The relationship between the National Hockey League and it’s players’ union (NHLPA) has often been contentious. There have been three lockouts and one wasted season since current commissioner Gary Bettman stepped in twenty years ago. There have always been issues between the two parties. While the biggest issues have usually been over percentages, and player safety, one topic usually raises its ugly head every few years; NHL participation in the Olympic games.
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The National Hockey League has allowed players to participate in Olympic hockey since 1988. While NHL players are thrilled to be making a living on the ice, they are thrilled to represent their country in international competition. The NHL and the players union weren’t able to strike a deal for Olympic participation in the 2014 games in Sochi, Russia until seven months before the games started. (The Boston Bruins roster helped flesh out five separate Olympic teams, and was one of the few teams to have their players win gold, silver, and bronze for their respective countries.)
To avoid another last minute showdown, it appears that the parties have already begun to discuss NHL participation in the 2018 games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. International Ice Hockey Federation president Rene Fasel went on the record with the Associated Press citing potential difficulties already. Fasel told AP that talks with the NHL and the NHLPA have already begun. “Our goal is to bring the NHL to Korea,” said Fasel adding its “long process” and “will not be easy.”
Puck Prose
The league is worried about insurance issues. While it would be devastating for an Olympic roster to have an injury-filled event, that loss could only turn catastrophic as certain teams (like Canada) fill their rosters with NHL talent. The NHL is also bringing back the World Cup of Hockey, and the league doesn’t want to see too many non-league games.
The players union will likely balk at being asked to give up Olympic competition. Enter Donald Fehr, head of the NHLPA. Fehr has been one of toughest fighters for players’ rights in the last quarter century. He believes(and rightly so) that the players will want to play in as many international competitions as possible.
“They’re radically different in two different respects,” said Fehr to Sportsnet. “The first is that the World Cup is an event which is hockey only. You don’t have any competition, you don’t have anything else. And I say that even though men’s ice hockey is basically the centerpiece of the Winter Olympics these days, even outside of Canada. You start with that.
“The second thing is obviously the Olympics are an IOC event and you’re talking about traditionally at least expenses being covered and those kinds of things. You’re not talking about generating revenue. Players like it if we generate more revenue. They have limited careers, obviously they want to try and get it back. If you look at the FIFA World Cup – and forget FIFA for the moment since they’re not on the high point of everybody’s list these days – what you see is that is the preeminent event. It is not the Olympics. I don’t know what’s going to happen in hockey. I think they can both exist. The players really want to play in both.”
Hopefully, the league and the players union will come to terms quickly and amicably, and allow Boston Bruins players like Tuukka Rask, Loui Eriksson, and Patrice Bergeron to have another Olympic experience.