Results 1 to 10 of 13
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08-30-2021, 11:25 AM #1
NHL, players agree to return to Olympics in 2022, 2026
https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-players...26/c-317375420
Well, they're going back. I'm disappointed and would have been happy if the NHL never went back to the Olympics - but the players seem to love the idea, so I guess this was inevitable.
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08-31-2021, 09:13 AM #2
i am very disappointed in Canada & the USA
i know politics and sport shouldnt be lumped in together BUT the winter olympics are in China.
after all thats going on right now with the CCP
i wouldnt legitimize their olympics, i mean they are responsible for killing almost 5 million people
covid human rights violations, Taiwan, The Uyghurs etc, etc, etc.
they certainly arent our allies
didnt we boycott the 1980 olympics because Russia invaded Afganistan
everything is political
yet MONEY is the main reason for most things people do
besides there are so many global athletic competitions every year, the olympics is just another event
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08-31-2021, 10:46 AM #3
I think there are compelling arguments as to why the world should boycott the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, yes. I will say though, that a boycott like that does really punish the athletes too. Forget the hockey the players - for a lot of other events... those Olympics are the thing they've dedicated their lives to. I could go either way.
For the hockey specifically: I don't understand why the NHL thinks it's a good idea to shut down mid season, for a best-on-best tournament. It's never made sense to me. An NHL sponsored World Cup of Hockey every 4 years would give us the best-on-best games we want, but it wouldn't impact the NHL season (do it in September).
I know people will say that past World Cups have been lame, and I agree. I think the NHL continued to drop the ball on everything with that. No gimmick teams. Just bring the best 12 hockey countries together. There will be some blow outs in the opening round, but that's okay. Drop it to 8 if you have to.
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08-31-2021, 06:13 PM #4
The Non-NHL Olympics in 2018 was fun to watch and I think it levelled out the playing field for sure. Still, it will be nice to see the NHL players suit up for their countries. Go Canada!
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08-31-2021, 08:28 PM #5
I agree, there are a lot of reasons that would justify a boycott of the 2022 Games. While it is unfortunate that the athletes suffer and lose their biggest competition, and for some, their only or last shot at an Olympic Games. On the other hand, outside of the athlete and the IOC the only people who benefit from the games are the TV rights holders. The organization of the games themselves has become nothing more than a parasitic entity that adds nothing to the local games holder and leaves governments and tax payers with huge debts. I have no problem celebrating the success of the athletes but I would be just as happy to see the games go away entirely.
For the hockey specifically: I don't understand why the NHL thinks it's a good idea to shut down mid season, for a best-on-best tournament. It's never made sense to me. An NHL sponsored World Cup of Hockey every 4 years would give us the best-on-best games we want, but it wouldn't impact the NHL season (do it in September).
If the NHL would pull their heads from the place of musical toots and get serious about tue World Cup of Hockey they solve their best on best problem just like your saying.
I know people will say that past World Cups have been lame, and I agree. I think the NHL continued to drop the ball on everything with that. No gimmick teams. Just bring the best 12 hockey countries together. There will be some blow outs in the opening round, but that's okay. Drop it to 8 if you have to.
I was not a fan of the European team or the North American Young Guns. I was happy with their performance as it showed it was a dumb idea while still allowing those teams to shine.
Going 12 National teams would mean some blow outs like you were saying, but it would also give an opportunity for the NHL to increase their footprint in Europe and possibly Asia if the year before a World Cup the NHL did a qualification tournament for positions 9-12 in Europe much like the IIHF just did for the Olympic qualifiers.
I would also suggest in the other two years you do a NHL Tournament for U23 players using the same Format used above for the World Cup, with a qualifying tournament the year before. I would even suggest resurrecting the Canada Cup name for that tournament.
Both tournaments would allow the NHL & PA to control the best on best tournaments and increase their relations with the IIHF and bounce the IOC to the curb.PC Players: Hidden Content , Hidden Content , Hidden Content , Hidden Content & Hidden Content
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09-01-2021, 09:39 AM #6
To be honest, I think the Olympics.... as they are right now.... are going to be dead soon. The billions of dollars blown by host countries, it's going to stop sooner or later. I think two or three permanent sites (one winter, one summer, one that has venues for both?) that's maintained by the world - it would make a lot more sense.
If the NHL would pull their heads from the place of musical toots and get serious about tue World Cup of Hockey they solve their best on best problem just like your saying.
I was not a fan of the European team or the North American Young Guns. I was happy with their performance as it showed it was a dumb idea while still allowing those teams to shine.
Going 12 National teams would mean some blow outs like you were saying, but it would also give an opportunity for the NHL to increase their footprint in Europe and possibly Asia if the year before a World Cup the NHL did a qualification tournament for positions 9-12 in Europe much like the IIHF just did for the Olympic qualifiers.
I would also suggest in the other two years you do a NHL Tournament for U23 players using the same Format used above for the World Cup, with a qualifying tournament the year before. I would even suggest resurrecting the Canada Cup name for that tournament.
Both tournaments would allow the NHL & PA to control the best on best tournaments and increase their relations with the IIHF and bounce the IOC to the curb.
I like the idea of a tourney every two years.... one of them being "best on best" and the other being a U-23.
The "World" and "Young Guns" teams in that last tournament were interesting, but they made the whole tournament feel cheaper. I get that part of it is that they want competitive games - and a "rest of Europe" team would fare much better than Germany or Switzerland. Same with a U23 North America team.
If I were planning it - I might increase it to 16 teams, and have two groups of 8. They don't necessarily have to play at the same time.
If the main group was 8 countries (let's say Canada, USA, Russia, Sweden, Finland, Czech, Slovakia, Germany for the sake of argument) I'd take the top 6 from the prior tourney, and put them automatically back into the main pool. The bottom two (Germany, Slovakia - for the sake of argument) would have to qualify in a mini tournament leading up to it.
Suppose the prior tournament had Switzerland, Latvia, Norway, Denmark, Kazakhstan, France, Belarus, and Great Britton playing in the "B pool". Switzerland & Latvia were the top two finishers.
I'd set up a round-robin with Germany, Slovakia, Switzerland, Latvia. Everyone plays everyone (three games each) and the top two teams move into the A pool, the bottom two go to the B pool.
The top 9 countries are going to be pretty static. Not sure there's been a time in the last 20 years when someone outside of CAN, USA, RUS, FIN, SWE, CZE, SLO, GER, SWI moved into the top 9.
You're going to have all the A pool teams from the prior tournament, and the top 2 teams from the prior tournament's B pool for sure. In any given year, I would just take the next 6 highest ranked countries by IIHF rankings.
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09-01-2021, 12:07 PM #7
I'm stoked to see McDavid and Mackinnon play together, along with Point, Marner or...whoever, especially against the USA.
Check your pulse if you don't get excited about an Olympic Gold medal final.
Go Canada!Last edited by mooneyes; 09-01-2021 at 12:10 PM.
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09-01-2021, 01:52 PM #8
That Canadian team will be exciting, no doubt - especially when playing against the USA.
My point about these tournaments has always been this: The fact that it's at the Olympics doesn't make the game any more exciting. Give me Canada's best vs USA's best, and it's going to be an exciting game weather they're playing for Olympic Gold, or a newly minted John Ziegler Memorial Trophy.
Hockey (and the NHL) needs an international best-on-best tournament. It doesn't need the Olympics.
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09-01-2021, 03:02 PM #9
Agree, 100%, not only do I agree with what you said, but the IOC doesn't care if they have the best on best, they are more than happy to have no NHL involvement if they have to give anything to the NHL to participate. So if you're the NHL, hold your own best on best tournament and market your game, and partner with the IIHF to help them market the international game.
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09-01-2021, 04:44 PM #10
Whatever you say man, it's your site.
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