[craigwd]

Originally Posted by wretched34

I think if the NHL decides to keep players out of the Olympics, it will come back to haunt them. This could really bite them in the ass. I personally think the Olympics mean a lot more to players than a lot of you seem to believe.
The KHL could cash in big time, on a bad decision by the NHL. They could open their doors, and North Americans could end up being the ones flooding over seas to play in the KHL. Why would star North American players want to stay in the NHL, when they can make just as much money, if not more, and still represent their countries when the time arises?
Even if it is just Europeans that opt out of the NHL, in order to be a part of the Olympics, that has an impact on NHL talent. 28% of the top 50 point scorers in the NHL right now, are European.... that is a fairly large number, that is a lot of star power lost, and a lot of revenue for a lot of teams that is out the window... A team like Detroit would lose the faces of their franchise, as an example.
And what happens to the Olympics? Canada and the USA would almost instantly become the worst teams in the tournament, that would be crushing to fans.... I think a lot of people would be really upset when they watch Canada get their asses handed to them by the teams we consider weak now, not to mention the onslaught of the Swede's Russians and Finns, we'd be the joke of the Olympics by sending Amateurs to play professionals.

Why does everyone automatically assume this would be what happens? Is there no faith in players who are not currently playing in the NHL?