[News] NHL will not participate in 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

[Hockey_Ninja]

Team Canada without the superstars? That actually sounds pretty interesting tbh.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by transplant99

I would just use the World Championship results from earlier that year to decide the 8 competing. Anyone who makes the quarter finals is invited to that Septembers World Cup.

As an example using last Mays results, this last World Cup would have consisted of,

Canada
USA
Russia
Czech
Sweden
Finland
Germany
Denmark

Something like that would keep it simple.

Anyhow...derailing this a bit.

carry on.

That looks like a good system to me.

Also early September so that it doesn't have the compression effect on NHL schedules like this World Cup did. Players return to their teams in time for most of training camp.

[GGG]

If Bettmens request really was just to be able to use the Olympic Rings in advertising and use footage as promotional material to be the Proud supplier of players for the Olympic Games and the IOC rejected it I am on team Bettmen.

I think NBC might be the last hope. If this is a big deal for them then it will get done. If not then it won't and it's over.

[Moneyhands23]

Originally Posted by GGG

If Bettmens request really was just to be able to use the Olympic Rings in advertising and use footage as promotional material to be the Proud supplier of players for the Olympic Games and the IOC rejected it I am on team Bettmen.

I think NBC might be the last hope. If this is a big deal for them then it will get done. If not then it won't and it's over.

I think the situation was unattainable for both sides. The nhl is giving up a lot with out the gain of a main sponsorship. On the other hand how do u tell the corporations u are giving the use of the rings to another buisness for no capital investment just "man hours".

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by Hockey_Ninja

Team Canada without the superstars? That actually sounds pretty interesting tbh.

Actually yeah. It give some of the guys fighting for careers in the sport a chance to shine. Junior/college/players residing in Europe.

They get a shot in the spotlight. Maybe gets them consideration for contracts with clubs.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by Fire

Good. The players weren't willing to extend the CBA, this is what they deserve.

That is not bargaining in good faith and even supporting that notion is completely greasy in its own right. I hope the players all defect and leave for the Olympics anyway. Would be hilarious to watch the league squirm. I know I certainly won't be watching crappy NHL hockey game #65 of a worn out season in favour of the Olympics next year.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by CsInMyBlood

Will be missed for sure.

I have a hockey fanatic friend that only got into watching the NHL because she watched the Olympic hockey.

I think Bettman and the owners underestimate what the Olympics can do for the NHL.

I think after 20 years, the league has an excellent idea of what the Olympics does - and does not do - for the NHL. Which is why they were looking for a better deal.

I can understand why the NHLPA wouldn't want to extend the CBA as a condition of going, but it is rather crazy that the union would rather turn this into a war with the NHL rather than working with the league to pressure the IIHF and IOC. They let their zealot leader lead them to this path because he is incapable of working with anything management.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by Hockey_Ninja

Team Canada without the superstars? That actually sounds pretty interesting tbh.

For me it has all of the excitement of a beer league tourney.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Yes, and the '####ing Olympics' is a multi-billion dollar business enterprise itself. So what makes the IOC a charity case?

The NHL is still ultimately the one that dropped the ball as they are supposed to be a fan driven league. They've made massive profits on the backs of two lockouts that have punished fans over the last 13 years.....maybe you want to do the right thing for fans and attend one Olympic games that isn't convenient for you?...I guess that's asking too much in this day and age.

It certainly reinforces why I don't want my city's tax dollars being pumped into this business by way of a Billionaires playground for a pathetic ROI.

[Yrebmi]

Originally Posted by polak

I was 37.

*checks age of Jodi Foster*

No you were 28!

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Moneyhands23

I think the situation was unattainable for both sides. The nhl is giving up a lot with out the gain of a main sponsorship. On the other hand how do u tell the corporations u are giving the use of the rings to another buisness for no capital investment just "man hours".

Because these players have a cap hit of about 750 million dollars

From what I can tell Coke and the other big 5 pay 100 million over 4 years to sponsor the Olympics as official partners. Then there appear to be official suppliers who I cannot find what they pay.

So if the league season is 200 days long that Salary cap works out to 3.75 million per day. So the value of those people's time for 14 days is about 50 million dollars. So if the NHL is making a 50 million dollar inkind sponsorship doesn't that warrant consideration at least as a tier two sponsor behind the big 5

Edit: https://www.google.ca/amp/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.2527993

The second tier of sponsors spend 40 million for 4 years (2 Olympics). Seems pretty reasonable for the NHL to want to be treated as some kind of sponsor of the games.

[BlackWallStreet]

I was extremely disappointed when I heard about this today (sigh)

[Magnum PEI]

Now I can completely ignore the Winter Olympics. Basically Guinness World Records for rich white people.

[Blankcanvas]

Disappointed but not surprised. I'm sure the NHL will be back in future Olympic Games - especially when they are next held in North America again - maybe Calgary 2026!?!

[sharkov]

The party that deserves the most blame for the NHL not going to the Olympics is South Korea. If the Koreans wanted high level hockey for their olympics, they would have paid the insurance themselves like Russia did in Sochi and therefore would have made their olympics less of a disaster

[PeteMoss]

For those wondering what the appeal for the NHL is, look at the growth of soccer.

For ages, there was a few failed North America soccer leagues but limited growth. They still got the World Cup on TV in North America and kept at it. Now after what 30-40 years, all of the big European leagues are landing good TV deals in the US (NBC doesn't pay much more for NHL than they do for the Premier League, Fox is payng for the German league).

The NHL won't be able to get the World Cup on TV anywhere but the countries competing so the Olympics is their shot to get people to see their sport in countries who don't normally watch it. Who knows? Maybe 20 years down the road, some UK channel pays a decent penny for the NHL rights.

This decision just means that only diehard fans outside of Canada/US will see a hockey game for 8 years.

EDIT: Rugby is another decent comparable. They landed a 3 year deal with NBC for premier league rugby. I doubt much money changed hands, but still - growing the sport.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Magnum PEI

Now I can completely ignore the Winter Olympics. Basically Guinness World Records for rich white people.

Yeah...those bobsledders and biatheletes are making bank!!

[FlamesAddiction]

I don't care. But if given the choice between having the NHL World Cup or NHL players at the Olympics, I would take the latter.

[direwolf]

Originally Posted by Dion

The idea of having to get up in the middle of the night to watch some Olympic hockey doesn't appeal to me.

Really? I thought that was pretty damn fun during the Sochi games. A buddy of mine invited a bunch of people over for the gold medal game, and we had a blast. Pancakes, beer, and hockey at 5 in the morning. Good times!

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Yeah...those bobsledders and biatheletes are making bank!!

And yet, the entire amateur ideal that the Olympics were founded upon is exactly that. Victorian amateurism was offered up as the ideal because the only people who could afford to be amateurs were the idle rich.

Organizers of amateur events expected the common man to pay to watch their betters.

That's the Olympic amateur ideal.