NHL Discussion (Other than Jets)

[Jockitch]

Ovechkin said  "owner Ted Leonsis understands"  ...... seems a far cry from the owner saying ..... go with a few others & leave our team short for 4 - 7 NHL games
The 4 - 7 was a reach as I have no idea what the schedule would say over the time period that Ovechkin would be away
........ but I'm sure you get my drift how difficult it would be for owners to just turn their backs on the NHL games for the sake of some egos/nat. pride

[New_Earth_Mud]

Alex Ovechkin, summing up his thoughts on the Olympics: "Somebody going to tell me don?t go, I don?t care, I just go.?
11:56 AM - 4 Apr 2017

[blue_gold_84]

Ovechkin said  "owner Ted Leonsis understands"  ...... seems a far cry from the owner saying ..... go with a few others & leave our team short for 4 - 7 NHL games
The 4 - 7 was a reach as I have no idea what the schedule would say over the time period that Ovechkin would be away
........ but I'm sure you get my drift how difficult it would be for owners to just turn their backs on the NHL games for the sake of some egos/nat. pride

No, he said Leonsis will allow him to go: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/winter/alex-ovechkin-says-he-will-play-at-olympics-1.4054823

Leonsis has also said he supports Ovechkin's decision as recently as December.

And participating in the Olympics is about more than ego. Meanwhile, this whole dilemma has stemmed from greed on the part of the NHL and its egotistical owners. Bottom line: 31 owners get no financial benefit from the Winter Olympics.

[Jockitch]

Read your link & Leonsis comment  ...... I got mine off the short TSN blurb.

No doubt we as fans would scream at the non pros participation in the Olys. There is time however for a different resolve........ fingers crossed.

[dd]

Ovi is Ovi, if he says he's going, he's going and nobody is going to tell him different. And rest assured, if he goes, other Europeans will surely follow, which will out the pressure on the North American players to go. This is going to be great!!!

[blue_gold_84]

Read your link & Leonsis comment  ...... I got mine off the short TSN blurb.

No doubt we as fans would scream at the non pros participation in the Olys. There is time however for a different resolve........ fingers crossed.

Taken from the CBC link:

Capitals owner Ted Leonsis has said he would support Ovechkin's desire to play in the Olympics, something the player greatly appreciates.

"Our owner understands my view, [fellow Russian Evgeny] Kuznetsov's view, [Sweden's Nicklas] Backstrom's view, [Marcus] Johannson's view and the same with [Canadian goalie Braden] Holtby," Ovechkin said.

Ovi is Ovi, if he says he's going, he's going and nobody is going to tell him different. And rest assured, if he goes, other Europeans will surely follow, which will out the pressure on the North American players to go. This is going to be great!!!

Agreed. Hopefully, there will be a backlash in the coming months and the league and its money-hungry owners will be stuck in damage control mode.

[Old Rusty]

Taken from the CBC link:

Agreed. Hopefully, there will be a backlash in the coming months and the league and its money-hungry owners will be stuck in damage control mode.

The NHL brass with their usual histrionics are turning my stomach.  How visionless, gauche, brutal?

[Old Rusty]

LOL    Holy hell man

Oh man... this tickled me.  Still laughing.

[blue_gold_84]

The NHL brass with their usual histrionics are turning my stomach.  How visionless, gauche, brutal?

If I could like a post on this forum, this one would be the first. Histrionics... Ah, le mot juste!

Just an embarrassing display, to be sure. But this tactic has become typical of the NHL under Bettman. I don't blame him, per se. He's just a puppet for the owners and as long as he does their bidding and their trough remains full and unthreatened, they're happy as pigs in crap. Sadly, letting the leagues best players showcase their talents to the world doesn't benefit them or the league in any financial way, so of course it's a no.

Honestly, this whole debacle reminds me of the lockouts and how the league and the owners comport themselves. It's sickening.

Hopefully, Ovechkin's on to something and the league is bluffing. The IIHF seems to think something can still be done to save the Olympics:

http://www.tsn.ca/iihf-trying-to-find-olympic-deal-with-nhl-1.715054

[blue_gold_84]

And the plot thickens:

http://www.tsn.ca/how-the-nhl-can-prevent-players-from-going-to-olympics-1.715216

Definitely worth a read as it discusses not only what may happen regarding individual player participation at the 2018 Olympics, but also the ramifications and potential fallout after the fact.

This has the potential to get seriously ugly.

[dd]

Yes, it could. The league can fine the owners all they want, take away draft picks etc--what do the players care?? Most are URFA anyways and will bolt from their current team if the league penalizes the team too much.

I think this is all a negotiation tactic by Betman but he'd better be careful as the players will go over regardless of what he says and in some cases, in spite of what he says

[Old Rusty]

Honestly, this whole debacle reminds me of the lockouts and how the league and the owners comport themselves. It's sickening.
Hopefully, Ovechkin's on to something and the league is bluffing. The IIHF seems to think something can still be done to save the Olympics:
http://www.tsn.ca/iihf-trying-to-find-olympic-deal-with-nhl-1.715054

Yes, Ovechkin's tack is interesting and raises questions about the magnitude of the owners'  posturing.  I hope the Caps owner is the first to show some willingness to allow the players to go.  I can see Chipman doing the same, as he was all about pure competition, the Olympics and hockey with participation at the highest possible level.  He is "into it, I believe.  At worst, he may passively allow players to hit the road during the winter games.

With respect to players' stance....

I like Zetterberg's quote even more than Ovechkin's:

"I haven't really seen the statement yet, but I'm not real surprised,' said Zetterberg, believing it was a negotiating ploy to win a concession out of the Players Association. 'They probably want something from us, as always.'

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/nhl/2017/04/03/nhl-wont-participate-2018-winter-olympics/99993636/

A wise player, Zetterberg is.

[blue_gold_84]

Marchand to have a hearing for his spear in last night's game:

http://www.tsn.ca/marchand-to-have-hearing-for-spear-1.715397

For a guy who's really excelled this season and shown his pure hockey skill, he's still prone to dumb moves like this.

[Colton]

Yes, I have watched the juniors.

but it is far from NHL speed 

Proving you've never seen a WJHC game in your life.

[Jockitch]

Best for the game of NHL hockey & it's seemingly desired direction ........... Marchand gets suspended at least 3 games into the playoffs.