NHL players already have 82 game season, no reason to ship them off to some shitty international tournament. ther's a reason soccer isn't in the olympics- not worth the pricetag
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Dude, research better next time. Soccer not in the olympics?? Maybe this is Winter Olympics, that's why. Shitty?? This is the top tournament of all the history!Comment -
if you win the cup you could be looking at over 120 games in 1 season, its ridiculousComment -
Go troll somewhere else...Comment -
r u guys really going to wake up at 4:30 and watch?Comment -
Mens soccer is played at Olympics (not Winter tho), and it's not that popular since the squads are age restricted (The same restrictions used for recent Olympiads are applied, in which each squad is to consist of eighteen players, of which no more than three may be over the age of 23 before the beginning of the next year. In the case of the 2012 Summer Olympics, this restricts players born before 1 January 1989.)
Pretty same thing may happen to Basketball at Olympic games which will make it less attractive. And there are more cups played in Soccer. World cup @2014, Euro Cup 2016 +Olympic games at same year. Every country is going with the best squad for the World and Euro cups.Comment -
It's great.
Hopefully some blowouts and not the boring nhl.
Wish they had Spain and Mexico and Japan and some African countries in these.
Hahaha haha hahaComment -
yes because there are hockey rinks in spain mexico and africa?Comment -
theres a rink in dubai i dont see the arab national teamComment -
I know, I miss the NHL too...
I understand some of your issues lunch, and really a lot of NHL head coaches would feel the same way,but I think you may lack the proper perspective here. It's about representing your country and upholding the integrity of the sport. Maybe a bit of a romantic statement but those players take it serious.
There are some real issues with this though. Injuries can happen. There is a real profit to be had for entertainment after the Super Bowl and before baseball and the Olympic break took that over. Certain teams' momentum can also be effected by the mid-season break. The Blues' head coach, however, believes the break is not nearly as strenuous as some would lead you to believe. Sure they travel there but don't have to travel at all for weeks while in Sochi. NHL players will get rest while in sochi (sort of).
But the stress from playing more games can't be that impactful. First of all, the games they play in sochi are a small percentage compared to the body of work they do in the NHL. Secondly, as Vegas mentioned, they're competitors. There's not a single player in the Olympics that doesn't want to be there for their team. As much as I look, the only people that have an issue with this is NHL fans missing their sport and head coaches or GM's protecting their organization. That's Understandable. Ottawa's owner claimed they would've made it to the Stanley cup and won it if their goalie wasn't injured in the Olympics. How would he know that though? Chicago and San Jose (Western Conference Final) had 6 and 8 Olympians respectively in 2010, larger amount than the average.
Laugh if Canada loses? Why? That would show there is competition in the tournament and would be even more of a reason to keep the sport. Also, if Canada loses, those "shitbag" players won't seem so "shittbaggy".... if you follow me.
What is so shitty about it? You would need to look no further than the last Olympics to find a tournament bereft of "shittiness". "Sidney Crosby wins gold for Canada in OT" doesn't sound like a lame statement to me.
Look, not every situation is perfect in sports. NHL makes sacrifices in a less than ideal situation, sure, but it's for something that matters to the sport. Most important for the NHL is to grow interest in the game globally and create a farm of hockey players within each country that can adopt the sport. There are other avenues where this can happen but the Olympics is guaranteed exposure. If you stick in the best players in the world, you'll legitimize the tournament.
Hope you enjoy the tournament lunch... I know I will.
NY times Link where I lifted some of my points - http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/sp...-olympics.htmlComment -
The times suck!!!! Big Time!
It s an unbelievable show....the only time the players REALLY play!Comment -
Canada got smoked in 2006 so it can happen...Comment
