The IIHF wants to sign a deal with the NHL regarding participation in the '14 Sochi Games by May 3, the opening day of the World Championship, and there are "lots of people who see a path to that," according to the CBC's Elliotte Friedman. The NHL, NHLPA, IOC and IIHF met Friday, and "everyone I spoke to from a bunch of different sides said it was a positive meeting." Cost estimates put travel, "depending on how many planes they use," at $4-7M, while player insurance was quoted at $7-10M, "depending on whether or not there's going to be camps.” Friedman: "The biggest issue is some promises (were) made about 'here's how the hotels are going to look, this is how the transportation is going to work.' Those hotels, a lot of them are not going to be built until October, so I think that the players in the league are going to say, ‘We’re going and we'll just have to pray that this gets done properly.'" The CBC's Glenn Healy said the “biggest thing here is the IOC is going to take the number for charters and the cost for insurance and they’re going to try to trim those numbers." Noting the total will reach around $15M, Healy said, "Good luck, IOC. The numbers can’t be trimmed.” But the “big issue is none of this is on paper.” Healy: "Until both sides see the devil in the details this is going to be a difficult one to handicap." However, Healy said the NHL would play in the Olympics "no question" ("Hockey Night In Canada," CBC, 4/13).
