Why can't the NHL do this again?

[RECsGuy*]

http://www.russianhockey.net/USSRvsNHL.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-sp2qVWLrU

Bring European powerhouses over here for some friendlies.

BTW, in Arturs Irbe's 13 decisions spanning a 3-year stretch (1988-1990) of these exhibtions, check out these numbers:

9 W - 3 L - 1 T

2 SO

1.85 GAA

Click to read more...

 

[golfortennis]

Probably because the players who would make those teams powerhouses today are in the NHL today.

 

[Big Phil]

Probably because the players who would make those teams powerhouses today are in the NHL today.

Bingo. Would it excite you to see Yashin and Radulov get pummelled against a bunch of NHLers?

 

[Professor Dangles]

I would love to see KHL all star team v. Stanley Cup champs

 

[RECsGuy*]

Bingo. Would it excite you to see Yashin and Radulov get pummelled against a bunch of NHLers?

You overrate the quality of play put on by the NHL's 30 clubs collectively. Catch a Florida Panthers game some time and get back to me.

 

[MS]

You overrate the quality of play put on by the NHL's 30 clubs collectively. Catch a Florida Panthers game some time and get back to me.

And you over-rate the quality of the KHL. There are about 5 'good' teams in the KHL who bridge *maybe* half the gap to the NHL, and would still be easily worse than the worst NHL club. Those teams destroy that league and win 80% of their games.

Most of the KHL clubs are AHL-calibre. And a few at the bottom are ECHL calibre. It's a very top/bottom heavy league with the majority of the clubs being no different than the SEL or AHL.

_________

As for why this doesn't happen anymore :

1) no-one cared anymore after the fall of communism and games like this in the early 1990s were poorly attended.

2) teams in the KHL (or other Euro leagues) are much worse now than then, because most of their top players are over here.

3) the issues between the NHL and KHL are a major barrier in agreeing to anything like this.

 

[jekoh]

You overrate the quality of play put on by the NHL's 30 clubs collectively. Catch a Florida Panthers game some time and get back to me.

Come on, Zurich would never beat Chicago.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Same Old

And you over-rate the quality of the KHL. There are about 5 'good' teams in the KHL who bridge *maybe* half the gap to the NHL, and would still be easily worse than the worst NHL club. Those teams destroy that league and win 80% of their games.

Most of the KHL clubs are AHL-calibre. And a few at the bottom are ECHL calibre. It's a very top/bottom heavy league with the majority of the clubs being no different than the SEL or AHL.

_________

As for why this doesn't happen anymore :

1) no-one cared anymore after the fall of communism and games like this in the early 1990s were poorly attended.

2) teams in the KHL (or other Euro leagues) are much worse now than then, because most of their top players are over here.

3) the issues between the NHL and KHL are a major barrier in agreeing to anything like this.

Nothing has changed in Russian hockey in over sixty years.

 

[RECsGuy*]

And you over-rate the quality of the KHL. There are about 5 'good' teams in the KHL who bridge *maybe* half the gap to the NHL, and would still be easily worse than the worst NHL club. Those teams destroy that league and win 80% of their games.

Most of the KHL clubs are AHL-calibre. And a few at the bottom are ECHL calibre. It's a very top/bottom heavy league with the majority of the clubs being no different than the SEL or AHL.

_________

As for why this doesn't happen anymore :

1) no-one cared anymore after the fall of communism and games like this in the early 1990s were poorly attended.

2) teams in the KHL (or other Euro leagues) are much worse now than then, because most of their top players are over here.

3) the issues between the NHL and KHL are a major barrier in agreeing to anything like this.

Doesn't have to be KHL teams. How about top clubs from Swden, Finland and the Czech Rep.? I think doing this makes the game truly global.

 

[Pear Juice]

And you over-rate the quality of the KHL. There are about 5 'good' teams in the KHL who bridge *maybe* half the gap to the NHL, and would still be easily worse than the worst NHL club. Those teams destroy that league and win 80% of their games.

Most of the KHL clubs are AHL-calibre. And a few at the bottom are ECHL calibre. It's a very top/bottom heavy league with the majority of the clubs being no different than the SEL or AHL.

The difference between European leagues and the NHL is definitely there, but in my eyes it is grossly overdramatized in most discussions. Top SEL teams (HV71, Färjestad, Frölunda, Linköping etc.) would likely give NHL bottom feeders a tough fight. They'd probably be underdogs, but they would definitely not be run over.

 

[SuicideKings15]

The difference between European leagues and the NHL is definitely there, but in my eyes it is grossly overdramatized in most discussions. Top SEL teams (HV71, Färjestad, Frölunda, Linköping etc.) would likely give NHL bottom feeders a tough fight. They'd probably be underdogs, but they would definitely not be run over.

While teams can get lucky in one game exhibitions like this, you are correct, they could give them a good run for their money, but I'm not putting any money on any SEL team taking any NHL bottom feeder more than 5 games in a 7 game series.

 

[golfortennis]

The difference between European leagues and the NHL is definitely there, but in my eyes it is grossly overdramatized in most discussions. Top SEL teams (HV71, Färjestad, Frölunda, Linköping etc.) would likely give NHL bottom feeders a tough fight. They'd probably be underdogs, but they would definitely not be run over.

The whole attraction over these games from 20 + years ago was the fact the European/Soviet teams were powerhouses, and they played the Canadiens, Flyers and Oilers.

Maybe some bottom feeder might have a hard time, but then it brings up an important fact that seems to be overlooked: who the heck would care? Why not arrange an exhibition for the best European football players to play an NFL team, and have them play the Detroit Lions?

These games were of interest because you had Krutov, Larionov, Makarov, Kasatonov on the non-NHL side, and the Habs or Flyers or Oilers on the NHL side. It's no a coincidence the Hartford Whalers were nowere near these games.

Today, you would have Malkin, Ovechkin, Semin, Bryzgalov et al. on the Russian team, except that they play in the NHL now. The fact they aren't on the Florida Panthers does not change the fact that the team coming in does not have the draw power they once did.

 

[Inkling]

There was a certain mystique that existed back then for Soviet and Czech teams that would not exist today. Part of the excitement of seeing the teams was that it was so rare and that European hockey was almost completely separated from North American (minus Borje Salming and a few others).

 

[gluvhand]

Nothing has changed in Russian hockey in over sixty years.

The fact that hockey programs are no longer govt. run/funded to the same extent as in the past has changed everything about hockey in Russia.

 

[BrOrpik 44]

Maybe some bottom feeder might have a hard time, but then it brings up an important fact that seems to be overlooked: who the heck would care? Why not arrange an exhibition for the best European football players to play an NFL team, and have them play the Detroit Lions?

Problem is that there is barely any interest in the american football here in Europe, the closest would the the english rugby but they play without any protection (well, almost).

 

[Pear Juice]

The whole attraction over these games from 20 + years ago was the fact the European/Soviet teams were powerhouses, and they played the Canadiens, Flyers and Oilers.

Maybe some bottom feeder might have a hard time, but then it brings up an important fact that seems to be overlooked: who the heck would care? Why not arrange an exhibition for the best European football players to play an NFL team, and have them play the Detroit Lions?

These games were of interest because you had Krutov, Larionov, Makarov, Kasatonov on the non-NHL side, and the Habs or Flyers or Oilers on the NHL side. It's no a coincidence the Hartford Whalers were nowere near these games.

Today, you would have Malkin, Ovechkin, Semin, Bryzgalov et al. on the Russian team, except that they play in the NHL now. The fact they aren't on the Florida Panthers does not change the fact that the team coming in does not have the draw power they once did.

I agree with you, there isn't any reason to play these kind of exhibition games nowadays. I am however always bothered when people bring up the issue of Euro leagues vs. NHL and claim that the difference is astronomic. We already have a measuring point, the WHC, which is basically NHL bottom-feeders all-star team vs. Euro league all-star teams. And it's a very unpredictable tournament.