I appreciate that the objective and purpose of the NHL, as a business, is to make money for the franchise owners and the players. The “negotiations” regarding the participation of NHL players in 2018 have focused solely on monetary issues. The outcome has been that the NHL will not permit its players to participate in the Olympic Games. Korea appears to be a market currently of little, if any, interest to the NHL. For the next Games in 2022, however, there appears to be massive interest in the huge Chinese market, and one would not have to be a prophet to predict that the NHL will do whatever it has to do in order to ensure that its players will be present in Beijing.

I “get” the economic argument. But I also believe that there are at least two larger interests in play.

The first is a responsibility for growing and promoting an exciting game, which is important for the sport, its players and spectators throughout the world. It is not sufficient for the NHL to be content with plucking the low-hanging financial fruit, but to fail to invest in the future of the game.

The second issue is the NHL’s decision to actively prohibit individual players, who want to represent their countries at the Olympic Games, from doing so. Aside from being heavy-handed and an abuse of its economic power, it is disrespectful to the rights and dreams of those players.

-Dick Pound at the Montreal Gazette where you can read more from Pound.