Rather than NHL stars, Olympic rosters are filled with veteran journeyman and young playersGETTY IMAGES
The IOC and IIHF should "beg the NHL to return" to the Olympics following two "lackluster days" of men's hockey at the Pyeongchang Games, according to Dan Wetzel of YAHOO SPORTS. The Olympic tournament every four years had become an "electrifying, star-studded event" with NHL players. This year features teams "full of national pride chasing Olympic medals," but the competition is "unrecognizable compared to what it once was." With the NHL players out, teams have been "forced to put together rag-tag rosters that mix aged veterans, non-NHL journeymen and young prospects trying to prove themselves." It is an "odd mix that thus far has produced ho-hum hockey." Sweden defeated Norway 4-0 today in a "snoozer of a contest in front of a half-filled Gangneung Hockey Centre." If the IOC is "stuck with no NHL players for the foreseeable future, it might want to consider following the lead of Olympic men’s soccer, which turns its event into an Under-23 tournament" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/15). The AP's Paul Newberry wrote the U.S. opened the men's tournament with a 3-2 loss to Slovenia in what "could've passed for a midweek game" in the AHL. Russian LW Ilya Kovalchuk, who currently is in the KHL after spending 11 years in the NHL, said, "It's bad that the NHL guys are not here. All the best players should play here because it's a big event. It's a main event for, I think, any hockey player. But it is what it is" (AP, 2/14).
NOT THE SAME: In Pittsburgh, Chris Bradford writes there "may have been a time when the notion of amateur competition and the 'Olympic spirit' were real and romanticized things that mattered but those days are long, long gone." A whole generation of fans has been "raised on NHL participation in the Olympics" Perhaps the impact of NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman’s decision "wasn’t truly felt" until yesterday's loss to Slovenia (DKPITTSBURGHSPORTS.com, 2/15). Columbia Law School professor Tim Wu in a special to the N.Y. TIMES notes the NHL says it "cannot 'see what the benefit is' in Olympic participation, and insists that its players are contractually obliged to skip the games." Wu: "How can we prevent the narrow interests of the NHL or any other sports league from diminishing the Olympics, disappointing fans and thwarting the desires of athletes?" The NHL sees itself as a "business first and foremost, and it cannot see any profit in Olympic hockey" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/15). However, in Minnesota, Brandon Veale wrote not having an NHL presence "may create some interesting opportunities in both the short and long terms." Several great Olympic hockey moments "have happened without NHL players" and a successful run by Team USA could give players an "underdog mantle not available to a squad featuring Auston Matthews, Phil Kessel and Ryan Suter" (DULUTH NEWS TRIBUNE, 2/14).
POOR START: SI.com's Eric Single wrote the U.S.' loss was a "deflating start for a team that was already going to be hard-pressed to drum up widespread appeal back home without the help of NHL stars" (SI.com, 2/14). In Denver, Mark Kiszla writes the loss to Slovenia was "disgraceful." It might be "too early to panic, but the urgency of a short tournament has already slapped the Americans upside the head that giving away another victory would put their medal hopes in grave jeopardy" (DENVER POST, 2/15). In DC, Neil Greenberg writes under the header, "Let's Be Real, Team USA's Men's Hockey Squad Isn't Good" (WASHINGTON POST, 2/15). Buffalo-based WGR-AM's Howard Simon after Slovenia-U.S. tweeted, "The olympic hockey tournament is now dead to me(it was pretty close before this game)."
POSITIVELY CANADIAN: The Toronto Star's Damien Cox tweeted, "To me this feels every bit like a Canadian Olympic hockey team as any that had NHLers." Maple Leafs blogger Jude MacDonald: "Maybe this is how Olympic hockey should be. And if we're being honest the pro format grabs the majority of our Olympic attention. Now we get our Leafs games still and get to cheer a group who might give us a surprising memory for the nation." TSN's Pierre LeBrun: "Sure looks like a wide-open tournament!"
