Were now 363 days until the opening ceremonies of the Pyeongchang Olympics and the National Hockey League and International Olympic Committee are as far apart today as they were a year ago. The writing has been on the wall since Sochi: the NHL doesnt want to go to the Olympics, much the same way it didnt want to go to Russia.
If youll allow me to put on my speculation hat, the only reason the negotiations have lasted this long is because the NHL desperately wants to go to Beijing, a market it covets. The IOC knows this as well as the rest of the world and if the NHL wants to keep its players home next year, the committee is comfortable allowing the league to do it for years to come.
Okay, Ill take my speculation hat off now. Heres the deal: the NHL doesnt want to send its players to the Olympics for one very simple reason ($ $ $ $ $ $ $). Taking weeks off the season hurts the NHL financially, or so they claim, and the owners dont feel taking the show on the road helps grow the sport.
The league could very well take some blame for the sport not growing further than the Etobicoke city limits, but Gary Bettman isnt likely to see it that way. Heres what we do know: the players want to go, the league executives dont want the players to go and the fans (generally) want the players to go. Sound familiar? It should. This is just about the same position we find ourselves in when rumblings of a work stoppage roll around, albeit with far less serious consequences.
Your personal feelings on the importance of NHL players taking part in the 2018 Olympic games aside, Bettman and the owners are nearly always the enemy of fans and the players. They will speak in grandiose terms about the growth of the game, the league and the respect of hockey on the national stage while caring about one thing only: the expanse of their wallets.
So lets call this article a preemptive strike on Bettmans particularly odious brand of rationalism. NHL players going to the Olympics wont hurt anyone but the NHL, and even then, does anyone believe three weeks off in February every four years actually hurts the on-ice product? Perhaps the better question is: Does anyone else believe the NHL actually gives a shit? The league introduced the World Cup of Hockey this season and as a result introduced the exact same problems while ostensibly pocketing the profits.
Its all about the money, baby. Dont let anyone tell you differently. If you dont mind NHL players skipping the Olympics (frankly, I dont) fair enough. But dont accept the NHLs arguments for doing so. The only thing the league cares about is its bottom line it doesnt care about the quality of its product, the disruption to the season or the respect it receives on the world stage. Frankly, it should be so lucky to be recognized on any stage at all.
Read more:
Don't become a pawn in the NHL's Olympic Games - Fear the Fin
- Rationalism | Psychology Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia [Last Updated On: December 12th, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 12th, 2016]
- rationalism facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com ... [Last Updated On: December 22nd, 2016] [Originally Added On: December 22nd, 2016]
- Rationalism in Philosophy [Last Updated On: January 3rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: January 3rd, 2017]
- Rationalism vs. Empiricism Essay - 797 Words - StudyMode [Last Updated On: January 5th, 2017] [Originally Added On: January 5th, 2017]
- Logic: Rationalism vs. Empiricism - Theology [Last Updated On: January 5th, 2017] [Originally Added On: January 5th, 2017]
- Rationalism verses Empiricism - dummies.com [Last Updated On: January 5th, 2017] [Originally Added On: January 5th, 2017]
- Taking Liberties With Workable Liberty - Big Think [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Go for introspection, Left parties told - The Hindu [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Look back in anger, unplugged | Asia Times - Asia Times [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Food by the Book: Philosophy, love, steak - Muskogee Daily Phoenix [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Hypocrisy isn't the problem. Nihilism is - Los Angeles Times [Last Updated On: February 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 8th, 2017]
- The separation of church and state - Helena Independent Record [Last Updated On: February 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 8th, 2017]
- Australia's new political divide: 'globalists' versus 'patriots' - The Sydney Morning Herald [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Laura Akin: Overwhelming majority of the Founding Fathers were Christian - Modesto Bee [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Hecker reemerges with more text-based synthesis on two new releases on Editions Mego - Tiny Mix Tapes [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Fragile Lives: A Heart Surgeon's Stories of Life and Death on the ... - The Times (subscription) [Last Updated On: February 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 11th, 2017]
- Hanson denies Liberal preference hypocrisy - SBS [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- When religion rules social life - Daily News & Analysis [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- Will science go rogue against Donald Trump? - Socialist Worker Online [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Valentine's Day and Romance - Commonweal (blog) [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Barnaby Joyce condemns WA Liberals' preference deal with One Nation - Camden Haven Courier [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Barnaby Joyce condemns WA Liberals' preference deal with One Nation - Warrnambool Standard [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- Barnaby Joyce condemns WA Liberals' preference deal with One Nation - The Northern Daily Leader [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Barnaby Joyce condemns WA Liberals' preference deal with One Nation - Western Advocate [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2017]
- Canadian architecture firm discusses design in the Midwest - Iowa State Daily [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2017]
- Why sports industry sides with transgenders - WND.com [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2017]
- Arrival - slantmagazine [Last Updated On: February 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 16th, 2017]
- Americans 'plain dumb' - Hastings Tribune [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- 'Modi combines Savarkar and neoliberalism': Pankaj Mishra on why this is the age of anger - Scroll.in [Last Updated On: February 17th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 17th, 2017]
- Biography examines political motivations of Montaigne - UChicago News [Last Updated On: February 18th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 18th, 2017]
- Barnaby Joyce condemns WA Liberals' preference deal with One Nation - Daily Advertiser [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- Will the Science Community Go Rogue Against Donald Trump? - Truth-Out [Last Updated On: February 20th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 20th, 2017]
- The Red94 Podcast: On the Boogie Cousins trade - Red94 [Last Updated On: February 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 21st, 2017]
- Refugee resettlement study bill passes North Dakota House, Democrat calls it mean-spirited - Bismarck Tribune [Last Updated On: February 21st, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 21st, 2017]
- Refugee resettlement study bill passes ND House, Democrat calls it ... - Jamestown Sun [Last Updated On: February 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 22nd, 2017]
- P. Sridhar - The Hindu - The Hindu [Last Updated On: February 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 22nd, 2017]
- The Magical Rationalism of Elon Musk and the Prophets of AI - New York Magazine [Last Updated On: February 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 22nd, 2017]
- There is an Is - Patheos (blog) [Last Updated On: February 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 22nd, 2017]
- Letter to the Editor: Banning Immigrants on the Basis of Faith Has Hudson Valley Roots - Patch.com [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- You Don't Have To Choose Between Alt-Right And Regressive Left - Huffington Post Canada [Last Updated On: February 23rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 23rd, 2017]
- Encountering Change: A Chaplain's Perspective - Patheos (blog) [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- Freemasonry Catholics' Deadly Foe - Church Militant [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- Modernism and Its Rages - City Journal [Last Updated On: February 24th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 24th, 2017]
- In Scorsese's adaptation of Endo's novel, a stark depiction of statism against religion - National Review [Last Updated On: February 25th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 25th, 2017]
- Outcry over Dalai Lama threatens free speech | The Daily Cardinal - The Daily Cardinal [Last Updated On: February 27th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 27th, 2017]
- When a guitar and Sarangi took over Qalandar's shrine - The Express Tribune [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Barnaby Joyce condemns WA Liberals' preference deal with One Nation - Whyalla News [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Review: 'Target in the Night' is punchy, graceful, ambiguous - The Daily Herald [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Meet the Group of Extreme Rationalists Bent on Cheating Death - Signature Reads [Last Updated On: February 28th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 28th, 2017]
- Barnaby Joyce condemns WA Liberals' preference deal with One Nation - Eyre Peninsula Tribune [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2017]
- Architecture's Pritzker Prize lauds Spanish trio for 'a strong sense of place' - The Globe and Mail [Last Updated On: March 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 2nd, 2017]
- The ideas election | The Indian Express - The Indian Express [Last Updated On: March 3rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 3rd, 2017]
- Serpents, owl men and demon dogs - BBC News [Last Updated On: March 3rd, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 3rd, 2017]
- Why America Can't Afford to Get Into a Trade War with China - The National Interest Online [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- Reason, Creativity and Freedom: The Communalist Model - Truth-Out [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- Pankaj Mishra's 'Age Of Anger' Is A Flawed But Fascinating Intellectual History - Swarajya [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- Thomas Isaac budget: Split between populism and Marxist rationalism - Times of India [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2017]
- Philharmonic program celebrates passion, youth - Albuquerque Journal [Last Updated On: March 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 6th, 2017]
- Interview with Deo Ssekitooleko Representative of Center for Inquiry International Uganda - Conatus News [Last Updated On: March 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 7th, 2017]
- Is Democracy Dying Before Our Eyes In America? OpEd - Eurasia Review [Last Updated On: March 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 7th, 2017]
- SBCC Presents 'A Flea in Her Ear' - Santa Barbara Independent [Last Updated On: March 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 8th, 2017]
- A French Surrealist's Eclectic Remembrances of His Cohort, Finally in English - Hyperallergic [Last Updated On: March 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 8th, 2017]
- Junk restrictive faith-based laws: Mumbai atheists - Daily News & Analysis [Last Updated On: March 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 9th, 2017]
- How to Use Imagination to Grow Your Business - Business 2 Community [Last Updated On: March 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 9th, 2017]
- Martyn Lawrence Bullard's Sumptuous Palm Springs Hideaway - Architectural Digest [Last Updated On: March 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 9th, 2017]
- Saturday (novel) - Wikipedia [Last Updated On: March 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 9th, 2017]
- Abortion Debate Poisoned By 'Pro-Choice' And 'Pro-Life' Labels - Huffington Post Canada [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- Stand on Tradition - The Weekly Standard [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- The bewildered present-day world - The New Indian Express [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2017] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2017]
- I watched Alex Jones give his viewers health advice. Here's what I ... - Vox [Last Updated On: April 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: April 8th, 2017]
- How James Ramsey of RAAD Studio, Carlos Arnaiz of CAZA, and BalletCollective turned design into dance - The Architect's Newspaper [Last Updated On: April 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: April 8th, 2017]
- Going overboard with cow protection - Kasmir Monitor [Last Updated On: April 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: April 8th, 2017]
- Anti-Intellectualism Is Just As Revolutionary As Liberalismand Much More Dangerous - Slate Magazine [Last Updated On: April 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: April 8th, 2017]
- Pakistani thought process - Daily Times [Last Updated On: June 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 6th, 2017]
- French president to the resistance: The world believes in you - Shareblue Media [Last Updated On: June 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 6th, 2017]
- Sophisticated Man Is Stupid - American Spectator [Last Updated On: June 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 6th, 2017]
- COLUMN: The statistical fallacy - The Auburn Plainsman [Last Updated On: June 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 6th, 2017]
- Modi governments greatest trick: Hate the intellectual - DailyO [Last Updated On: June 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 6th, 2017]
- A labyrinth is coming to Washington - Observer-Reporter [Last Updated On: June 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 7th, 2017]
- Letters to Editor June 7 - Curry Coastal Pilot [Last Updated On: June 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: June 8th, 2017]