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NHL players have participated in the Winter Olympic Games dating back to 1998 in Nagano. Yet it makes little if any sense for the leagueto take a midseason break in order to allow its players to head to PyeongChang, South Korea in2018. While no final decision has been made by the Lords of the Rink, sending NHL players to the 2018 Games and the 2022 Winter Games would represent a bad busine s decision. The NHLs rationale behind sending players to the Olympics was based partially on an opportunity to showcase the game before a worldwide audience, with an eye towards the ratings the Olympics draw on NBC. While sending NHL players to NBCs biggest winter TV property made perfect sense initially, its in the best interest of the NHL to end theexperiment. There are several good reasons: Leading the list, playing a full NHL schedule in the weeks that immediately follow the Super Bowl and precede the NCAA mens basketball tournament represents the best three-to-four week period for the NHL to promote its product to its largest fan base those living in the United States. Twenty-three of the NHLs 30 teams are based in America. Sending NHL players to an Olympic Games in South Korea would be a lot like shutting down the Major League Baseball season for an event in Ru sia. NBC put the Sochi Canada/U.S. semifinal game, a rematch of the 2010 final,on NBCSN and . Those were strong ratings for a hockey game, but lower . And perhaps more importantly, any bump Aleksej Pokusevski Jersey in ratings post-Olympics, the literal proof of the Games generating new fans, have not really materialized. There was . The Olympic Games seems to mean far more to Canadians than it does to their southern neighbors, as . The NHL doesnt have to sell their sport to Canadians. Instead it has to focus on its bigger American audience, which means it makes more busine s sense to take full advantage of that three-to-four week period notedabove. There is a 14-hour time zone difference between PyeongChang and New York, and an 11-hour time zone difference between PyeonChang and Los Angeles. There was an 11-hour time difference between Sochi and New York, and 14-hour difference between Sochi and Los Angeles. In other words, the travel will be just as difficult for this Olympics as the last one. if you cro sed six time zones, your body will typically adjust to this time change in 3-5 days. While athletes recover much more quickly, Sochi was far enough. At the start of the 2013-14 NHL season , led by AlexOvechkin. There are fewer Ru sians playing the NHL than in past years partially because of the competition from the Ru sian-based KHL. While Ru sia didnt win a medal in Sochi, it was important for the NHL to allow their Ru sian-born players a chance to play in the Olympics in their country. South Korea will be showcasing speed skating and a few other winter sports while hockey will not be on anyones list when it comes to importance for the host country. Likewise, the NHL wont face internal pre sure from a segment of its players. Theres no threat of that pre sure for the following Olympics either the three finalists for the 2022 Winter Games are Oslo, Norway; Almaty, Kazakhstan; and Beijing, China. If a North American city was set to host the 2022 Games the situation for the NHL may have changed. Instead of the Olympics, the NHL needs to follow the example set by soccer:Hold a World Cup every four years, while using the Olympics to showcase the sports future. Starting with the 1992 Barcelona Games, mens Olympic soccer became an under-23 format with three players over the age of23 players allowed per team. The biggest hockey event (at least in Canada) is the World Junior Hockey Tournament held between Christmas and New Years annually. Move the World Juniors to PyeongChang in 2018 and hockey will be well represented. The NHL held a World Cup in 1996 and 2004 and will announce the return of the World Cup in September 2016, with most of the games being played in Toronto and po sibly a few in Montreal. So, ifCanadas best are not representing the red and white at the Olympics, Canadianswill be able to take comfort in another eventin the center of hockeys known universe. Howard Bloom is a Sporting News contributor and the long-time publisher of Sports Busine s News. He can be reached at Justin Jackson Jersey |
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