Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

What Is The NHL Thinking Regarding Participation In 2018 Olympics?

12/04/2016 at 1:42pm EST

from Scott Stinson of the National Post,

Whatever the trouble involved with NHL participation in the Olympics, it is baffling that the league is officially skeptical about the benefits that follow from having its players involved. Having the best hockey players in the world showcased at the world’s biggest sporting event, in a tournament that offers the best version of the game, an embarrassment of speed and skill, is a clear advertisement for the merits of the world’s best hockey league, even if the NHL shield is not formally a part of the proceedings.

That’s such an obvious statement that it feels silly to even write it, but we’re doing so here because the NHL does not seem to agree.

The NHL’s popularity is highly regional and its national exposure rises and falls in accordance with the size of the markets that make deep playoff runs. Chicago-Boston had strong ratings for a Stanley Cup Finals in 2013; last year’s Pittsburgh-San Jose match-up did not. The same is even true in hockey-mad Canada, where playoff ratings fell off a cliff last spring when zero Canadian teams made the tournament.

International play, though, is the one time when hockey transcends that regional bias and becomes a national-level event. Bettman can roll his eyes at the prospect of Olympic hockey being broadcast at odd times in North America because of the time difference with Pyeongchang, but the interest in Olympic hockey swelled in Sochi 2014, which was hardly time-zone friendly.

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About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

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