We all remember the the “Miracle on Ice” in the 1980 Olympic Games. Composed of mostly college hockey players (future NHLers), the United States hockey team shocked the Soviet Union en route to their gold medal win. The game was considered one of the greatest moments in international hockey. Shorty after that, the NHL allowed players to participate in the Olympics, pushing many college and junior athletes, just like the ones from 1980, out of the spotlight. But we could be seeing a amatuer comeback, at least in Olympic hockey, with the NHL expected to force players to miss the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Commisionor Gary Bettman spoke to reporters on the issue, saying he feels the NHL doesn’t get enough out of the games, despite halting their season for nearly two weeks to allow players to represent their country.
The comments from Bettman courtesy of Yahoo Sports:
“There’s the worldwide stage that the Olympics provides except they don’t promote NHL hockey,” Bettman told Reuters before the start of the All-Star Game at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.
“They take the players and run their own tournament.
“It’s great to have the world’s best-on-best play but, in the final analysis, the restrictions that the IOC (International Olympic Committee) imposes are difficult when you’re in our situation, particularly where we are the only sports league or sport that has to stop its season to participate if we choose to participate (at the Games).”
The NHL brought back the World Cup of Hockey in September of 2016 after a 12 year absence of the tournament, in order to give the players and fans the international feel and the ability to support their country, while still keeping the NHL in the spotlight. The World Cup,however, didn’t have the same feel as the Olympics do, and felt out of place, cutting into preseason and training camps.
While the NHL is undecided on the issue, many players, including Chicago Blackhawks and Canadian star Jonathan Toews would like to be back in the Olympics.
The comments from Toews courtesy of CBC Sports:
“If you ask me, I don’t think you can really compare it to the World Cup or the world championships,” said Jonathan Toews, who won gold with Canada in 2010 and 2014. “The Olympics are a whole other thing.”
Toews couldn’t envision what Olympic hockey would look like without the very best representing their countries.
“I just feel like we’re misrepresenting our sport on a pretty huge scale and a pretty huge level,” Toews said. “A lot of the talk has been it’s the players pushing for it, and it’s the players that are interested and want to go. I think the players do want to go, but I think it should be of interest to the players and the league. I think the NHL should be in the Olympics.”
In the end, the decision will come down to if the NHL is willing to sacrifice two weeks of their season, as well as player health, to allow the players to participate in a tournament that brings little money to the league, but helps the sport grow around the world.
