PYEONGCHANG, South Korea – I am going 2018 Winter Olympics. The NHL is not. Am I disappointed? Absolutely. Do I agree with the NHL’s decision? Absolutely.
I am still very excited to be going to Korea. I love hockey. I used to enjoy watching my high school’s club team. I’m sure I’ll enjoy watching two nations playing for Olympic gold.
No NHLers actually eases my mind at this Olympics. I can go all in for Team USA. I know 1980 is never going to happen again. ISIS doesn’t have the best hockey team in the world. I can go all in because USA doesn’t have to play Canada’s Sidney Crosby or whatever the Russians are calling themselves’ Evgeni Malkin. I love my country but I love my Penguins more. I don’t want to injure Sid or Geno to win gold.
I’m not only a fan of the Penguins I’m a fan of the entire NHL. I do not want to see any NHL player get injured at the Olympics. Four years ago John Tavares and Henrik Zetterberg got injured in Sochi. I bet Islanders and Red Wings fans wished the NHL players did not participate in those games.
The NHL gets no tangible benefit for disrupting its season. Critics claim the NHL could get a ratings boost by having their players participate in the Olympics. It never does. The same way bobsledding in the Olympics doesn’t help the National Bobsledding League’s ratings. If that league even exists. Non Hockey fans watch Olympic hockey or hockey in general, every four years because it’s the Olympics. The same way hockey fans watch every other sport. You don’t need to understand icing or what a biathlon is to wave a flag.
February the month not the Olympics gives the NHL its best chance to showcase itself. Post football and pre-March Madness gives the casual hockey fan a viewing window. A window not cluttered with curling, skiing and personal interest stories .
Olympic participation is too disruptive to the NHL season. Besides condensing an already to taxing schedule the end of February is a critical time for NHL teams. NHL teams fine tune their lineups at the trade deadline. Teams need to be playing their best hockey down the stretch. The Stanley Cup playoffs are fast approaching. Abruptly stopping the season for three weeks hurts the on ice product. The NHL’s best one hundred players get worn out by traveling half way around the world. They play in a challenging tournament and risk injury. The other six hundred non Olympians sit around and get out of game shape.
People make statements like Olympic hockey is great because it’s pure hockey. It’s a stupid statement to make. There is no such thing as pure hockey. Besides all hockey is great. I’ll be enjoying Olympic hockey while keeping an eye on the NHL season. It’s the best of both worlds.
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