Around the NHL 2016-2017

[WildCard]

Friedman : http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/nhl-will-not-participate-2018-pyeongchang-olympic-games/
 

Last fall, IIHF president Rene Fasel announced his organization would step up in the IOC’s place, but the NHL balked. The league didn’t want money earmarked for developing the game worldwide to be used for this. And, even more importantly, the NHL and many of its owners wanted the money to come from the IOC directly. After all, the Olympics are making money off hockey and the NHL felt very strongly the organization should pay.
 
As John Shannon reported last month, the NHL tried to negotiate some financial compromise. It asked for the IOC to “buy” a home date or two from each team. Failing that, the league wanted to be named an official Olympic supplier or sponsor, so it could attach and use the world-famous “rings” to its own brand.
 
That was also rejected.
 
According to sources, another recent attempt was made to have the NHL receive some portion of the television rights/sponsorship for hockey, but that didn’t go anywhere, either.

...

The NHL also asked the Players’ Association to guarantee it would not opt out of the current CBA, thereby extending it to its full term in 2022. The players declined, saying they believe they should not have to give up anything in exchange for Olympic participation.

So here we are.

There are now two big unanswered questions.

One is what will happen with individual players. As a group, they will be disappointed and angry. Being an Olympian has become a huge honour among the group. They love going.

And while Ottawa owner Eugene Melnyk has said he would not support Erik Karlsson playing in the Games, Washington’s Ted Leonsis said he will not stand in the way of his Capitals players, a team loaded with potential Olympians.

The second question is what impact, if any, this will have on the NHL’s participation in the 2022 Beijing Games. Last week the NHL announced it will play a pair of exhibition games in China as part of a long-term strategy to tap into that giant market.

The Chinese government, with help from the NHL, is making major investments in hockey infrastructure leading up to the 2022 Games. The Chinese may have a big say in whether we see NHLers return to the Olympics for 2022.

@DarrenDreger

NHL owners don't seem worried about the threat of not being invited back to Oly table in 2022 in China.

From everything I'm reading, for once, the NHL may be in the right here. The IOC really screwed them

Edited April 3, 2017 by WildCard

[darksabre]

I'm pretty much okay with it. I mean, the Olympics are fun, but I'm cool with them not taking any of our guys away from us when we're just starting to get good again. Wouldn't it be Buffalo's luck that we'd send Eichel and he'd get hurt? 

[TrueBlueGED]

Friedman : http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/nhl-will-not-participate-2018-pyeongchang-olympic-games/

 

 

@DarrenDreger

NHL owners don't seem worried about the threat of not being invited back to Oly table in 2022 in China.

 

From everything I'm reading, for once, the NHL may be in the right here. The IOC really screwed them

I dunno, are any of the NHL's asks things they have asked for (and gotten) before? Barring that, it just seems to me the NHL decided not to go and came up with a bunch of stuff they knew they wouldn't get for the sole purpose of using it as justification for a decision they had already made.

[WildCard]

I'm pretty much okay with it. I mean, the Olympics are fun, but I'm cool with them not taking any of our guys away from us when we're just starting to get good again. Wouldn't it be Buffalo's luck that we'd send Eichel and he'd get hurt? 

The NHL is discussing allowing teams to send individuals, a-la Ovechkin. Imagine being a Caps fan, in the thick of a playoff hunt, and your captain and star laves for 3 weeks, missing 12 games. 

 

The IOC wouldn't let the NHL show any highlights, televise it, promote the NHL with ads, or anything like that. They refused to pay for insurance and some expenses, something they've apparently done the last 5 times. The NHLPA also refused to not opt out of the CBA, meaning we have likely another lockout

I dunno, are any of the NHL's asks things they have asked for (and gotten) before? Barring that, it just seems to me the NHL decided not to go and came up with a bunch of stuff they knew they wouldn't get for the sole purpose of using it as justification for a decision they had already made.

Feel like I saw the Olympic highlights on the NHL website last time around. But if the point is to brand the league, and the IOC won't let them do that at all, then I'm with the NHL, what's the point?

[WildCard]

In December, the NHL polled fans in Canada and the United States to ask if they favored a 17-day break in the schedule for the Olympics. In Canada, 53 percent of avid fans were against it even though Canada would be defending the gold medal. In the United States, 73 percent were against it.

 

 

https://www.nhl.com/news/history-shows-olympics-dont-help-nhl/c-288389004

 

Anyone think something there might be something fishy about that poll's conduction?

Edited April 3, 2017 by WildCard

[MODO Hockey]

Competing for your country is probably the most honorable thing you can do as a athlete.

NHL is the worlds best league but it should not have a saying when it comes to Olympics, no league should.

 

In the end in this matter its all about money, nothing else, sigh.

 

NHL and all other leagues should have their season posponed for this matter.

 

Dont know how it is for most americans but for us Swedes for example winter olympics is super important and the country litterly stops when something big is happning

in the olympics, like a final or something. 

I understand if you dont give a bloody shaite about olympics and only care about what is playing at home, but there is also a world out there that is craving for Olympics, and that

is way bigger than what craving for NHL is. No offence.

[dudacek]

Well, we now know what Sam and Jack will doing during their contract holdouts.

[Sabel79]

Tell the IIHF and its constituent federations to get off their collective and put together an honest to goodness World Cup, cognizant of how the hockey calendar works, if you want to see a premier level international competition.

 

The Olympics are dumb. Well, professional athletes in the Olympics are dumb. Which, at this point because of the way training works, and regardless of the mental gymnastics they go through to justify the subsidies handed off to the physical gymnasts, (regardless again of how pitiable they may be) they all are. So I guess the Olympics are dumb.

[inkman]

Competing for your country is probably the most honorable thing you can do as a athlete.

NHL is the worlds best league but it should not have a saying when it comes to Olympics, no league should.

 

In the end in this matter its all about money, nothing else, sigh.

 

NHL and all other leagues should have their season posponed for this matter.

 

Dont know how it is for most americans but for us Swedes for example winter olympics is super important and the country litterly stops when something big is happning

in the olympics, like a final or something.

 

I understand if you dont give a bloody shaite about olympics and only care about what is playing at home, but there is also a world out there that is craving for Olympics, and that

is way bigger than what craving for NHL is. No offence.

Americans barely and I mean barely care about the NHL. Divide that by 100 and that's how much we care about the Olympics. No one cares, at all. Unless we win everything, then we like it, a little.

[WildCard]

Americans barely and I mean barely care about the NHL. Divide that by 100 and that's how much we care about the Olympics. No one cares, at all. Unless we win everything, then we like it, a little.

I don't agree with that. I have a ton of friends and family that only watch Olympic hockey and no other form of it. And they'll get pretty into it; the bars are also packed around here for Olympic hockey. It's the same thing with the soccer World Cup and Olympics. Being a patriot is a cool and glorified thing in America, and we fully embrace it

[WildCard]

Sens communications‏ @Media_Sens  7m7 minutes ago

More

#Sens D @ErikKarlsson65 will make his return to the team's lineup tonight @JoeLouisArena. Jyrki Jokipakka will be scratched in his place.

[Sabel79]

I don't agree with that. I have a ton of friends and family that only watch Olympic hockey and no other form of it. And they'll get pretty into it; the bars are also packed around here for Olympic hockey. It's the same thing with the soccer World Cup and Olympics. Being a patriot is a cool and glorified thing in America, and we fully embrace it

Nobody cared about the Nathan's Hotdog eating contest until that Japanese guy started winning it. Then it got wrapped in the flag and is now covered by ESPN wall-to-wall. The sport is ancillary, just tell people national pride's at stake somehow. Hell, and with all due respect to our Canadian friends, people watch curling during the Olympics.

[josie]

Americans barely and I mean barely care about the NHL. Divide that by 100 and that's how much we care about the Olympics. No one cares, at all. Unless we win everything, then we like it, a little.

I respectfully disagree. The Olympics, and Olympics Hockey are a pretty huge deal. Everyone immediately starts talking about the 1980 Miracle on Ice, even if their only knowledge of hockey is from the Mighty Ducks or the Disney account of USA vs USSR. And thus, people actually watch. I grew up in a family that hated/demonized sports (besides figure skating), and even we watched Olympic hockey and were glued to every Olympics broadcast we could get. 

 

I think a lot of people watch as they expect a bit of movie magic. Do they get it, well, not always. But there sure are some great "sports moments" that come out of it. I know more than a few people who actually started following the NHL upon watching the Olympics. It doesn't feel like as much an exclusive club that way, nor is it as overwhelming. You know what team to root for automatically, and you get a nice overview of who the superstars are. 

 

Honestly, it was one of my few intros to the sport. I had absolutely nooooo clue what was happening, but I liked the pace. I know the Olympics and the IOC are a pile of corrupt sh!t, but I'm still wired to love the idea. 

[SwampD]

Americans barely and I mean barely care about the NHL. Divide that by 100 and that's how much we care about the Olympics. No one cares, at all. Unless we win everything, then we like it, a little.

Yeah. I gotta disagree here as well. Not about the NHL part, but about the olympics. People care.

[Randall Flagg]

Anyone wanna try out for team USA with me?

[ubkev]

Anyone wanna try out for team USA with me?

I'll be there!

[Eleven]

I will not renew my season tix if Bettman holds this line.  Period.

[inkman]

I respectfully disagree. The Olympics, and Olympics Hockey are a pretty huge deal. Everyone immediately starts talking about the 1980 Miracle on Ice, even if their only knowledge of hockey is from the Mighty Ducks or the Disney account of USA vs USSR. And thus, people actually watch. I grew up in a family that hated/demonized sports (besides figure skating), and even we watched Olympic hockey and were glued to every Olympics broadcast we could get.

 

I think a lot of people watch as they expect a bit of movie magic. Do they get it, well, not always. But there sure are some great "sports moments" that come out of it. I know more than a few people who actually started following the NHL upon watching the Olympics. It doesn't feel like as much an exclusive club that way, nor is it as overwhelming. You know what team to root for automatically, and you get a nice overview of who the superstars are.

 

Honestly, it was one of my few intros to the sport. I had absolutely nooooo clue what was happening, but I liked the pace. I know the Olympics and the IOC are a pile of corrupt sh!t, but I'm still wired to love the idea.

This is a Buffalo centric take. Hockey crazed markets like Buffalo get this way. BTW, Buffalo leads the league in out of market viewership for hockey. The rest of the country doesn't care. I was in a bar during a USA game. Not only did I have to ask the bartender to turn the channel to the game but there was only one other dude in the building watching it. You guys have you experiences, I have mine. I'll take my first hand knowledge. People here didn't care. At ALL.

[josie]

This is a Buffalo centric take. Hockey crazed markets like Buffalo get this way. BTW, Buffalo leads the league in out of market viewership for hockey. The rest of the country doesn't care. I was in a bar during a USA game. Not only did I have to ask the bartender to turn the channel to the game but there was only one other dude in the building watching it. You guys have you experiences, I have mine. I'll take my first hand knowledge. People here didn't care. At ALL.

I'm not from Buffalo. 

 

I'm from rural bumfu*k Ohio, where only football/bball/wrestling matter. Closest rink was an hour or so away. Hockey was not a huge deal. Sure, some people were avid Wings fans, but even when the Cups were won people largely ignored it. It's picked up in recent years as some of our towns/cities have kind of improved. Observed the same situation described in my post in Florida.

 

It's just two spots, and we don't share the same situations, I know. You're not wrong, WNY has a love of the sport I've only seen in  other "wintry" places like MN, WI, ND. 

 

Just saying, have heart, there's more people out there who care. 

Edited April 4, 2017 by Josie914

[Ducky]

As a Jets fan, I don't want the league to shut down for these olympics. I expect the team to be well on its way to the playoffs and I don't want the schedule shut dwo for two weeks. These 5 day bye weeks are bad enough.

[Eleven]

As a Jets fan, I don't want the league to shut down for these olympics. I expect the team to be well on its way to the playoffs and I don't want the schedule shut dwo for two weeks. These 5 day bye weeks are bad enough.

 

OK, that was funny.

[Trettioåtta]

Would Antipin make the Russian team? If so, I expect he won't sign with us anymore

[WildCard]

Would Antipin make the Russian team? If so, I expect he won't sign with us anymore

He did last time I believe

[Brawndo]

Panthers Tom Rowe will be relieved of coaching duties at the end of the year.

[Doohicksie]

Panthers Tom Rowe will be relieved of coaching duties at the end of the year.

 

Is that a report or just your speculation?