Worse NHL olympics ever?

[SidDidNothingWrong]

Well some of the problems are with the qualifying tournaments. Some of these smaller hockey market countries just can't get their best players released to play in the qualifiers. I don't think the schedule or matchups were the problem though. We don't want to exclude the weaker countries, because they will never grow their program if we do that.

Not exclusion. I would put the US and Canada in the same group or something like that. So hockey powerhouses and teams that are just good (so Canada and US for example) have two tough games and one game against a weaker country and a weaker country has two games against another weaker country and one against a contender. This cakewalk to the elimination round is just so unexciting. In a good competitive tournament, the powerhouses are challenged early and often and you leave the weaker countries that are capable of upsetting with more of a rest. Canada and the US should not have to play an easier schedule than Norway. That is so bogus. They are not the teams that need the extra rest. Canada still may have come out on top but that is not what is bothering me. There should be more competition. The US playing Slovakia and Slovenia is not competition. Canada playing Norway and Austria is not competition.
Canada's schedule should have looked like:
USA
Finland
Austria
and America's:
Canada
Sweden
Latvia
You might as well have not tuned in to watch the prelims. You knew statistically Canada was going to decimate those 2 non contenders. Literally the antithesis of competition.

 

[heksagon]

Except Canada didn't trap anyone. They dominated the puck all over the ice. I don't think I've ever seen a team have more offensive zone time than Canada did in this tournament.

This is the most dominant a team has been in Olympics. I guess you can say it was a bit boring because no one other than Latvia was even close.

Ahem... Don't you remember that Canada had to go to the OT to beat Finland? Yeah, Canada was the better team, but if a game goes to the OT it's a close game no matter what.

 

[Tendresse]

It was a great display of dominance. The only reason I wouldn't find this entertaining is if I was a fan of the losing team.

 

[NyQuil]

WTF? You didn't watch the game, just admit it.

Are you kidding?

Russia vs. Czechoslovakia?

Both teams playing five man defensive hockey?

Sounds like your memory is fuzzy.

It's ok, happens to the best of us.

Compared to previous finals no, this one had pretty much zero effort in comparison.

Well, that's Tre Kroner's issue then.

Canada was hardly mailing it in.

It's ok, you can see what you want to see.

Come on Canadians, no need for that insecurity here. Nobody's bashing Team Canada which was hands down the best team in the tournament, no other team deserved to win the gold.

This is *NOT* a bash against Team Canada or Canada's gold, it's about the whole tournament.

I've never seen FIN-SWE olympic game that passive either, it's not about Canada but the whole games.

I agree that the entertainment value wasn't great.

I disagree with your characterization of lack of effort.

International ice is not the offensive juggernaut that people thinks it is, and I am glad that myth has been exposed.

 

[stavs*]

i agree with USA/Russia being the most exciting game, I think its because those teams were so evenly matched, its too bad Russia wet the bed though early on.

Canada just dominated puck possession and executed a perfect defensive game and did not allow any team to really even compete with them. It was boring, but Canada proved to be in a league of their own shutting down every team it ran into. Fans of other countries should not be upset, because looking at that team it is pretty unfair. We were the best team on paper, the favorites, and we won so it wasn't a long shot. Our 4 lines can match any teams 1st line and our defense was basically a brick wall that was impenetrable for even the best offensive team in USA.

Congrats to Sweden and Finland on their medals. They deserved them.

USA (you ended the tournament as a joke), Russia (played terribly especially in front of your own country and fans)

 

[Spawn]

Ahem... Don't you remember that Canada had to go to the OT to beat Finland? Yeah, Canada was the better team, but if a game goes to the OT it's a close game no matter what.

True enough, I was being facetious my apologies for that. Got a little touchy when people insinuate that Canada played a trap style game I guess.

Finland game was tough for sure.

 

[saffronleaf]

It was boring because teams that matter didn't play each other in the final. If it was any combination of Canada/US/Russia, it would have mattered.

Fact is, no one bothered to watch Torino because the countries that matter weren't in the final. This game was a foregone conclusion.

 

[I am Canadian]

lol at canadians hyped over this . do you realize that hockey players in US are subpart atethles ?
just imagine if hockey would be the most popular sport in us :

Peterson-Woods-Lebron James
Brady-Watt
Wilfork

Grasping at straws.

 

[Spawn]

It was boring because teams that matter didn't play each other in the final. If it was any combination of Canada/US/Russia, it would have mattered.

Fact is, no one bothered to watch Torino because the countries that matter weren't in the final. This game was a foregone conclusion.

Teams that matter to who? Canadians? Americans? You can bet this matters to people in Sweden and Finland a hell of a lot more because they are in the big games.

 

[saffronleaf]

Ahem... Don't you remember that Canada had to go to the OT to beat Finland? Yeah, Canada was the better team, but if a game goes to the OT it's a close game no matter what.

Yeah but the play on the ice wasn't even close. It was Finland hanging on by a thread by relying on trap hockey and elite goaltending.

Really no different than Latvia.

 

[Mitchy]

I have to admit the men's tournament was pretty boring. Never really got extremely excited like I got in 2010. I was hoping the final would be a close, nail-biter with a lot of heart-stopping moments but alas that did not happen. Canada was just too dominant.

 

[Halibut]

Canada learned their lesson. On big ice you have to play defensive, cant be trading chances while the other teams are playing defensive waiting for mistakes. They played the game they had to play to win and got the bounces they needed.

If you want better hockey in the Olympics get rid of the big ice.

 

[PensFanSince1989]

I enjoyed it. A lot.

 

[Bakayoko Ono]

Absolutely, Canada was way too dominant and the crowd seemed dead.

Booring. The Russia-USA game was the only GREAT game of the tournament.

 

[saffronleaf]

Teams that matter to who? Canadians? Americans? You can bet this matters to people in Sweden and Finland a hell of a lot more because they are in the big games.

To neutral observers. There is no big rivalry between Canada and the US.

And yes, it matters to Sweden, a country of 10M, whereas Russia (145M) and US (315M) simply have way more people.. Canada has a low population but they've always been the team to beat, have solid rivalries, and are still way more populous than Sweden and Finland combined.

 

[Back in Black]

Whether it's the big ice, Canada's dominance, Sweden's passive style, injuries etc. but my god, this final is like NHL pre-season game in terms of entertainment. If you didn't know this was the final game, you most certainly couldn't tell it by watching. Pretty much zero effort, activity etc.


Vancouver 2010 was dynamite from start to finish... Sotschi 2014...Meh.

It was the Lack of the Vancouver/Canada crowd that made it sound less exciting!

I thought Canada played a great game. Almost disappointed not seeing Karlsson do much!

 

[Le Golie]

WTF? You didn't watch the game, just admit it.



Compared to previous finals no, this one had pretty much zero effort in comparison.



Come on Canadians, no need for that insecurity here. Nobody's bashing Team Canada which was hands down the best team in the tournament, no other team deserved to win the gold.

This is *NOT* a bash against Team Canada or Canada's gold, it's about the whole tournament.

I've never seen FIN-SWE olympic game that passive either, it's not about Canada but the whole games.

I agree with everything you are saying. The only way to add intrigue to mens olympic hockey is to allow multiple teams from Canada. First time I agree with you on something. Great idea.

 

[Matty Sundin]

It didn't have the edge on your seat type game like in 2002 and also breaking a 50 year gold drought for Canada or the dramatic gold medal game in 2010. I kinda felt this way when we won the World Cup of Hockey in 2004.

 

[roto]

The most boring tournament and final ever. I find it ironic that some posters are blaming lesser countries of playing defensive hockey. Canada played very suffocating defense as well.

 

[skolgoar]

Ahem... Don't you remember that Canada had to go to the OT to beat Finland? Yeah, Canada was the better team, but if a game goes to the OT it's a close game no matter what.

Yeah, and it was a cakewalk for Canada over the US with that 1-0 win ...

 

[Boreal01]

Exciting for us Canadians!

 

[go_leafs_go02]

It didn't have the edge on your seat type game like in 2002 and also breaking a 50 year gold drought for Canada or the dramatic gold medal game in 2010. I kinda felt this way when we won the World Cup of Hockey in 2004.

This. Must be what it's like as a Miami Heat fan lately

 

[NyQuil]

The most boring tournament and final ever. I find it ironic that some posters are blaming lesser countries of playing defensive hockey. Canada played very suffocating defense as well.

The difference being that Canada was generating turnovers in the offensive zone as opposed to waiting around at the centre line.

 

[NyQuil]

It didn't have the edge on your seat type game like in 2002 and also breaking a 50 year gold drought for Canada or the dramatic gold medal game in 2010. I kinda felt this way when we won the World Cup of Hockey in 2004.

The exciting game in the World Cup was against the Czechs in the semi when Jagr was beasting and Vinny scored in OT.

 

[TheBigThree]

I enjoyed it, but not as much as I enjoyed the Vancouver 2010 tournament vs the usa