World Cup Boycott

[v-man]

The iihf and the olympics don't share the revenues so why should the nhl?

The IIHF sure does share its revenues. Its entire purpose is to grow the sport and support tournaments across the globe. Profits from its major tournaments go directly to fund development programs and national federations, as well as cover the dozens of annual lower level international tournaments which cost them considerable losses - all in the name of furthering and fostering the game.

We all know how horribly corrupt the IOC is, so there's no point including them in any discussion. The only benefit of them is the exposure.

 

[1Gold Standard]

My only interest in this tournament is to ridicule it at every turn right up until puck drop in September, at which point it will be completely ignored for baseball and hopefully another Blue Jays pennant run. Go Jays.

If Gary wants to commit to the next 2 Olympics and a revived World Cup without the gimmicks and with real National Teams, then he'll have my attention, until then Gary and the rest of the NHL with their marketing gimmicky concepts can just bugger off.

 

[Don Corleone]

I will just say what I said elsewhere but damn are people acting weird. You get this tremendous hockey tournament and you dont want to watch it, instead you rather watch the The Worlds?

I could not possibly disagree more. I mean the World Cup will be one of the most competitive tournament in the history of the sport and can be topped by only a another World Cup in the distant future. The Worlds or even Olympics are not comparable. In the Olympics you have a bunch of flat out terrible teams and because of that you get to see wonderful games like Sweden winning 10-1 against Belarus or some crap like that. I also think that the fact that players will be fresh and not fatigued and bruised from the regular season grind will only make the hockey better.

Also there is no definition what a World Cup should be like. The rules of a tournament can be changed every time, there is no right way. Only thing that should matter is that the on ice product is as good as it can get and the decisions behind this tournament certainly allow this to happen.

I guess some countries like Slovakia could be pissed as they dont have their national team participating but it is a tournament where only the best participate and Slovakia has no chance of winning. Hockey only has a few good countries and therefore in order to create a competitive tournament you have to cut the fat.

I am very excited about the tournament and it certainly has the potential to end up being one of the best tournament ever. If that does not please a hockey fan then I dont know what to say. Do you not want to watch good hockey??!?!?!?!?

 

[VictorLustig]

I don't think anyone finding this thread and posting in it won't watch the tournament. By the time the games start all of you will give it a chance. Just my 5 cents.

 

[tade]

I don't think anyone finding this thread and posting in it won't watch the tournament. By the time the games start all of you will watch.

I will watch some games, why not? It should be great hockey, but I am definitely not fan of it. Exciting factor will be close to 0 for me, importance of winning will be also quite low for me.

Just an exhibition... with great hockey, I hope.

 

[SotasicA]

I will just say what I said elsewhere but damn are people acting weird. You get this tremendous hockey tournament and you dont want to watch it, instead you rather watch the The Worlds?

I could not possibly disagree more. I mean the World Cup will be one of the most competitive tournament in the history of the sport and can be topped by only a another World Cup in the distant future. The Worlds or even Olympics are not comparable. In the Olympics you have a bunch of flat out terrible teams and because of that you get to see wonderful games like Sweden winning 10-1 against Belarus or some crap like that. I also think that the fact that players will be fresh and not fatigued and bruised from the regular season grind will only make the hockey better.

Also there is no definition what a World Cup should be like. The rules of a tournament can be changed every time, there is no right way. Only thing that should matter is that the on ice product is as good as it can get and the decisions behind this tournament certainly allow this to happen.

I guess some countries like Slovakia could be pissed as they dont have their national team participating but it is a tournament where only the best participate and Slovakia has no chance of winning. Hockey only has a few good countries and therefore in order to create a competitive tournament you have to cut the fat.

I am very excited about the tournament and it certainly has the potential to end up being one of the best tournament ever. If that does not please a hockey fan then I dont know what to say. Do you not want to watch good hockey??!?!?!?!?

I agree. There are no weak teams in this tournament. It's like an international tournament on steroids. The quality of hockey will be better than ever before.

Team Rest of Europe is clearly superior to any of the individual nations it is comprised of, and could just as well win the whole tournament.

Any fan not watching will be missing out.

However, you couldn't have chosen a worse pair of teams as your "terrible mismatch" example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4BZw1349EA

 

[Theokritos]

I've never boycotted any tournament before, but since the NHL has decided to spit international hockey in the face, I'm definitely not going to watch any of it.

 

[FiLe]

IMHO it's hard to blame European fans for feeling that way given how the NHL (and PA) have managed the WCup up to this point. I could be wrong, but I think most European fans would get over who actually runs the tournament if the NHL could prove they are capable of running a WCup that actually resembles a WCup.

This. It doesn't have to be the IIHF* by any means, but any body that simply does it right and organizes it according to the proper international structure (that don't apply to hockey, but ALL teamsport) and people will tune in.

*One thing I feel compelled to say is that the IOC is a non-factor here since they don't actually organize any of the events in the Olympics - they simply provide the framework and let whatever is given venue's global governing body run the actual venue. The Olympic hockey tournament is a 100% IIHF effort. This is something many people here seem to be rather confused about.

 

[FiLe]

Also there is no definition what a World Cup should be like. The rules of a tournament can be changed every time, there is no right way. Only thing that should matter is that the on ice product is as good as it can get and the decisions behind this tournament certainly allow this to happen.

This is something I actually agree on. But the issue is, the NHL is putting up one thing here while marketing it as other. They tout this as a bona fide international tournament while it, in reality, is high-level exhibition that's going to feature some national teams. They're trying to pull wool over people's eyes in that regard.


Therefore...

I agree. There are no weak teams in this tournament. It's like an international tournament on steroids. The quality of hockey will be better than ever before.

...it's actually the Spengler Cup on steroids.

Now, of course, no one's complaining about the Spengler Cup. And the main reason is that they don't pretend to be something they are not.

 

[Don Corleone]

However, you couldn't have chosen a worse pair of teams as your "terrible mismatch" example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4BZw1349EA

Well that is not the point really. You know what I mean, there are a few good teams and all else are cannon fodder

 

[Don Corleone]

The argument that this is just a exhibition sounds kinda weak to me. Maybe some think differently but if I was a member of these teams I would be damn proud for winning this tournament. It would most certainly be a bigger honor and achievement than winning the World Championships no doubt, even the Olympics. To me what makes a tournament the best is the level of competition not something else and this is where the World Cup is better than any other tournament in the history of the sport.


Also as a fan of a participating country I would relish a Finland victory, which I do not believe will happen, far more that any of the Olympic bronzes, silvers or Worlds medals. I was freaking gasping for air in the elimination games at the last World Cup in 2004. Even if we pretend that Finland would not participate in the tournament if the WC would consist of say only 4 national teams and team Europe and North America, as a fan of hockey in general I would be pretty damn pleased of the level of hockey I was witnessing.

Why do people think that this is not an international tournament, because it is organized by the NHL? Why should anyone really give a damn who organised it, I know I dont. Did you also think that the Canada Cup and all previous World Cups were a second class tournaments?

I think that once the games start people will realize how damn cool the whole thing is and watch the games, I know I will

 

[Gaps]

I don't think anyone finding this thread and posting in it won't watch the tournament. By the time the games start all of you will give it a chance. Just my 5 cents.

It's not hard not to watch when the games air in the middle of the night anyway. I won't be wasting precious sleep on this garbage, that's for sure. If it were a real World Cup, then I'd certainly consider it.

Seems unlikely. I agree that the World Cup does have potential to surpass the Olympic tournament, it will never happen with gimmick teams involved. Additionally, rightly or wrongly I doubt that European fans in large numbers will regard the tournament highly unless it is put on by the IIHF. From posts on here it seems that they really do care about what organizing body is behind a tournament.

No, we don't care about who organizes it, we care about how it's done. When it's nothing but a money grab dishonoring international hockey, it's not something we're interested in.

 

[canuck2010]

Money grab by the NHL. Power play by the NHL.

Just not interested in their vision of international hockey.

 

[FiLe]

The argument that this is just a exhibition sounds kinda weak to me. Maybe some think differently but if I was a member of these teams I would be damn proud for winning this tournament. It would most certainly be a bigger honor and achievement than winning the World Championships no doubt, even the Olympics. To me what makes a tournament the best is the level of competition not something else and this is where the World Cup is better than any other tournament in the history of the sport.

So, you'd be perfectly content that if the U24 or Euro Leftovers won this, they'd be struck on the record as winners of a major international tournament?

A record, that has thus far been reserved for national teams only.

 

[Don Corleone]

So, you'd be perfectly content that if the U24 or Euro Leftovers won this, they'd be struck on the record as winners of a major international tournament?

A record, that has thus far been reserved for national teams only.

Why not? I know their players and staff would be damn happy about it. I dont give a damn what the records say, I am perfectly fine with it. The only thing I care about is the quality of the tournament that is all that really matters. If the Euro leftovers win then good for them.

Just because something has not happened before does not mean that it is wrong.

 

[SotasicA]

I think it gives an interesting dynamic. Fans can have a "backup favourite" team. Like what happens if USA loses and gets eliminated? You could still latch onto Team North America and hope they kick the **** out of Russia and/or Canada.

Likewise for Team Europe. I bet a lot of neutral people will actually end up rooting for Team Europe whenever they play another team. They could be the trolls of the tournament. They'd be the heroes of the hockey world if they beat and eliminated Sweden or Russia, for instance.

 

[FiLe]

Why not? I know their players and staff would be damn happy about it. I dont give a damn what the records say, I am perfectly fine with it. The only thing I care about is the quality of the tournament that is all that really matters. If the Euro leftovers win then good for them.

Just because something has not happened before does not mean that it is wrong.

How utilitarian. But if you really think like that, it's not something I can argue.

I'm quite convinced however, that most of these people who don't mind this World Cup are of the kind who believe that in the end, the medal table will be filled by "actual" NTs, and use that as a hand wave for not letting the inclusion of the joke teams bother them.

In other words, I can take an argument like this from someone who genuinely says they don't mind it happening, but not from those hypocrites.

Me, I'm too old-fashioned regardless to just accept the fact. Fixing international tournaments with non-national teams to make them more "competitive" is a folly, because those things don't need fixing in the first place.

 

[Urbanskog]

I will just say what I said elsewhere but damn are people acting weird. You get this tremendous hockey tournament and you dont want to watch it, instead you rather watch the The Worlds?

I could not possibly disagree more. I mean the World Cup will be one of the most competitive tournament in the history of the sport and can be topped by only a another World Cup in the distant future. The Worlds or even Olympics are not comparable. In the Olympics you have a bunch of flat out terrible teams and because of that you get to see wonderful games like Sweden winning 10-1 against Belarus or some crap like that. I also think that the fact that players will be fresh and not fatigued and bruised from the regular season grind will only make the hockey better.

Also there is no definition what a World Cup should be like. The rules of a tournament can be changed every time, there is no right way. Only thing that should matter is that the on ice product is as good as it can get and the decisions behind this tournament certainly allow this to happen.

I guess some countries like Slovakia could be pissed as they dont have their national team participating but it is a tournament where only the best participate and Slovakia has no chance of winning. Hockey only has a few good countries and therefore in order to create a competitive tournament you have to cut the fat.

I am very excited about the tournament and it certainly has the potential to end up being one of the best tournament ever. If that does not please a hockey fan then I dont know what to say. Do you not want to watch good hockey??!?!?!?!?

So only the teams with a realistic chance to win the tournament should be allowed to compete? Quite the weird stance coming from a fan of a team which has never won a single best-on-best tournament.

All sports have teams with a limited chance to win included in their respective championship tournaments, why shouldn't hockey? Including a higher number of teams helps to grow the sport and for me, upsets are some of the greatest of delights in international competition.

 

[QnebO]

Rosters are good and I would like to see the games, but I might regret following them because Im against the gimmick teams. The games are going to be midnight, and it's 100% sure I will not watch the games against the gimmick teams at least.

The atmosphere in Finland - Euro team is going to be horrible. Normally in NT games, the atmosphere in important game is even higher than your club team in game 7, final series. But now. It's going to feel like watching NHL all star game.

 

[Wanderson]

I don't watch pre-season tournaments.

 

[JackSlater]

IMHO it's hard to blame European fans for feeling that way given how the NHL (and PA) have managed the WCup up to this point. I could be wrong, but I think most European fans would get over who actually runs the tournament if the NHL could prove they are capable of running a WCup that actually resembles a WCup.

-Hold it at regular intervals
-Some type of qualifying system and probably expand the field a bit
-Entire tournament and/or later stages not always held in the same country
-Perhaps earmark some of the revenue/profit back for the national feds to use for player/infrastructure development.

It's too bad... Right now we have the WC that has the structure but not (all) the players and the WCup that has the players but not the structure, and what we are stuck with is a bunch of flawed tournaments.

Sure, but the NHL has also done a good job organizing the tournament before, and the fans fans still complained. Plus the IIHF has a very shoddy history itself with the IIHF World Championship literally never actually bringing the world's best players, in many ways due to the IIHF's own actions.

Also as a fan of a participating country I would relish a Finland victory, which I do not believe will happen, far more that any of the Olympic bronzes, silvers or Worlds medals. I was freaking gasping for air in the elimination games at the last World Cup in 2004. Even if we pretend that Finland would not participate in the tournament if the WC would consist of say only 4 national teams and team Europe and North America, as a fan of hockey in general I would be pretty damn pleased of the level of hockey I was witnessing.

The 2004 World Cup was an international tournament. This is not.

Why do people think that this is not an international tournament, because it is organized by the NHL? Why should anyone really give a damn who organised it, I know I dont. Did you also think that the Canada Cup and all previous World Cups were a second class tournaments?

This is not an international tournament because it isn't being contested between nations. North America U24s, European leftovers, American 24 and overs and Canadian 24 and overs are not countries. Pretty simply concept.

No, we don't care about who organizes it, we care about how it's done. When it's nothing but a money grab dishonoring international hockey, it's not something we're interested in.

Sure, except there are countless posts over the years from European fans claiming that they would never support the tournament unless the IIHF was involved, and complaining about past tournaments because the IIHF wasn't involved. I agree that how the tournament is organized is the only important factor, and if you think that way then good for you. From casual observation it seems that many disagree with you though.

 

[CanmoreMike]

I can't support this tournament with the threat of an NHL Olympic boycott looming if the World Cup is successful.

I am curious about how those tickets are selling. From what I've gathered they are still selling their all-game passes and that strikes me as a harbinger of doom for the tournament. Have they sold half? A quarter? Almost all?

Seems fishy this "must see" tournament isn't sold out.

Love Canada but if you don't want to see this tourney to fail cheer for a Russian Finland finale. The NHL will see what demand they have for their product.

 

[ForumNamePending]

Sure, but the NHL has also done a good job organizing the tournament before, and the fans fans still complained.

Those have still only been 6-8 country invite only tournaments held at increasingly irregular intervals... Not very 'World Cupish' IMHO.

Plus the IIHF has a very shoddy history itself with the IIHF World Championship literally never actually bringing the world's best players, in many ways due to the IIHF's own actions.

Sure, as was already acknowledged...

It's too bad... Right now we have the WC that has the structure but not (all) the players and the WCup that has the players but not the structure, and what we are stuck with is a bunch of flawed tournaments.

I will also add that IMHO the Olympics aren't exactly an ideal situation either.

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

Screw it I'm hockey starved and would watch NHL training camps on TV if I could. I watched a stupid friendly U-20 a few years ago in July or something like that. Guess I'm just a stupid fan that likes hockey too much.

 

[JackSlater]

Those have still only been 6-8 country invite only tournaments held at increasingly irregular intervals... Not very 'World Cupish' IMHO.

Sure, as was already acknowledged...

I will also add that IMHO the Olympics aren't exactly an ideal situation either.

What is your point? Even when the World Cup is constructed properly, and in a way that is superior to the IIHF's tournaments, many European fans still complained. In some cases it is justified, in others it is not. Your "acknowledgement" is not to the scope of what I meant, given how poorly the IIHF handled the amateur vs professional issues, but that isn't the point.

The Olympics are not ideal. There is no time to prepare, there is always the spectre of shootouts, and most of the time it's in a country that couldn't care less about hockey. The World Cup has many advantages, but the NHL is dropping the ball this time.