Hockey, Patriotism, and Money

Kyler Tusay

Dr. Snorgrass and Dr. Larson

Sports, Media, and Pop Culture

November 19, 2016

Hockey, Patriotism, and Money

            It was one of the biggest weekends in hockey last week as the Hockey Hall of Fame saw new members inducted, and as the celebrations faded the GM meetings took its place. No major changes were discussed as far as the play on the ice just a few “tweaks” as Dan Rosen a writer for NHL.com described them. Off the ice issues included future salary cap numbers which only become convoluted when factoring in the international aspect of the NHL, meaning exchange rates for the US and Canadian dollars. The cap increasing by 10% was not even the most publicized topic of the meetings. Players, fans, the media, they are concerned about what is going to happen with 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeonchang, South Korea.        

            East Asia is not typically the location for the Winter Olympics, and probably is not the best market for Hockey to flourish in. One of the reasons for the NHL to balk at letting its players go, and also the fact that they shut down their own play for two weeks. This battle comes down to three parties, and the NHL is fighting on two fronts (NBC is also involved though not in a direct manner). First, it’s the NHL represented by Gary Bettman (who is favored slightly more than Roger Goodell in his respected sport) and the owners against the NHLPA represented by Donald Fehr and the players. The players want to attend the Olympics as it is seen as patriotic, and then comes the pride of winning a gold medal. Some believe that it is more important than winning the Stanley Cup. The owners are concerned about losing the revenues of two weeks of games, the expenses of travel and board, and the possibility of injuries which could derail a season (and cost even more money). Then there is the NHL versus the Olympic committees, and the International Hockey community. The NHL wants the international organizations to help cover the costs of travel, and then the possibility of insuring the players, so that teams will have some sort of protection. The teams do not want to lose money, and the players just want to go play.

             What should happen though? What is causing this problem now as the NHL has been sending players to the Olympics for over 20 years now. NBC wants the NHL there according to Tim Wharnsby’s article – though this not that shocking as Ice Hockey is one of the larger events at the Winter Games. Losing the world’s best players would likely lead to a decrease in viewers. That being said the Olympics survived before with amateur players, and produced some of the most memorable Winter Olympic moments in the games storied history. Such as the 1980 games in Lake Placid, New York where the United States amateurs beat the USSR team, (the Soviets amateur status was to be questioned) in a game that would be called The Miracle on Ice. I believe the NHL should let the players play on the international stage for several reasons. It reaches the markets the sport has not reached before in Asia. It also reaches the average fans here in the US as it creates that sense of patriotism playing internationally, and with a sport that struggles at times of generating interest it needs these events. Finally, the fact that NBC wants the players to be there will end up swaying that decision. NBC is the home of the Olympic games, and is also the home of regular season NHL games on NBCSN (their sports channel), and to Stanley Cup playoff games on their flagship channel. So, if the main distribution channel of your product wants the players to be there then it is likely that they will be.

            So, what are the possible solutions to this problem? Though it seems like there’s enough time to find the answers being the Olympics are a year and a half away. That is not necessarily true since national teams start to formulate rosters now and have cuts along the way. These teams need to know what player pools to build from – professionals or amateurs. The first suggestion seems to be extending the CBA for another three years between the NHL and the NHLPA (Wharnsby, 2016). Though in the same article it is seen as a “publicity stunt” since the current CBA expires in 2022 so it would be extended to 2025, but there is an opt out in 2020. This extension would be used to ease the fans as the sport has seen a lockout recently, and another one is not that unlikely. I am not sure how much weight can be put into this solution as it really solves little. Luckily for fans and players talks between the organizations are continuing.

            This story will likely end in a few weeks with the players going to the Olympics. There is too much money to be lost by the IOC to afford losing the professional players. There will be too much pressure from NBC for the NHL to ignore, and the international exposure will create interest in the biggest markets in North America. The money will drive these groups to get the deal done. All while the players just want to play for their countries, fans, and to be a legend in the game that’s become their lifestyle. In the end the money outweighs the patriotism.

Works Cited

Rosen, Dan. "NHL Remains Undecided on 2018 Olympics: Bettman." NHL.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.

Wharnsby, Tim. "NHL's Offer of CBA-for-Olympics a Hollow One to Players - Tim Wharnsby on Hockey - NHL on CBC Sports - Analysis." CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, 2016. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.