The NHL isn't going to the next Olympics.

[taxme]

On 4/4/2017 at 10:12 AM, Boges said:

https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-will-not-participate-in-2018-winter-olympics/c-288385598

 

I can't get all worked up over this. The IOC gave the next two winter Olympics to Asian countries. Partly because no one wants to host their corrupt sporting events anymore. 

They don't want to compensate the NHL for the 3 weeks they have to shut down the sport or even the insurance if a player gets injured (like John Tavarez in Sochi). Canada has won 3 of the last 4 Gold Medals and the Last two World Cups. We're Unquestionably the #1 Hockey nation in the world so winning in South Korea doesn't seem so urgent. Games will be played in the middle of the night, so it'll be a lot harder to generate viewership. 

This is not like Basketball where the season isn't affected and there are many more nations that play the sport. 

Now what do they do in replacement? The most obvious would be to make the World Juniors an Olympic tournament but then the Canadian Sports Network that make that tournament a Christmas tradition stand to lose money. 

Alexander Ovechkin has already said he'll go to the Olympics regardless. 

I would miss not having our NHL players in the Olympics. They make the event a lot more interesting, and enjoyable to watch. 

[Boges]

Just now, taxme said:

I would miss not having our NHL players in the Olympics. They make the event a lot more interesting, and enjoyable to watch. 

Sure, but remember the next two Winter Olympics will be in Asia (and the next Summer for that matter) so we better get used to watching these things on Tape Delay. I don't particularly have a vested interest sporting events that happen when I'm sleeping. . . usually. 

[overthere]

Last Olympics, the AB govt gave special permission for some  bars to reopen at 3 or 4  AM to show hockey games live from Sochi Olympics.  They all had beer and breakfast menus, though it was too late for one and too early for the other.  And most were crowded.

[overthere]

On 4/6/2017 at 0:22 PM, Boges said:

The IOC isn't going to compensate a network for basically stealing their tournament every four years. The reason we're in this mess is that the IOC refuses to compensate the NHL for insurance and travel costs. They also won't let the NHL cross promote the fact that their players are playing in the Olympics. 

The more you look into it, the more the IOC is the bad guy here and not the NHL. 

I agree with this.  But i don't know if bad guy is the right term.  I suspect that the IOC has looked at hockey costs and decided 'not worth it'.  It is hard to imagine the Olys without meaningful hockey, but how big is that for the IOC?  Many Europeans love to watch hockey, but they are also much more supportive of many other events,while not many Canadians are watching biathlon or cross country skiing.  Perhaps their calculation is that it is cheaper to just drop good hockey, and save themselves both the $10 million the NHL wants and the urge from other federations to pressure them for a cut of the pie.

[-TSS-]

On 18.4.2017 at 3:00 AM, Boges said:

Basketball is actually the only North American team sport that does Best on Best in the Olympics. 

Baseball obviously doesn't and Football is really only played by North Americans. 

Hockey is the only major team sport in the Winter Olympics. 

So this hurts the IOC more than it hurts the NHL. 

That goes without saying really; the NHL hates the Olympics. Not only does the tournament mess up the schedule of the NHL but also the attention people give to the event makes them jealous.