(Official) NHL, NHLPA reach agreement to NOT participate in 2022 Beijing Olympics

[Roger Neilsons Towel]

[Mustard Tiger]

Good. I'd rather watch a full nhl season

Although i would love nothing more than to see canada beat china 50-0 on their own soil, We all know they would just ddos the power to the area and act like it never happened 

[Mustard Tiger]

I'd like to see a best of 5 NA allstars vs world allstars 

[Ghostsof1915]

I'd rather just dump the All Star game instead. 

[Dedalus]

Sorry but I am happy they're not participating in the Beijing Olympics. I'm all for boycotting the Chinese government and it being hosted in that country.

[stanleysteamersmyl]

On 12/15/2021 at 3:24 AM, Chip Kelly said:

The China Olympics deserve to be boycotted. Insane to think the world should play nice for these bat eating bastards who created and spread the original China virus everywhere!! Not to mention the political atrocities the country continues to stay embroiled in.

You are in the same racist club as North Van Bryan Adams. 

His tweet at the beginning of the Pandemic before being deleted,  was being called racist by many users of the social media platform who viewed the 60-year-old singer as singling out the Chinese for being responsible for his personal inconveniences.

 

Once-household-name Canadian singer Bryan Adams issued a controversial tweet at 8:45 a.m. this morning that remained live for nearly twelve hours before being deleted this evening.

In it, Adams used expletives to deride "bat eating, wet animal market selling, virus making greedy bastards" who he apparently sees as responsible for him having to postpone some shows at the Royal Albert Hall in London which were supposed to start today.

Over four thousand Chinese in Wuhan died of the COVID, probably a lot more.

Bryan Adams' karma was getting COVID twice and losing out on a bunch of shows including the coming New Year Eve show.

 

 

[The King of Kings]

13 hours ago, -AJ- said:

Honestly, I'd be okay with just ditching the Olympics and having a bi-annual World Cup of Hockey or something. Make it in the traditional sense of each team having it's own country (no weird young stars thing), and it's okay if Latvia sucks, etc. They could also arrange it to be in August or some far more convenient time and shoot for best on best. Maybe even see if we could get European leagues in on it--make it not just an NHL thing, but an entire hockey thing.

 

Sounds like historically, the World Cup of Hockey and the Canada Cup was run by the NHL, but I'd like other teams to have other players play from other leagues. For instance, Latvia probably can't ice an entire team if they can only choose from NHL/AHL/ECHL rosters.

that's why the world cup cannot replace the Olympic games.

 

It's very strange that the World Cup follows rules of one specific league instead of the international ones.

 

They are having referees from two countries only which is unfair to other participating countries.

 

The involvements of players from other leagues are minimal.

 

And the main tournament itself never left the same continent!

 

How can hockey fans outside of of the North America be excited for a tournament like that?

 

And yes, the concept of 'team europe' is just not right!

Edited December 23, 2021 by The King of Kings

[DrJockitch]

2 hours ago, The King of Kings said:

that's why the world cup cannot replace the Olympic games.

 

It's very strange that the World Cup follows rules of one specific league instead of the international ones.

 

They are having referees from two countries only which is unfair to other participating countries.

 

The involvements of players from other leagues are minimal.

 

And the main tournament itself never left the same continent!

 

How can hockey fans outside of of the North America be excited for a tournament like that?

 

And yes, the concept of 'team europe' is just not right!

The concept of best on best is mostly going to be NHL players as they are the best league by not a small margin.

NHL is running it and running it with NHL rules and NHL refs who are also the best in the world by no small margin.  Not sure why this would be controversial.  Part of the CDC delerium, or for that matter any hockey market, is that the refs are biased against them, so I guess we just extend this out to assume bias against other countries.

If countries want to send players from other leagues, they are welcome but in terms of the last world cup it would bump into a lot of other leagues camps and early seasons.

Ultimately though a group of SHL or KHL players are not likely to make a big difference against the big 5-6 nations that always dominate best on best competitions.

Personally I think it is better on NHL ice, prefer the small ice game to the big ice game.  As much toughness has been taken out of the game and what is left fades to almost nothing on the big ice.

[-DLC-]

Quote

...Doug Armstrong, general manager of the St. Louis Blues, was to hold that position for Team Canada in Beijing with Jon Cooper of Tampa Bay the head coach. Those roles now transfer to Shane Doan and Claude Julien, respectively. After the Channel One Cup in Russia, using mostly Canadian KHLers, Doan and Julien hoped to keep auditioning players during next week’s Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland, before COVID-19 risks caused Canada to pull out of that event, too.

Former NHLers Eric Fehr, Ryan Spooner, Jordan Weal and 2018 Olympic team member Eric O’Dell were among those at the Channel One Cup. Devan Dubnyk and Justin Pogge have been mentioned as potential goalies for Canada in Beijing. Another intriguing name is forward Josh Ho-Sang, the former first-round pick of the Islanders, trying to rebuild his game while on an AHL contract with the Toronto Marlies, the Leafs’ farm team.

Where insurance and broadcast issues kept the NHL away from the Olympics in 2018, a secondary Team Canada would face the same concerns that gave this year’s stars second thoughts; spending a couple of weeks in a bubble, rigid testing and were there an outbreak, an uncertain quarantine period in a foreign country.

 

In joint announcements Wednesday morning, the Players Association and the league explained their exit.

“Since the CBA extension was reached 17 months ago, NHL players have looked forward with great anticipation to once again participating in the Olympics,” said union executive director Donald Fehr. “Until very recently, we seemed to be on a clear path to go. COVID-19 has unfortunately intervened.”

Commissioner Gary Bettman had wanted to give players as much time as possible before a final decision, even as COVID-19 numbers climbed with the Omicron variant. But once completion of a full season came in doubt, Bettman and Fehr pulled the plug, in advance of the Jan. 10 deadline to wthdraw without financial penalties.

 

“The NHL respects and admires the desire of players to represent their countries in a ‘best on best’ tournament,” Bettman said. “Unfortunately, given the profound disruption to the schedule — 50 games already have been postponed through Dec. 23 — participation is no longer feasible. We look forward to 2026 (the next Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy).”

There are calls for the league and players to create another World Cup before then in North America, the last one in 2016, but that won’t even be considered until well after the ’22 Games are done.

NHL HARD A WORK ON UPDATING SCHEDULE

It’s already tricky to fit 50 postponed NHL games into a two-week slot in February, thus any more cancellations after Christmas could see the existing schedule matrix strained as well.

 

The league hoped hitting the brakes two days early on the holidays, with no games and practices from Tuesday through Christmas, would help ease the COVID-19 resurgence around its 32 teams. More than 100 players, six head coaches and various staffers were in COVID-19 protocol as of Tuesday.

“Our focus and goal have been and must remain to responsibly and safely complete the entirety of the regular season and Stanley Cup playoffs in a timely manner,” commissioner Gary Bettman said Wednesday. “Therefore, with stringent health protocols once again in place, we will begin utilizing available dates during the Feb. 6-22 window (opened when the NHL pulled out of the Olympics).”

There’s also a question of how many fans, or any, will be allowed in the Canadian rinks if some teams do re-start scheduled games on Dec. 27.

Among those sweating it out are the Montreal Canadiens. With six Bell Centre dates between Jan. 4-15, including guaranteed sellouts against Toronto and Boston, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports the league is looking at re-scheduling some of those to later in the season, though it’s just a proposal at this stage. The Leafs have lost four games so far, but just one at home.

lhornby@postmedia.com

https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/team-canada-activates-plan-b-for-beijing-olympics/wcm/0cd8bfb1-89d2-4404-a399-988b9854fa16?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1640267559

[Gawdzukes]

22 hours ago, iinatcc said:

So I noticed the All Star is back on. I understand not going to the Olympics but isn't it equally counter productive to have an All Star and All Star break, I would rather they cancel the All Star to make up the games that were postponed.

 

It's not like people care about the All-Star anyways

I agree 100% I absolutely detest the All-Star competition with every fibre of my being. I like watching competitive hockey, not some goofballs twirling around the ice trying too hard to be funny. FFS I'd rather watch the Miller family eating breakfast one day ... guaranteed more intensity. How utterly lame and unnecessary. What a (boring) farce.

[Comeback_Kings]

A Province vs Province vs States that could put teams together based on birth places of pro players would be a cool idea.  

[Ghostsof1915]

2 minutes ago, Gawdzukes said:

I agree 100% I absolutely detest the All-Star competition with every fibre of my being. I like watching competitive hockey, not some goofballs twirling around the ice trying too hard to be funny. FFS I'd rather watch the Miller family eating breakfast one day ... guaranteed more intensity. How utterly lame and unnecessary. What a (boring) farce.

The All-Star game made sense when you had only 50- 60 of the 82 games on local tv. And only Hockey Night In Canada for National games. 

With pretty much all the games being televised. If you want to watch Tampa all season long you can. 

The lack of any physicality (Which is understandable) makes it like a pick up game. The two leagues where the All-Star game makes zero sense is Football (ProBowl) and Hockey.

Because you can't create the intensity of a regular hockey game. It also takes the best goalies and usually ventilates them and they allow 4-5 goals each per period. If you're good you might allow 2 or 3. It's an idea that sadly has become outdated.

[Gawdzukes]

22 hours ago, Comeback_Kings said:

Best on best I guess, but is it the best hockey or just a warm up tournie.  What's a team Europe?  What's a team "young stars"?  There's something about playing for country at the Olympics.  The history is more meaningful.  The medals have a real allure that brings out the best in the players.  In 2010 it seemed the most important medal to win at the Olympics.       

 

How is it that 23 people can play 7 (420 min) grueling games of blood, sweat, and tears hockey and they win 1 Gold medal for country and some skier, or single athlete can rack up 7 medals in 10 minutes of competition. Totally unrepresentative and meaningless in the big picture unfortunately but yeah it's an emotionally big medal. 

[4petesake]

15 minutes ago, Gawdzukes said:

I agree 100% I absolutely detest the All-Star competition with every fibre of my being. I like watching competitive hockey, not some goofballs twirling around the ice trying too hard to be funny. FFS I'd rather watch the Miller family eating breakfast one day ... guaranteed more intensity. How utterly lame and unnecessary. What a (boring) farce.

I have disliked the All-Star weekend for years but it finally hit its low point with the introduction of props into the skills competition. Sorry not sorry but watching Ovie do a shootout wearing a cape was the final straw and the jumped the shark moment for the game.

[Gawdzukes]

23 hours ago, Comeback_Kings said:

Best on best I guess, but is it the best hockey or just a warm up tournie.  What's a team Europe?  What's a team "young stars"?  There's something about playing for country at the Olympics.  The history is more meaningful.  The medals have a real allure that brings out the best in the players. In 2010 it seemed the most important medal to win at the Olympics.      

 

Edit: double post

Edited December 23, 2021 by Gawdzukes

[Ghostsof1915]

1 minute ago, Gawdzukes said:

How is it that 23 people can play 7 (420 min) grueling games of blood, sweat, and tears hockey and they win 1 Gold medal for country and some skier, or single athlete can rack up 7 medals in 10 minutes of competition. Totally unrepresentative and meaningless in the big picture unfortunately but yeah it's an emotionally big medal. 

Because in that 10 minutes of competition you are beating other athletes who have worked just as hard as you have. And trained just as hard for that moment. 

There's been lots of skiers that win world championships over a season of skiing. Who for whatever reason they can't win at the Olympics. 

There is no way I can compete with world class athletes, especially at a given discipline. Majority of the sports has regular tours or seasons. 

I doubt any Joe Schmoe can jump into a pool and beat Michael Phelps. Or any random guy can beat Usian Bolt in a sprint. 

[Comeback_Kings]

6 minutes ago, Gawdzukes said:

How is it that 23 people can play 7 (420 min) grueling games of blood, sweat, and tears hockey and they win 1 Gold medal for country and some skier, or single athlete can rack up 7 medals in 10 minutes of competition. Totally unrepresentative and meaningless in the big picture unfortunately but yeah it's an emotionally big medal. 

Yeah, the people's psyche (emotion) is a thing and has value.  The golden goal lifted the spirits of our region significantly and unified the nation in celebration in 2010.  No doubt, the golden goal is one for the history books.  

[Goal:thecup]

The IOC is a crooked organization and should not be supported at all.

China is a disaster of a country v/v human rights.

 

One of the main problems with the Olympics is the 4 year cycle.

If athletes don't get in at about their peak, they may never get another chance; it is extremely unfair.

There is just way too much effort, blood, sweat, and tears for this rare opportunity to compete.

 

The rich countries dominate, even taking athletes from other countries, so even the (dreaded) nationalism is fake.

Nationalism may be the single greatest cause of war, and the Olympics pumps up nationalism big time.

 

My heart goes out to the athletes, not the IOC, and not Canada, the US, or any of the other countries.

They put so much into their performances and may not ever get to compete.

 

They need to be given the opportunity at least annually, so they can test themselves at their best.

I also think that these tournaments should not be country vs country, but athlete vs athlete.

 

If there are several meets throughout the year, the best performers can be entered into a big final tournament.

Then we'll see who is the best (and not the richest ala the USA with its indiscernible peds).

 

Also, this crap of poor pro athletes that wanted to play for their country is beyond entitlement.

So Sid doesn't get to play with McJesus, who gives a Marchand?

 

[Gawdzukes]

30 minutes ago, Ghostsof1915 said:

The All-Star game made sense when you had only 50- 60 of the 82 games on local tv. And only Hockey Night In Canada for National games. 

With pretty much all the games being televised. If you want to watch Tampa all season long you can. 

The lack of any physicality (Which is understandable) makes it like a pick up game. The two leagues where the All-Star game makes zero sense is Football (ProBowl) and Hockey.

Because you can't create the intensity of a regular hockey game. It also takes the best goalies and usually ventilates them and they allow 4-5 goals each per period. If you're good you might allow 2 or 3. It's an idea that sadly has become outdated.

Yes nicely said. It used to be exciting because we as fans weren't really missing much with limited viewership, as you mentioned. It also ticked me off how the Sedin's and others would always feel obligated to go while injured/exhausted and other players rested and healed up. They actually used to play harder to. Not 100% but it was real hockey with body checks and a desire to win the game. Now it's just let everyone skate by you and try fancy passing plays. It's like watching the beginning of a practice. How boring.

[Ghostsof1915]

25 minutes ago, Goal:thecup said:

The IOC is a crooked organization and should not be supported at all.

China is a disaster of a country v/v human rights.

 

One of the main problems with the Olympics is the 4 year cycle.

If athletes don't get in at about their peak, they may never get another chance; it is extremely unfair.

There is just way too much effort, blood, sweat, and tears for this rare opportunity to compete.

 

The rich countries dominate, even taking athletes from other countries, so even the (dreaded) nationalism is fake.

Nationalism may be the single greatest cause of war, and the Olympics pumps up nationalism big time.

 

My heart goes out to the athletes, not the IOC, and not Canada, the US, or any of the other countries.

They put so much into their performances and may not ever get to compete.

 

They need to be given the opportunity at least annually, so they can test themselves at their best.

I also think that these tournaments should not be country vs country, but athlete vs athlete.

 

If there are several meets throughout the year, the best performers can be entered into a big final tournament.

Then we'll see who is the best (and not the richest ala the USA with its indiscernible peds).

 

Also, this crap of poor pro athletes that wanted to play for their country is beyond entitlement.

So Sid doesn't get to play with McJesus, who gives a Marchand?

 

Most sports, Running, Skiing, etc. have their own tours, and usually championships. It's just odd because despite all these extra channels. You don't see

much variety of sports on TV. But you get all the Poker you want late at night. CBC used to cover all the alpine events every season, I'm not sure if they even cover that anymore. I have to say that's where I miss Wide World of Sports. It would expose you to Formula 1 racing, to gymnastics, to figure skating, ski jumping. Sports that normally would never get any kind of coverage. Some you could tell was done for the benefit of the producers (Cliff Diving in Acapulco). But it usually always showed you something different. Even boxing got regular coverage, as well as bowling and billiards. 

Edited December 23, 2021 by Ghostsof1915