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OFFICIAL MEN'S OLYMPIC HOCKEY THREAD

1-0 Canada WINS! Alfredson from Team Sweden said earlier that this was the match-up he had hoped for....be careful what you wished for!
 
ha, slowly the office wheels begin to churn again, the downtown slowed to a crawl during the game.
 
We're on EX; I now know how many people you can cram around an iphone streaming the game in assorted levels of standing, squatting and kneeling so that they can all see the damn screen.  LOTS.  More than 1 phone streaming too.  I took an elbow to the head when it finally ticked down.  Alas, they won't let me out of the EX let alone for the rest of the season due to my 'hockey' injury.    >:(
 
Crantor said:
I don't think he was seriously thinking that they should reimburse season ticket holders.  it was just something he said out of frustration.

Owners and teams lose revenue during the olympics and pay millions for their players who, if they come back injured, are useless to them.

While I want to see my country's best players compete, I understand why owners and the NHL would want to forbid their players to go over.  The players want to go, but the owners aren't so keen.  I'm willing to bet that Bettman will cave to owner pressure.

Do they really lose millions are have they lost sight of the long term benefits of having their players showcased to the rest of the world in Olympic level hockey?  I'm sure, in the long run, they are gaining both in domestic fans and international fans and players who work just that much harder to make it to the NHL.
 
Yep. Some do.  2 weeks of no revenue in their stadiums.  No revenue from advertising.  How much do you think Tavares is worth? He's still going to be making his money but will not be playing for the rest of the season and might end up costing his team even more if they don't get to or get far in the playoffs.  Playoff games are worth a lot. 

So yeah.

Edit to add: his contract is 5.5 million this year.  Factor in how many games he will now miss, not counting the medical support he will be gaining and the lost revenue (potentially) from the playoffs and re org they will need to do.  That's how much the islanders are out.
 
Crantor said:
Yep. Some do.  2 weeks of no revenue in their stadiums.  No revenue from advertising.  How much do you think Tavares is worth? He's still going to be making his money but will not be playing for the rest of the season and might end up costing his team even more if they don't get to or get far in the playoffs.  Playoff games are worth a lot. 

So yeah.

Edit to add: his contract is 5.5 million this year.  Factor in how many games he will now miss, not counting the medical support he will be gaining and the lost revenue (potentially) from the playoffs and re org they will need to do.  That's how much the islanders are out.

That comes under the heading of "hazards of the Job", don't you think?  If the fans are only showing up for 2 or 3 players on a team, I'd say said team has bigger problems.
 
Fun fact: for $22 you can sit behind the bench at an Islanders game. For $50 you can coach the team for a period.
 
2ndChoiceName said:
Fun fact: for $22 you can sit behind the bench at an Islanders game. For $50 you can coach the team for a period.

For the league minimum you can sign a contract and sit ON the bench at an Islanders game too. 
 
Stanley Cups won in the past 25 years: New York Islanders 4, Toronto Maple Leafs 0

 
Kat Stevens said:
That comes under the heading of "hazards of the Job", don't you think?  If the fans are only showing up for 2 or 3 players on a team, I'd say said team has bigger problems.

No it isn't. Olympic hockey is not in the contract.  The NHL does not have to release their players but they did. This time.  They only decided on that 8 months ago.  They will be reviewing it again.  And they will cite these types of injuries as a reason not to.  It was a risk to send them.  For some the risk doesn't pay off.  Team owners could care less about the Olympics. I'm sure the owners of American teams aren't thrilled with releasing their Canadian or Russian players. Same with Canadian owners releasing their American or European players. No return on any of that and risk losing them to injuries with no compensation.

They might have bigger problems but this just compounds those issues.


We can argue all we want but the owners will petition to keep their players out of the Olympics.  The players will petition to play as they see Olympic gold as on par or better than a Stanley cup.
 
Garth Snow should be more worried about him having to repay season ticket holders after he's built a team that's 13 points out of the playoffs where no one wants to play.

These players have insurance on their contracts, and on LTIR the team isn't on the hook for very much of a salary after the insurance kicks in. Yes its a hit to them back home, but when most players indicate they'd leave to go play in the Olympics anyways, I think we have our answer. Injuries happen. Its a sport on slippery ice with sharp blades of steel, carbon fiber sticks and where people are actively encouraged to hit each other. Could have easily have happened in practice back in the US.
 
PuckChaser said:
Garth Snow should be more worried about him having to repay season ticket holders after he's built a team that's 13 points out of the playoffs where no one wants to play.

These players have insurance on their contracts, and on LTIR the team isn't on the hook for very much of a salary after the insurance kicks in. Yes its a hit to them back home, but when most players indicate they'd leave to go play in the Olympics anyways, I think we have our answer. Injuries happen. Its a sport on slippery ice with sharp blades of steel, carbon fiber sticks and where people are actively encouraged to hit each other. Could have easily have happened in practice back in the US.

:goodpost:

Agree with all of that.
 
5-0 Finland over USA? A very public demonstration of wheels falling off.
hopefully not a sign of Europeans teaching North Americans how to play on 'Big Ice'

Cheers
 
lestock said:
5-0 Finland over USA? A very public demonstration of wheels falling off.
hopefully not a sign of Europeans teaching North Americans how to play on 'Big Ice'

Cheers

Canada would have played with the same passion if they were in the Bronze game. It has nothing to do with "teaching N/A's how to play on big ice", the US just didn't care plain and simple. After Kane missed the penalty shot and Finland scored within 11 seconds it was over. No none wants to play for 3rd, especially for a team like the US who had higher expectations.
 
Sat down to watch the Bronze medal game but the US team didn't show up.... :facepalm: ;D
 
I don't think I can agree with the premiss that The US didn't care to be bothered to play for third and therefore settled for fourth and no medal. I think they got their asses handed to them. 
 
lestock said:
I don't think I can agree with the premiss that The US didn't care to be bothered to play for third and therefore settled for fourth and no medal. I think they got their asses handed to them.

Well, it seems even the US players themselves agree that they didn't play to win.

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Olympics/2014Sochi/Hockey/2014/02/22/21488731.html

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1969919-olympic-hockey-2014-what-went-wrong-for-team-usa?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial&hpt=hp_c4
 
Canada destroyed the US team mentally and physically with their game yesterday. They weren't used to playing at such a high pace. Finland came out to play, and showed they wanted the game more. Canada could have beat the US 5-0 if Quick/US defense played like they did against the Finns.
 
Maybe if I presided over that train wreck, I might say "I didn't even want your stupid medal", or "nothing in my wardrobe goes with Bronze anyway". But I'm pretty sure my pre-game story would have been different.

Cheers 
 
Piping Hockey Stations:

I thought this video clip with CBC.ca was a good one.
 
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