from Damien Cox of the Toronto Star,

It’s time for people to at least open their minds to the possibility that they may end up preferring the Olympics without the NHL. One major advantage is that it may create a stronger competition because hockey countries other than Canada, the U.S., Russia, Sweden and Finland may find themselves more capable of vying for medals, because the difference in talent won’t be as significant as it is when NHL players make those five countries nearly unbeatable to the rest of the world.

Best-on-best hockey is a concept that often produces terrific results, but it’s not guaranteed. Sochi, for example, was a colossal bore. Equally intriguing can be the way in which various federations build teams for important competitions without access to their best players.

Canadians, it seems, fuss over not having NHLers more than other country, primarily because people of a certain vintage in particular are familiar with the frustration of being beaten by other, sometimes lesser, hockey countries at events when Canada doesn’t have its best players. Remember, that’s why we pulled out of Olympic hockey entirely at one point.

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