Hockey fans and many members of the hockey media, are all over Gary Bettman and the National Hockey League, about their statements of non-committal, in terms of participating as a league in the next Winter Games, which will be held in Sochi, Russia, in 2014. In spite of the fan and media outrage, the N.H.L.’s position makes perfect sense, once you remove the emotion of the fans and media about the games in Vancouver. The reasons why the owners are against league participation are very bottom line. They have said that there was no upswing in business, in terms of ticket sales or anything else,as a result of their presence at the Winter Games of Nagano, Salt Lake City, and Turin. I would guess that the fringe hockey fans who might have watched Olympic hockey, probably get caught up in the excitement of the moment of a particular game, just like any of us might in a ski race, or perhaps the luge or speed skating, but that doesn’t mean that we will go out and pay money to watch one of these sports on their own. Most people watch, because it only happens every four years, so it’s a bit of a novelty. The N.H.L.’s Winter Classic games on New Years Day, generates tremendous TV viewership across North America, but no one would suggest that it leads to ticket sales. It becomes an item of curiosity fort TV viewers because it is so unique. If the previous Winter Games haven’t led to greater attendance at N.H.L. arenas, then why would the league want to interrupt their schedule, at a time of the year, when there is no football or baseball to compete with for gate revenue or for TV viewers. Add to that, the risk of injury to players, and the fact the teams get no compensation if they lose any participants to injury, then the reluctance makes perfect sense. Considering that the N.H.L.’s owners make their biggest profit during the playoffs, why would they want to risk losing a very good player- they’ve got to be very good to represent their country- when an injury during an Olympic tournament could jeopardize a successful playoff or even a Stanley Cup championship. Imagine if Sidney Crosby had been injured playing for Team Canada. In fact, analysts of the Winter Games were wondering if Crosby had a quiet tournament, until the gold medal game, because he may have suffered some type of injury. How do you think the owners of the Penguins would feel, or their fans, if he can’t play at 100% due to his participation in the recent games. Would his gold medal satisfy them, if his injury or absence leads to a playoff series loss, or lower seeding in the run to the Cup, leading to a more difficult postseason opponent
As one hockey executive told me, the players would have to make some major concession to the owners in negotiations, to get them to move off their reluctant position. There is no question that the Winter Games in Vancouver produced some outstanding hockey, but if it hurts the owners at the box office in terms of lost revenue in February, and there are injury problems for teams with playoff possibilities, then how could this make sense from a business perspective ? I feel that a lot of the media are in favor of the N.H.L.’s participation, because they want to be assigned to cover the Olympics, which is obviously a prestigious event for any journalist. As for the fans, they enjoy the action, and are not concerned with gate revenues for the teams, or about the possibility of injuries , and how that might affect any particular team’s postseason prognosis. It seems so simple, but some fans and media only see whatever game is on, and aren’t capable, and don’t really care about seeing the other dimensions of this issue, that are of no interest to them, but are important to the people who sign the cheques, and take the risks.