Quote:
Originally Posted by fleury
Sounds like the NHL couldn't ignore the publicity from playing in the largest populated country in the world. Frankly, I don't get it. Most of Asia, South America, the Caribbean, Australia, Africa, etc., aren't worth bothering building the game in. The climate is warm and it'll never pick up. What's the point really? Plus in this case there's the social stigma of China not having a good human rights record.
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It's important to keep in mind that the CBA now contains a clause that states the NHL will participate in the Olympics so long as a mutually agreeable solution can be made with the IIHF. That wasn't in place previously, so it was easier for the league to unilaterally opt-out.
I think people are still looking at this from the perspective of things that led to Olympic participation in the 90s in the first place, which was all about building the game and generating more money. The players who make up the bulk of the PA today don't have that same perspective.
Today's players grew up with NHLers at the Olympics as the normal thing, and likely grew up dreaming of playing in the Olympics. Because of that, there doesn't need to be a solid business reason for the NHL to go to the Olympics. They want to go to the Olympics because in their minds, the NHL has always gone to the Olympics. They don't really need any more incentive than that.