NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman yesterday "offered his most pessimistic view yet" on player participation in the '18 PyeongChang Games, according to Frank Seravalli of TSN.ca. Speaking at the league's GM meetings in Boca Raton, Fla., Bettman said, “There is absolutely nothing new. I think the overwhelming sentiment of the teams is that it’s very disruptive on the season and there is somewhere between fatigue and negativity on the subject.” Bettman said that the NHL is preparing for the '17-18 season as if there "will be no three-week break for the Olympics, which would mark the first time" since '98 that the NHL does not send players to the Olympics. Bettman: "We’re focused on a schedule that doesn’t include the Olympics. It doesn’t mean that if something dramatic happened at some point in time, obviously that could get too late, but there’s nothing for us to do right now because there is nothing happening" (TSN.ca, 3/8). Bettman said that there are "no meetings scheduled" with the IOC, adding that there is "no reason for him to set any final date to make a decision." NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly: “Unless something changes, we’re not going. We’ve said that consistently for three months. So there’s nothing new about that.” USA TODAY's Kevin Allen notes the '22 Winter Games will be in Beijing, and the NHL "does have interest in tapping into the China market." Daly: "It's not the same equation in 2022. Certainly there is more business opportunity in the Chinese Games. But it causes the same disruptions. It might be a different evaluation formula. So they're different" (USA TODAY, 3/9).
TIME FOR PLAYERS TO TALK? The NATIONAL POST's Michael Traikos writes maybe it is "time for the players to get involved" in the Olympic discussion. If the best players in the world "want to participate in the Olympics ... then they need to exercise their star power and force the league into making it happen." Traikos: "That’s the only voice that really matters in this discussion." When Capitals LW Alex Ovechkin said he was going to the Olympics with or without the NHL’s blessing, it "didn’t take long" for Capitals Owner Ted Leonsis to "stand behind his star." If Leonsis "won’t stand in Ovechkin’s way, what are the chances" that Penguins co-Owner Ron Burkle or Oilers Owner Daryl Katz "will stand in the way" of Sidney Crosby or Connor McDavid? The "only question is whether the players are serious enough about going that they would be willing to abandon their team mid-season if it came to it" (NATIONAL POST, 3/9).
