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NHL Announces that its players will NOT participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics
PJ_Soul
Vancouver, BC Posts: 49,679
That SUCKS!
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
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On the NHL side, they shut down the season for 2 weeks +, then cram the schedule in... plus the best players are risking injury and fatigue right before the stretch-run to the playoffs.
how do you justify your best going down with a season ending injury in a tournament they didn't have to participate in? tough pill to swallow for the teams making a run for the playoffs.
I'm saying that as someone who doesn't mind the NHL shutting down for 3 weeks at all. I think Olympic hockey has been well worth the break. As for player injuries... I think that risk should be left up to the players. I know, I get why the NHL isn't into that risk... I just think that the national competition is worth it, and wish they felt the same way. I know a lot of the players do. Many NHL players are VERY pro-Olympics, from what I've read.
I would much rather see the World Cup grow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcGQpjCztgA
However... the 1987 and 1996 world cups were better than any of the 5 NHL- stocked olympics.
I'm w/ Mayday, I hope the WC can grow into something better if this is the route they're going to take.
As far as teams caring about a preseason tournament:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSnWFbxGlks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SqMdxKrfSE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6qMNv3yS6I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE5gN2SIuMg
BUT, that came at a time when the NHL was able to market the World Cup appropriately (they did a terrible job with the latest WC… I don’t think I watched one game) and was before the season started and didn’t require a 3-4 week shutdown.
All that I once held as true
I stand alone without beliefs
The only truth I know is you.