[News] NHL not sending its players to the Olympics

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

At this point it would make a ton of sense. 12 mens teams probably means 400+ people (and 10 womens teams = ~300)...for a COVID Olympics it makes sense to have them separately bubbled.

Every other sport is teams of 4 or less, and hardly any involve close contact with competitors. Short track is probably the next 'riskiest' since it's indoors, otherwise ski-cross, xc races, and curling are the only events with anything resembling close contact.

Really it should probably the future of the olympics anyways.

Have certain events local in the "Host" City, with other events taking place at facilities/locations that make the most sense for that event

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Really it should probably the future of the olympics anyways.

Have certain events local in the "Host" City, with other events taking place at facilities/locations that make the most sense for that event

Especially if all those hard bodies can't really "mix and mingle" once their competitions are over.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Really it should probably the future of the olympics anyways.

Have certain events local in the "Host" City, with other events taking place at facilities/locations that make the most sense for that event

That would pretty much kill the Olympics. The whole draw of the Olympics is all of the best athletes in the world coming together in one place for two weeks to compete and celebrate together.

Anything else is just the normal sporting calendar.

[Mindtravellee]

Originally Posted by getbak

That would pretty much kill the Olympics. The whole draw of the Olympics is all of the best athletes in the world coming together in one place for two weeks to compete and celebrate together.

Anything else is just the normal sporting calendar.

Yeah but should be assessed on the Pinacle of the sport. I don't think Hockey, Basketball, Soccer or Tennis should be at the Olympics.

Are there any new sports being introduced at the Winter Olympics? Really enjoyed the rock climbing in the summer

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by Mindtravellee

Yeah but should be assessed on the Pinacle of the sport. I don't think Hockey, Basketball, Soccer or Tennis should be at the Olympics.

Are there any new sports being introduced at the Winter Olympics? Really enjoyed the rock climbing in the summer

I think ski mountaineering is coming in 2026...pretty sure the 'new' events this year are just variations (mixed gender stuff, etc.)

Originally Posted by getbak

That would pretty much kill the Olympics. The whole draw of the Olympics is all of the best athletes in the world coming together in one place for two weeks to compete and celebrate together.

Anything else is just the normal sporting calendar.

Total dispersal wouldn't work, but multi-city in close proximity could make a ton of sense (Calgary/Vancouver) - you could hugely reduce infrastructure needs.

There is a dearth of interest in hosting lately...the IOC might be wise to establish a few permanent sites to cut the 'bidded' hosts in half

E.g.
2030 - Vancouver/Calgary
2034- bid
2038 - Permanent European site(s)
2042- bid
2046- Calgary/Vancouver


So every 16 years you know you are hosting, but you can play around with which city has opening vs. closing and marquee events each time.

[Joborule]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

I think ski mountaineering is coming in 2026...pretty sure the 'new' events this year are just variations (mixed gender stuff, etc.)




Total dispersal wouldn't work, but multi-city in close proximity could make a ton of sense (Calgary/Vancouver) - you could hugely reduce infrastructure needs.

There is a dearth of interest in hosting lately...the IOC might be wise to establish a few permanent sites to cut the 'bidded' hosts in half

E.g.
2030 - Vancouver/Calgary
2034- bid
2038 - Permanent European site(s)
2042- bid
2046- Calgary/Vancouver


So every 16 years you know you are hosting, but you can play around with which city has opening vs. closing and marquee events each time.

Push that to every 24 years rotation. You know US will get in the mix of permanent hosting.

[GS Skier]

We know the owners never wanted to go.

"The estimated cost of the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang is $12.9 billion, and that’s for the Winter Olympics, which are cheaper to run." No one really knows how much China is spending. As has been noted repeatedly here, it's the closest thing to the 1936 Olympics since 1936.

The list of North American and European cities over the past 10-20 years, who's population rejected an Olympic bid includes a dozen former hosts, Calgary included.

The Olympics have changed from an great old idea to revive an ancient Greek and Macedonian athletic and music celebration into a bloated, pretentious and costly chest beating "Who leads the medal count" political points parade.

We all love a Hockey tournament that features the best on best. At what cost? If the Olympics were truly a "celebration" of athletics then why is the Medal count even published? I love World Cup Alpine and PVR every race. The winners receive $50,000 US. They are treated like royalty around the world. They are NOT "amateur's" training for just the Olympics and the Olympics alone. They are career skiers and the Olympics is as much a "perk" to them as it is to Pro Hockey. Both would continue non stop if there were no Olympics at all.

South Korea cost 12.9 billion yet we voted down a 3-4 billion "plan" for good reason as that estimate was absolutely sure to double even with "existing facilities".

The Covid outbreak has already nailed the coffin shut on NHL participation it's just a matter of time. They have to make these lost games up.

The real question is can the "Olympics" find a way to seriously cut down the size and scale or even China and Russia are going to bow out in a few years. The idea of "fixed locations" isn't bad however I don't think it address' the ridiculous scale of the thing at all and may just make it worse.

Myself it's the over the top chest beating in the games themselves that have lost my interest. Don't we get enough of that from the Oilers fans?

[Beatle17]

There is also the fact of over $1B dollars for security for any of these games. What would make people want to cause harm to others, let alone athletes, and therefore make these things political.

The NHL, NBA, Tennis etc., should get out. Soccer at least addressed the games as development and limited the players to U23 (except the women).

[dissentowner]

People seem to not get it, the NHL cannot get out or say the players cannot go. That would be a CBA violation. The NHLPA can decide the players are not going.

[BoLevi]

Why would the Olympics try to cut their budget. The bigger the budget the more bribe dollars you can slosh around. The Olympics is now just a way for bad actor countries to cleanse their images by being associated with a wholesome event. It doesn't work of course... But the govt and IOC bribe train is going to milk it as long as possible.

[GS Skier]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

People seem to not get it, the NHL cannot get out or say the players cannot go. That would be a CBA violation. The NHLPA can decide the players are not going.

I think the League does have opt out clauses and covid game delays may be one of them. The League CAN over rule under certain conditions and 5 games are postponed tonight alone.

The quarantine and no mingling rules in China are also giving pause to some players.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by Joborule

Push that to every 24 years rotation. You know US will get in the mix of permanent hosting.

I was thinking the US would have a permanent slot on the summer side.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by GS Skier

I think the League does have opt out clauses and covid game delays may be one of them. The League CAN over rule under certain conditions and 5 games are postponed tonight alone.

The quarantine and no mingling rules in China are also giving pause to some players.

The league has financial opt out clauses, they do not have any say on players participation. The league cannot overrule anything, that would be a violation of the CBA. Bettman and Daly like to say things like "we want to honour our agreement with the players" but they really don't have a choice here. If players want to go, the league can't stop them.

[GS Skier]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

The league has financial opt out clauses, they do not have any say on players participation. The league cannot overrule anything, that would be a violation of the CBA. Bettman and Daly like to say things like "we want to honour our agreement with the players" but they really don't have a choice here. If players want to go, the league can't stop them.

You are wrong.

From the NHL website:
"The caveat is the NHL can withdraw on its own if COVID-19 disruptions force games to be rescheduled during the Olympic window. "

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Joborule

Push that to every 24 years rotation. You know US will get in the mix of permanent hosting.

And the thing is....why shouldnt they? They have almost all of the facilities and infrastructure already.

If anything the only reason the US doesnt regularly host is because they just wouldnt have to 'build enough things' for cash to get lost in the shuffle and embezzled by the IOC and their partners.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by GS Skier

You are wrong.

From the NHL website:
"The caveat is the NHL can withdraw on its own if COVID-19 disruptions force games to be rescheduled during the Olympic window. "

You are wrong. The NHL can withdraw without financial penalty before I believe it was Jan 10. Read the CBA, it is totally an NHLPA decision as agreed to in the CBA. The players bargained for that right, if the NHL tells them they cannot go players will just give them a big F you or walk out on their clubs. I could give a crap less what the NHL tried to say for public PR, they don't have a legal leg to stand on.

[Heavy Jack]

I did hear somewhere though that there was a clause in the agreement that allowed the NHL to pull out if they felt covid was a great risk to the season. Not sure where though and I may have misinterpreted it.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by Heavy Jack

I did hear somewhere though that there was a clause in the agreement that allowed the NHL to pull out if they felt covid was a great risk to the season. Not sure where though and I may have misinterpreted it.

I couldn't find it but do you honestly think the NHL is going to ruin their relationship with the players over pulling out of games that was the main factor in the players agreeing to extend the CBA? No way. Not to mention players not going have already made family and vacation plans while most venues have events already booked on those dates so they won't even be able to play makeup games. The NHLPA may agree to not go but there is about as much chance as me growing wings and flying to the moon as the NHL trying to stop players from attending. What the league has even been saying points to that as well.

[Heavy Jack]

Oh for sure, totally agree with that. This rides in the PA’s hands and what they decide to do come the Jan 10th deadline. It’s a big decision no doubt and players like Gio have already spoken to how tough it’s been quarantined in the states for a time but to have that in China, it’s a big risk if you get it and end up missing a period of time after the Olympic break. I honestly couldn’t predict how this will go though and is an interesting storyline to the season to follow.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Heavy Jack

Oh for sure, totally agree with that. This rides in the PA’s hands and what they decide to do come the Jan 10th deadline. It’s a big decision no doubt and players like Gio have already spoken to how tough it’s been quarantined in the states for a time but to have that in China, it’s a big risk if you get it and end up missing a period of time after the Olympic break. I honestly couldn’t predict how this will go though and is an interesting storyline to the season to follow.

You're right though, its entirely in the Player's and PA's hands.

Personally I think they're crazy for even considering it at the moment.