Russian men's ice hockey team sang the Russian national anthem after winning GoldGETTY IMAGES
Team OAR beat Germany 4-3 yesterday in an "overtime thriller" to win the men's hockey Gold Medal, and such an "entertaining final may have at least redeemed a men’s tournament that was overshadowed for some by the political overtones of the Korean women’s unified team and by the excitement" of the U.S. beating Canada for the women’s Gold Medal, according to Stephen Whyno of the AP. But there was a "void in the Pyeongchang Games without the NHL, devaluing and sucking some interest out of men’s hockey tournament." Now it is a "matter of how the mostly listless tournament and the exhilarating gold-medal game shifts the leverage" between the NHL, the NHLPA, IOC and IIHF for Beijing in '22. IIHF President Rene Fasel on Saturday said that the NHL "should start thinking" about Beijing now. Fasel: "I really hope in 2019, 2020, we can have some discussion and they can make a decision. Going to Beijing in 2022 will be another opportunity to promote the game in Asia. We will then see about the possible participation of the NHL or not." Germany coach Marco Sturm, who played 15 years in the NHL, said, "All the NHL guys should be in the Olympics. That’s just what the event is for, and hopefully in the future they will be back on Olympic ice" (AP, 2/25). In Philadelphia, Sam Donnellon notes Fasel "blamed high ticket prices and the game’s low profile in the host country for crowds of under 5,000 for all but the final few games" of the tournament. When asked toward the end of the tournament whether the lack of NHL players might have also affected those numbers, Fasel said, “Maybe’’ (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 2/26).
SEE YOU IN CHINA? NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on Friday at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference said he did not know "that we want to go to China" for the '22 Games. He reiterated participating in the Olympics "is incredibly disruptive on a season.” SPORTSNET.ca's Sonny Sachdeva noted while it was "assumed that the NHL was more open to the idea of going to the 2022 Games in China, particularly because of the league’s recent 2017 NHL China Games experiment," Bettman said that location "isn’t the true issue in his eyes." Bettman acknowledged the "perception" that the NHL is "looking for some grand negotiation" with either the NHLPA, IOC or IIHF. Bettman: "It wasn’t about that.” He noted the NHL is "in the stretch drive now" of the regular season. Bettman: "This is an exciting time, to have disappeared half way around the world for three weeks doesn’t do anything to enhance our game." Bettman added, “I’ve asked the IOC, I said ‘Why don’t you put us in the summer? ... I’m sure the players would be thrilled to go in the summer” (SPORTSNET.ca, 2/23). In L.A., Helene Elliott noted "threatening to keep players home again gives Bettman a bargaining chip in the next labor talks, though there's time for that to be resolved." The tournament in Pyeongchang "lost its luster without them" (L.A. TIMES, 2/25).
MISSED OPPORTUNITY: THE RINGER's Rodger Sherman wrote there were "logistical issues" with sending NHL players to Pyeongchang, but the NHL got "too caught up in short-term issues and lost sight of long-term ones." The sport could have "found new fans and inspired future athletes to pick up sticks for the first time." Instead, a bunch of "lesser-known players participated in games that were barely advertised and then got shut out in a shootout." The NHL "feels like it didn’t gain much from allowing its players to go to the Olympics; maybe the league should’ve considered the opportunity it just lost" (THERINGER.com, 2/23). The NATIONAL POST's Rob Longley wrote hockey took a "significant step back during this tournament, erasing some of the global gains made since NHLers joined the party" in '98. The blood is "on the hands" of Bettman and the IOC for "ruining a good thing" (NATIONAL POST, 2/24).
