Quote:
Originally Posted by dobbles
Really baffled by all the responses that blame the greedy players over this. It's not like the owners are any better. If anything it's short sighted by not participating. If the nil wants to grow it's fan base it has to look outside north America and the Olympics are a prime way to do that. Additionally, ratings for the nhl games those 2 weeks will suffer. Even though the Asian time difference makes viewing live unlikely, I am sure there will be lots of households watching replays of figure skating, curlinf, etc.
I guess I just see it as a bad business decision to not participate. I get the problems it causes, bit seems worth it to me. But the greedy owners can't be bothered to do anything that doesn't directly benefit them. (See how easy it is to play that card)
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The NHL has been to the Olympics six times now. It has a very good idea how good or bad for business going is. The answer, evidently, is that the risks and costs outweigh the benefits. The league has spent years trying to get a better deal from the IOC, to no avail. The players spent those same years nipping at the owners' ankles begging to go. But the players failed to support the league in negotiating with the IOC (and in fact, played against the NHL's position) and refused to negotiate with the league a deal of its own. Unlike Oil Stain, I do not blame the NHLPA for rejecting the league's CBA extension offer. I do, however, blame the NHLPA for making no effort whatsoever to negotiate. They behaved like entitled children throughout this process and got what they deserved.