Quote:
Originally Posted by troutman
I like this in theory, but the Final Four teams in the NHL playoffs would probably be too beat up to send many players to this World Cup. Might be better to hold it in September.
|
Hold it in February. Mid-season. Stop your league. Nobody cares about random regular season games in the dead of winter, especially not when you can have a best-on-best international tournament that no longer exists in any other form with the death of Olympic participation.
The bottom 550 guys in the league get two much needed weeks off from blocking shots, getting punched, and other manners of worn down.
The stars get to wear their country's colours on the big stage. If you shut down the league, they're the show. Do it after the Super Bowl when all you have to compete with is regular season NBA.
The owners get paid and the opportunity to have highlight packages with national team moments.
We get to see true best on best hockey. No salary caps, no draft picks, no trades, just the best 23 guys from each country, and the chips fall where they fall.
I don't have the hate boner for Gary that a lot of people do, but he hasn't handled this well. Hockey has innumerable significant moments of its history and lore that occur on the international stage.
To deprive the sport of international play at the highest level, as though the WHC was good enough, does a disservice to the game, and I think Bettman needs to remedy this.