Menu
Leagues and Governing Bodies

Sources: NHL, Union In Discussions To Continue Five-Day Bye Weeks In '17-18 Season

Five-day bye weeks for NHL teams "are part of the discussion again" between the league and NHLPA, according to sources cited by Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com. If the NHL "ends up participating" in the '18 PyeongChang Games next season, that two-week break "would stand instead of the five-day bye week." However, should the NHL "pull the plug" on Olympic participation, the five-day bye week would "very likely return" as part of the '17-18 schedule. Players "value a break" in the second half of the season, but some coaches and GMs "feel the five-day bye week just further compresses an already crazy schedule while also further limiting practice time" (ESPN.com, 12/7).

NOT BETTMAN'S FIRST RODEO: The NATIONAL POST's Scott Stinson wrote NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has for years "been cool to the idea" of sending players to PyeongChang, but as is "often the case ... it was hard to know how much of what he said was the truth and how much was a bargaining position." Whatever the "trouble involved with NHL participation in the Olympics, it is baffling that the league is officially skeptical about the benefits that follow from having its players involved." Having the best hockey players in the world "showcased at the world’s biggest sporting event ... is a clear advertisement for the merits of the world’s best hockey league." Stinson: "That's such an obvious statement that it feels silly to even write it, but we’re doing so here because the NHL does not seem to agree" (NATIONAL POST, 12/5). The GLOBE & MAIL's Eric Duhatschek wrote Bettman's offer to the NHLPA was a "clever tactical ploy" because he "knew there wasn't a chance in 10,000 the players would say yes." Olympic participation "matters to the players, but it is a peripheral, not a core, bargaining issue." To expect them to "unilaterally exchange one for the other was unrealistic." Moreover, Bettman almost "certainly knew his offer would be rejected." What he accomplished was to "shift the narrative" (GLOBE & MAIL, 12/5).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 18, 2024

Sports Business Awards nominees unveiled; NWSL's historic opening weekend and takeaways from CFP deal

ESPN’s Jay Bilas, BTN’s Meghan McKeown, and a deep dive into AppleTV+’s The Dynasty

On this week’s Sports Media Podcast from the New York Post and Sports Business Journal, ESPN’s Jay Bilas talks all things NCAA. Big Ten Network’s Meghan McKeown shares her insight into the Caitlin Clark craze. The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn chats all things Bean Town. And SBJ’s Xavier Hunter drops in to share his findings on how the NWSL is making a social media push.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2016/12/07/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/NHL.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2016/12/07/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies/NHL.aspx

CLOSE