grandmaster Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 https://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/1920792 IIHF president Rene Fasel has set a deadline for the NHL to decide whether or not the league will participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Speaking at the closing press conference at the world juniors Sunday, Fasel said he needs a decision from commissioner Gary Bettman by the end of August, according to The Canadian Press. "We would like to have a decision as early as possible if they're coming to Beijing - 'Yes' or 'No,"' Fasel said. "In Pyeongchang, there was a late 'No.' Especially the North American teams, U.S. and Canada, had some problems to find the players and to build up a good team." The NHL informed the IIHF that it wouldn't be participating in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang 10 months prior to the event. It marked the first time since 1998 that the league didn't send its players to the Winter Games. In November, Bettman remained resistant to the idea of sending players to the Olympics, saying participation is "incredibly disruptive" to the NHL season. However, Fasel believes there's no greater stage for the game of hockey. "The first mission is to promote the game of ice hockey," Fasel said. "The Olympic Games is the unique platform we can use, especially in Asia, with the best on best. Asia is two-thirds of the population. I consider Gary a smart person. "He's smart. At the end, he will come ... I hope." There hasn't been a best-on-best international hockey tournament since the World Cup in 2016. The NHL said in December that a proposed World Cup in 2021 won't work, but the league is aiming to hold one in 2024. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post grandmaster Posted January 6, 2020 Author Popular Post Share Posted January 6, 2020 I have no faith in Bettman doing anything good for the game. All he cares about is his greedy owners and himself. 1 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuckin_futz Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 They're not going. The owners hate having their season disrupted. Plus it's in Beijing. That's a hell of a flight. If it was somewhere in North America maybe, but I still doubt it. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Fanuck Posted January 6, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted January 6, 2020 Let's be perfectly honest, it isn't Bettmans sole decision - the NHL owners/BOG representatives will meet, then they will give Bettman their decision, then Bettman will deliver the decision and either take the criticism or the blame - but don't fool yourselves for an instance and believe a group of 30+ billionaires are going to let Bettman make these kinds of decisions all by himself without their official orders. Bettman does what owners want, not the other way around. 1 5 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khay Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 I'd say just don't bother. They skipped the previous one even after IOC/IIHF agreed to pay for insurance and almost everything that the owners were asking for. What is the justification for sending them to the next one if they missed the previous one for no real good reason other than having the season disrupted? Having said that, I would love NHL players in the Olympics. But I'd rather not get my hopes up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostsof1915 Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 (edited) Doesn't work when you serve into the other court and there's no one on the other side...... Edited January 6, 2020 by Ghostsof1915 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shift-4 Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 I'm fine with no participation in China 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckylager Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 I think you mean - "BOG's balls in Bettman's m...." 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6string Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 Bettman recently pulled his failed Globalist er I mean World Cup that left out more than half of the hockey nations in the world representing their own country. Bettman denies Korea yet sends off teams to Europe to open a season to "sell the game" where it is already popular, in this case the Czech Republic.. Philadelphia went from Europe to the west coast to launch their season this year and struggled early on. I don't ever want the Canucks pitching a game in Europe ( Japan was tough ) for Bettman. I believe Bettman will go to Beijing it's too big to ignore, it's big business and it fits the political landscape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanuck Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 2 hours ago, khay said: What is the justification for sending them to the next one if they missed the previous one for no real good reason other than having the season disrupted? There's heavy speculation that the NHL is seriously considering expansion to Europe within the next 5-10 years. If true it would be absolutely ignorant of them not to participate in the Olympics imo. That's the only time the NHL is truly, in its own way, on a global stage getting marketed to future fans/ownership. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smashian Kassian Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 I imagine the league side will be split on this given they've already gone to China for pre-season games, obviously they care about that market. Comes down to what kind of deal they can get, and then of course the CBA, it'll be a chess piece for the league in the negotiations more than anything. And lets not act like their BS World Cup was a legitimate top tier tournament, it wasn't. We haven't had real best on best since 2014 & its a shame for the sport. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckylager Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 43 minutes ago, Fanuck said: There's heavy speculation that the NHL is seriously considering expansion to Europe within the next 5-10 years. If true it would be absolutely ignorant of them not to participate in the Olympics imo. That's the only time the NHL is truly, in its own way, on a global stage getting marketed to future fans/ownership. You'd need to land 5 or 6 European teams in the first expansion for it to make sense. And even then the travel, on the Euro teams especially, would be ridiculous. Trying to wrap my head around the scheduling and travel logistics, but I can't. How's that supposed to work in the regular season? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckylager Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 1 hour ago, 6string said: Bettman recently pulled his failed Globalist er I mean World Cup that left out more than half of the hockey nations in the world representing their own country. Bettman denies Korea yet sends off teams to Europe to open a season to "sell the game" where it is already popular, in this case the Czech Republic.. Philadelphia went from Europe to the west coast to launch their season this year and struggled early on. I don't ever want the Canucks pitching a game in Europe ( Japan was tough ) for Bettman. I believe Bettman will go to Beijing it's too big to ignore, it's big business and it fits the political landscape. Canucks and Kings started the season in China a few years ago. I'm not a nascar fan, but I wonder if they've done some marketing in china too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coconuts Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 I'll be extremely surprised if they go I don't anticipate seeing the NHL in the Olympics for a very long time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6string Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 1 minute ago, luckylager said: Canucks and Kings started the season in China a few years ago. I'm not a nascar fan, but I wonder if they've done some marketing in china too. I forgot about that, they did too! All pro sports are being showcased in China, it's a natural for the NHL Olympics to follow up on the Kings/Canucks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckylager Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 Just now, 6string said: I forgot about that, they did too! All pro sports are being showcased in China, it's a natural for the NHL Olympics to follow up on the Kings/Canucks. Giving the sport mass exposure in China would be a good thing. If they love the game, the merch revenue alone would be staggering. I think the NHL would like that money 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naslund.is.king Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 With,or without. Ill be watching Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanuck Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 28 minutes ago, luckylager said: You'd need to land 5 or 6 European teams in the first expansion for it to make sense. And even then the travel, on the Euro teams especially, would be ridiculous. Trying to wrap my head around the scheduling and travel logistics, but I can't. How's that supposed to work in the regular season? You're right, it's a scheduling & logistics nightmare. But Friedman had a piece on this a few weeks back on HNIC saying it's seriously being discussed at the GM/BOG meetings. One scenario put out there would be to have some or all teams in the European team's division go there for a few weeks at a time and play several games amongst themselves. Then the European team would come here for a few weeks and so on. I didn't make this up it was on HNIC so don't roast me for the idea. Perfect scenario - absolutely not. Good enough idea to convince some rich people it could make themselves even richer....perhaps? NHL seriously wants to be the first major NA sports league to break into the European market. They think they'll reap the financial rewards just like that did in Vegas.... Maybe $$$$$ signs are impairing their better judgement imo? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6string Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 18 minutes ago, luckylager said: Giving the sport mass exposure in China would be a good thing. If they love the game, the merch revenue alone would be staggering. I think the NHL would like that money It's too large a market for the NHL to pass off, if the IOC and FIFA go there so will the pro games from around the world. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckylager Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 36 minutes ago, Fanuck said: You're right, it's a scheduling & logistics nightmare. But Friedman had a piece on this a few weeks back on HNIC saying it's seriously being discussed at the GM/BOG meetings. One scenario put out there would be to have some or all teams in the European team's division go there for a few weeks at a time and play several games amongst themselves. Then the European team would come here for a few weeks and so on. I didn't make this up it was on HNIC so don't roast me for the idea. Perfect scenario - absolutely not. Good enough idea to convince some rich people it could make themselves even richer....perhaps? NHL seriously wants to be the first major NA sports league to break into the European market. They think they'll reap the financial rewards just like that did in Vegas.... Maybe $$$$$ signs are impairing their better judgement imo? Didn't mean to come across that way. It's just a topic worth discussion. I can't wrap my head around how they'd pull it off. I feel like they'd have to have an entirely new division over there for it to work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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