from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

There are risks and rewards associated with the NHL’s inclusion in the Olympics. Injuries are an obvious risk. The NHL hasn’t yet been able to quantify the rewards that come from its league’s and its athletes’ partnership with sport’s quadrennial global celebration.

That doesn’t mean the rewards don’t exist, only that Sixth Avenue hasn’t been able to figure out how to calculate, maximize and capitalize on them. It seems the league has an irrational fear of exploring the international market.

The NHL spends all of its time reminding everyone its hockey is the best hockey, that the Stanley Cup represents the lone legitimate hockey championship, that having the Cup handed you by a teammate is a more cherished honor than having the gold medal slipped around your neck.

And there’s no argument, really, and certainly not on this side of the pond. But the NHL would be better served — that means the industry of the NHL that includes the season subscribers who do still pay the freight — by expanding its interaction and competition with the best in the Europe and by exploiting its association with the Olympics.

Stanley Cup. Olympic Gold. World Cup.

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