****s.

because in the dispute between the ioc and the nhl, you pick the ioc who hasn't budged an inch, and decry the nhl when they gave the IOC the best players on the planet for 2 decades.

how about some perspective, chief ?

 

[kmart]

NBA sure doesn't have a problem sending their highly paid players to the Olympics.

Yes, its not in seasons but they still send them out there every 4 years. Paul George broke his leg training for the FIBA championships with Team USA and his team still let him play in the Olympics the next year.

it would be interesting to know how the nba handles olympics. as i live in germany i know there were complications with nowitzki in the past... insurance money was exchanged(with germany). the olympics being in the off season is the deciding factor for me which makes it very hard to compare nhl to nba. if i had to guess i would say all bets are off and everybody is for themselves once the pay check is in danger, so home pride and all that is nice but it goes out of the window when ur career is in danger for it. so the wealth status /beeing rich overtook the status of making history/being an olympic winner. /capitalism rant over.

i have a main problem in general with the olympics... being it winter or summer, if for example u hear some news about a spectacular win/gold/goal watever... and you want to check it out on the internet/youtube... its not possible. there seems to be some kind of viewing rights issue as every upload gets shutdown quickly. u basically have to watch it live (if u even get that luck that ur country covers that event). in germany they will show a german team do curling and miss a period for sweden-finland ice hockey quarterfinal for it... yes they are selfish like that.

i dont even know who is to blame for that and i dont care anymore... i just lost the interest because i cant follow it the way i like. the world cup and the junior world cup are the yearly international highlights for me. in terms of importance, olympics got demoted.

 

[Pandaman11]

Do you understand that even players consider this event an irrelevant joke, hence all the declines to participate ?

Of course I do. In the weeks leading up to the ASG, you read every day about "X replaces Y". The final rosters look nothing like the initial ones. However, what difference does it make what the players think? None. You'll still find 44 who go there.

Thus, it doesn't make a difference whether you/we/HFBoard considers it relevant or irrelevant. There'll still be 44 players playing before a sellout crowd and nothing will change as long as it generates money.

 

[sandysan]

The NBA in China was largely spurred on by Yao Ming more than international competition. In the unlikely event of a Chinese player succeeding in the NHL at an All-Star level, you would see more growth in that market than NHL players in the Olympics.

no ( or very little) infrastructure.
and if someone associated with the nhl has a slip of the tongue, all of that growth can be stopped at will

the nhl playing lapdog to the chinese government, I'm not really interested.

 

[sandysan]

NO FRIGGIN WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Obviously China will never have an NHL team but that does not mean the NHL should completely ignore it & forget about growing the game. NBA will never have a team there either but they doe exhibition games so they can make a ton of money and grow the sport.

grow the sport until some gm or anyone associated with the league retweets something that some people don't like then the league is persona non gratta.

that's the future you want for the NHL ?

I hope you die dissapointed.

 

[Voight]

How many basketball courts in China?
Is there a national basketball team? Are there domestic basketball leagues?

What about hockey? How many sheets? If the Chinese national team plays Canada how do you think this goes?

The best the NHL can do is to be a symbol of the West ( for apparel) which has little to do with the game and you are fighting the next shiny bauble to come along.

And as l'affair Money has demonstrated, the popularity of the NBA in China is fleeting at best and can be killed by the decision of one high level government worker should someone, anyone, say something they don't like.

The KHL team might stick but it is much much closer.

If they want to throw China a bone and have an exhibition game of two, great. But that's probably the end of it.

I am positive if you bring the best players in the world to China, even for two weeks, and have them play each other it would spark interest. I'm not saying its going to create a billion dollars in revenue for the NHL but you don't know until you try. & it would ignorant want to considering China is the second biggest economy in the world.

grow the sport until some gm or anyone associated with the league retweets something that some people don't like then the league is persona non gratta.

that's the future you want for the NHL ?

I hope you die dissapointed.

Good thing NHL players are pretty much never political. Not saying they would never do what Morey did but its unlikely.

 

[Jugitsu]

NBA sure doesn't have a problem sending their highly paid players to the Olympics.

Yes, its not in seasons but they still send them out there every 4 years. Paul George broke his leg training for the FIBA championships with Team USA and his team still let him play in the Olympics the next year.

There's been some quiet uproar in the past from the owners not wanting their players to participate due to risk of injury. It also helps a lot that the owners don't need to shut down their league during the Olympics and I think this is the key difference. Not to mention basketball being helluva lot bigger than hockey can ever dream about being. IIHF is a joke compared to any other governing body. They hold absolutely no leverage over NHL or any other league for that matter.

I for one am happy that someone is finally standing up against the corrupt pile of dog doo-doo that the IOC is. I don't care that the NHL's motives are not noble, as some would put it. I don't like the Olympic format and I for one am happy to skip the next Olympics as well. And every other Olympics that doesn't feature the best players in the world.

 

[sandysan]

Then why does the NBA have games there?

Besides.... China has a KHL team..... and LOTS of TVs/eyeballs, if you bring them the best players in the world, it might spike a long term interest.



Pros = more viewers = more money

"Amateurs" is a stretch. What about all the state sponsored athletes from the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War? I wouldn't call them amateurs. They were paid to train all the time.

the NBA plays there because there are probably a million or more basketball courts in China AND chinese citizens have played in the NBA. Neither is true for the NHL, they don't have the sheets AND the day when a chinese player, not chinese canadian, but a player from China making a big impact in the NHL is what ?

The NBA goes because people will pay because they view the NBA as a symbol of the West. You think the NHL can go head to head with the NBA on that front ?

The chinese KHL team might stick, but an AHL team in podunk minnesota isn't going to grow the game for the NHL.

 

[sandysan]

I am positive if you bring the best players in the world to China, even for two weeks, and have them play each other it would spark interest. I'm not saying its going to create a billion dollars in revenue for the NHL but you don't know until you try. & it would ignorant want to considering China is the second biggest economy in the world.



Good thing NHL players are pretty much never political. Not saying they would never do what Morey did but its unlikely.

yeah the horrors of retweeting something.
I think that's against the geneva convention. he should be the one being held in a cage somewhere.

and if you mean you want the NHL to play kissy kissy with the chinese government for some amorphous return, I hope the NHL isnt of the same mind.

 

[Voight]

the NBA plays there because there are probably a million or more basketball courts in China AND chinese citizens have played in the NBA. Neither is true for the NHL, they don't have the sheets AND the day when a chinese player, not chinese canadian, but a player from China making a big impact in the NHL is what ?

The NBA goes because people will pay because they view the NBA as a symbol of the West. You think the NHL can go head to head with the NBA on that front ?

The chinese KHL team might stick, but an AHL team in podunk minnesota isn't going to grow the game for the NHL.

They don't need to go head to head there is over a billion God damn people in that country.

I am sure there are rinks in the country, obviously there is more basketball courts, thats true even in the USA. Its going to be hard for a Chinese player to make the NHL when there is 0 exposure and minimal interest - bringing the best in the world there is a good way to generate interest.

China is worth the try, you'd be ignorant if you disagree. Nobody likes working with the CCP but you don't have a choice should you choose to tap into the Chinese market. Its a good place to try as historically there isn't a hugely popular/dominant sport. Basketball is doing well there but they aren't like some of the Euro countries where soccer has always been #1 or in the US where its been football/baseball.

 

[Voight]

yeah the horrors of retweeting something.
I think that's against the geneva convention. he should be the one being held in a cage somewhere.

and if you mean you want the NHL to play kissy kissy with the chinese government for some amorphous return, I hope the NHL isnt of the same mind.

Every single company from the west has to play nice with the CCP if they want to make money in mainland China. Thats the reality of the world. Lets not act like the NHL is all of a sudden a symbol of morals.

 

[sandysan]

They don't need to go head to head there is over a billion God damn people in that country.

I am sure there are rinks in the country, obviously there is more basketball courts, thats true even in the USA. Its going to be hard for a Chinese player to make the NHL when there is 0 exposure and minimal interest - bringing the best in the world there is a good way to generate interest.

China is worth the try, you'd be ignorant if you disagree. Nobody likes working with the CCP but you don't have a choice should you choose to tap into the Chinese market. Its a good place to try as historically there isn't a hugely popular/dominant sport. Basketball is doing well there but they aren't like some of the Euro countries where soccer has always been #1 or in the US where its been football/baseball.

bring the best there to inspire kids who want to be the next mcDavid. Great.

Sorry kid, no ice. have you thought of Esports ?

And unlike basketball, when precisely, even with the KHL team, do you see the country putting up a competitive team against canada/russia/us/sweden/finland ? 50 years ?

the women would be worse, they could literally lose by a hundred.

and people keep talking about tapping into the market, the league is still largely based on the gate. is there a market to sell merch there ? yes. is there a market to sell broadcasts, yes. after that, it dries up pretty quick.

And if the appeal is that things like the NBA is viewed as a symbol of the West, the NHL isnt likely going to close that gap. This people = market idea needs to die a fiery death, if it were true the mexico city sombreros would be in the western conference.

 

[sandysan]

Every single company from the west has to play nice with the CCP if they want to make money in mainland China. Thats the reality of the world. Lets not act like the NHL is all of a sudden a symbol of morals.

comparitively, its not even close. to suggest it is is completely disingenuous.

For chriminy's sake the panthers will never play there because if they did, they would have to worry about mackenzie weegar ending up in some re-education camp.

 

[TheBloodyNine]

Seeing the Germans last year was amazing. They won the silver and were celebrating that like they had won the gold. It was probably the biggest moment in German hockey history and that doesn't happen with NHLers in the games. That's the beauty of amateur competition - truly everyone has a chance to win.

1980 doesn't happen either with NHLers there.

The Olympics matter to a very, very small amount of NHLers at the end of the day.

 

[FerrisRox]

Now, what every hockey fan in the world is waiting for is the best on best Olympics hockey.

Not every fan.

I preferred the Olympics when there was a Canadian National Team and we sent amateurs to compete. The deck was heavily stacked against Canada as the big European hockey nations were sending their best to compete versus Canada's amateurs (this, of course, being before the best Europeans were all in the NHL.)

It was a much more interesting then and closer to the spirit of the Olympics, and it was great to see guys you watched play in the Olympics then join their NHL teams after the Games.

Shutting down the NHL season to have guys go play in the Olympics was a total drag. I hated having the league stop in mid-season like that.

I'm all four a Canada Cup/World Cup type tournament, but I'd rather not see the NHL involved in the Olympics again.

 

[Star Ocean]

Not every fan.

I preferred the Olympics when there was a Canadian National Team and we sent amateurs to compete. The deck was heavily stacked against Canada as the big European hockey nations were sending their best to compete versus Canada's amateurs (this, of course, being before the best Europeans were all in the NHL.)

It was a much more interesting then and closer to the spirit of the Olympics, and it was great to see guys you watched play in the Olympics then join their NHL teams after the Games.

Shutting down the NHL season to have guys go play in the Olympics was a total drag. I hated having the league stop in mid-season like that.

I'm all four a Canada Cup/World Cup type tournament, but I'd rather not see the NHL involved in the Olympics again.

You got it backwards. Olympics is the good tournament people cares about and world cup the bad one.

 

[FerrisRox]

Paul George broke his leg training for the FIBA championships with Team USA and his team still let him play in the Olympics the next year.

Do you think his team could have stopped him?

 

[FerrisRox]

You got it backwards. Olympics is the good tournament people cares about and world cup the bad one.

I totally disagree.

Shutting down the NHL for three weeks in mid-season is idiotic.