from Dan Wetzel of Yahoo,

The Olympics have a men's hockey problem.

It isn't very good.

That is said with all due respect to the former NHLers, career Euro leaguers and college kids who play as hard and as well as they possibly can to represent their countries.

This isn't even their fault. Part of the low quality of play stems from the fact these guys were thrown together on makeshift teams, given about three practices and told to hit the global stage.

The IOC, true to its well-established arrogance, has always taken the position that the National Hockey League needs the Olympics and thus must bend to its schedule.

In truth, the IOC needs the NHL. What should be one of the marquee events of the Games — and has been a breathtaking exhibition of skill and passion — is an afterthought, even as it enters the semifinal rounds in Beijing, when the best in the world aren't there.

The IOC should listen to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and move the men's tournament to the Summer Olympics during the league's offseason, when participation will be assured and preparation maximized. Bettman has reportedly lobbied the IOC for this since the 1990s only to be rebuffed.

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