Bettman sure screwed the pooch on the international game. Too busy getting himself voted into the hall for "growing the game"I guess.
I think youre wrong on the players though. I cant speak for other countries but I'm positve every single Canadian player wants to put on the jersey for a best on best. I think theres more a problem with fans crapping on the tournaments than player interest.
I very much doubt that the players desire to win would be anywhere near what it was back in the 70s and 80s for a number of reasons.
Edit - I wouldn't say that's on Bettman, part of it is that the cold war added to the tension, there was also a lot of unknown and mystery in that Canadian players were playing against Europeans that they knew next to nothing about. Now they all play together on the same teams, there is zero mystique about these tournaments any more, not much Bettman could have done about that. At the Olympics, at least there's a medal to play for, but this tourney is just a meaningless gimmick and not many people are going to remember (or care) who wins this thing for very long.
I'm also pretty sure there are players on the bubble who are hoping they don't get selected. Of course they would never say that publicly so this is all speculation and we'll never know for sure unless some writes a book at some point in the future and tells us how they really feel.