Will NHLers be at Chinese Olympics?

[snipes]

Team North America was the best and most exciting thing in international hockey in decades.

Yes, they probably were the fastest hockey team ever assembled. However, they are not a nation.

By having team North America, the World Cup was not true best-on-best hockey as the Canadian and American national teams didnt have full access to their player pool.

 

[SotasicA]

International hockey > NHL.

Bobby Orr said winning the 1976 Canada Cup was more important to him than the Stanley Cup.

I agree about the 1976 Canada Cup. 80's, too. But in general, since the fall of communism, international hockey has not had that spark. NHL today already has all the best players, and thus the Stanley Cup is by far the single most coveted trophy.

I don't mind a tournament like those old 70's and 80's Canada Cups every 4 years or so, like in soccer. But I don't think they will ever be the same again. It's almost like looking at NHL players play on random teams for two weeks. They all live and play together the rest of the year as well. But it is what it is. Canada/World Cup can fill that need for international competition for sure. They didn't need the IOC back then, and they don't need it now. And the NHLPA knows this too - they'd just give away all the profits of the tournament by going to the Olympics.

Timing of the Olympics is also always troublesome as it's mid-season. Ideally the tournament should be held before the season. There's an unfair advantage if some players rest while others have to play.

 

[Kshahdoo]

The games were boring.

Did not even come close to the 70's and 80's Canada Cups. They had the best players and the best format, and no IOC necessary.

Canada Cups were great because different systems competed at them. Soviet (and Czech) hockey was so much different, than the NHL one. It's not possible nowadays. All top teams have all the same top NHL players, who play the same hockey. Yeah, it's a very high quality hockey, but still the same.

 

[chauron]

Team North America was the best and most exciting thing in international hockey in decades.

While the team was good, it was due to the players themselves, not the team itself (that had no value at all). Call me traditional but I do indeed want the actual countries or natural areas to be represented.

Team Nato next? Team European Union?

 

[Ace Card Bedard]

I doubt the NHL players will be at the Olympics.

 

[torniojaws]

The time difference is the killer for would-be Chinese TV showing NHL games, though. Most games would begin around 10-11 AM in Chinese time.

 

[Past Considerations]

Yes.

Imagine you're China in this respect. Imagine you're a guy throwing a huge party, spending billions, sparing no expense. You invite some performers to your party, they turn you down. But they say, "we wouldn't mind performing in your club sometime, just not during this party for which you have sunk billions of dollars and clearly care about the most."

Bettman is deluding himself if he thinks China will take him seriously without respecting the hard work they put into the Olympics. There is no market in China for hockey right now. The Chinese government decides who gets to be on the waves. If you cooperate, they might put the next NHL in China event on CCTV 5, prime time. If you don't cooperate, you might pour millions into hosting events in China only get shoved to some back channel where no one sees your sport that no one was a fan of before anyways.

Let's be clear. Bettman may not be serious about growing a market in China. A lot of business people these days talk about the pros and cons of trying to break into China. Many business experts don't think it's worth it. Maybe Bettman doesn't want China. That's fair. If he does, he will go to Beijing.

There's been this "theory" around that NHL @ 2014 Sochi happened because Russia wanted it to happen. So the government pulled a few strings and then it did happen. South Korea may have wanted it to happen but probably it was not as importand for them and in any case they lacked the political and financial power. China then again has that political and financial power.

 

[golfortennis]

Hopefully not. Why should the NHL owners put their most valuable assets at risk for no return? The Islanders were sure glad that in exchange for not being able to use images, video or anything to do with the Olympics, they lost out on John Tavares for the rest of the 2014 season.

 

[GKJ]

With the new CBA coming, the players will make sure they're there.

 

[NyQuil]

Yes.

Sportsnet and the CBC think they’ve struck it big when four million Canadians tune in to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

NBC was ecstatic to announce average viewership of five million for Monday’s Game 1 of the Cup final between Nashville and Pittsburgh, a 22 per cent increase over Pittsburgh-San Jose last year.

But those numbers pale in comparison to the regular audience in China: 22 million.

Stanley Cup fever translates well in China | The Star

Team North America was the best and most exciting thing in international hockey in decades.

Nope.