Quote:
Originally Posted by transplant99
No they aren't, as it is a perfectly reasonable request.
No other sport/business shuts down its operation for 3 weeks to allow its athletes to compete. They should share in the revenue for that reason alone. Add on the injury risk to a bunch of athletes that have guaranteed multi-million dollar contracts that have to be paid regardless of there physical abilities/limitations...and the insurance issue becomes pretty obvious as well.
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You missed the point here.
Yes, it's a reasonable request, but it's not something the IOC can do, because that would open the door to every other sport starting to make similar demands, and that would be massively more disrupting and potentially expensive than any possible gains from a deal with the NHL.
Let's also remember that hockey is just one of the big draws of the much smaller winter Olympics. Any such decision made for hockey would also set a precedent for the summer Olympics.
That's why I don't think the IOC could give in even if they wanted to.
It's not completely impossible, but it think it's too unlikely to bet anything on.
I also think not having the World Cup weakens NHLs bargaining position. If the threat of World Cup becoming a comparable tournament for hockey was in any way real, the Olympics might be worried a bit.