Let ’Em Play: NHL Players in the 2018 Olympics

The Impact of the NHL’s decision on the 2018 Winter Olympics

Image via Baltimore Sun

On Tuesday, the NHL announced it would not allow its players to participate in the 2018 Olympic Games in South Korea. There were months of debates on whether to allow players to participate or not, and the league’s decision is not entirely surprising. The league’s owners and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman made clear from the beginning that they were not in favor of allowing players to participate. The NHLPA, however, and seemingly all of the players it represents, stand on the opposite side of this discussion. For the most part, reaction to the decision has been negative and there’s a consensus that the league should just “let ’em play”.

Why the NHL decision?

There are three basic arguments coming from the owners. First, the cost. IOC Commissioner Thomas Bach announced that his committee would not be covering travel costs for NHL players to venture to South Korea for the games. The cost to the league would be roughly $20 million to be able to house and insure their players, at which they balked. The IIHF offered to cover this cost, but that wasn’t enough for Bettman, who demanded sponsorship status with the Olympic Committee, basically a ploy to gain more marketing interest for displaying his product on this platform. Anything to squeeze out some extra bucks.

Second, the risk to the players. While it’s a fair point, the question is whether this is a genuine concern for the owners or just a way to convince the masses that they have the players’ best interests in mind. Seven participants came back with injuries from the 2014 Sochi Olympics, including four (John Tavares, Henrik Zetterberg, Aleksander Barkov, Tomas Kopecky) who missed the duration of the NHL season. The need to compress schedules both during the Olympics and NHL games compound the stress on players’ bodies and make injuries more likely. That injuries happen during the Olympics is not debatable; what is debatable is whether that’s something the owners really care about. After all, they still get a full 82-game season out of it regardless of the missed time.

Finally, the NHL has suggested that its participation in the Olympics does nothing to grow the sport or increase ratings in any way. While the Olympics may not boon ratings enough to see sustainable viewership every year, there are numbers that suggest viewership during the regular season increase during Olympic years. NBC reported record-setting viewership for NHL games during the 2014 season. Further, the NHL does not have rights to the videos and pictures of Olympic Games, which feeds into their desire for marketing rights mentioned earlier.

The idea that it won’t help grow the sport is a little transparent. For the first time since NHL players joined the Olympics back in 1998, the Winter Games will be held in a country not known for producing hockey players. In fact, the only pro hockey in South Korea is a joint league across Asia, comprised of nine teams from three countries. The Far East is an untapped area for hockey talent, and allowing NHL players to participate in a tournament on their soil helps create interest in the game. This is especially true because the Olympics will visit Asia again in 2022 in China. The IOC has threatened that choosing not to play in 2018 means the NHL jeopardizes their chance to play in China as well, and Commissioner Bettman has made no secret about his desire to market the game there. Loosing that opportunity for the sake of skipping the South Korean games will not help his plans.

So why let ’em play?

The Players Want To

NHL players have made no secret about their desire to play in the Olympics in 2018. Most famously, Alex Ovechkin said he’ll play regardless of the NHL’s decision. The question is whether a player of his stature has enough power to change the minds of the league’s owners. If money is what’s talking, then one of the highest paid players in the league can hold some leverage. But he’s not alone. Many players have chimed in, and they may follow suit.

Owners are “concerned” about protecting players. But did they think about talking to them?

The Fans Want It

As mentioned, TV ratings in Olympic seasons do improve, and fans all over the world live and die with their country’s team. Fans in Canada make a near holiday out of international games, and popularity is growing in the US as well. Hockey is popular in places like Russia, Finland, and Sweden, and for many of these fans, this is their only chance to see the biggest players. There is patriotism at play here, and the NHL seems oblivious to it.

Good for the Game

The IIHF reported in 2013 that hockey was growing all over the world, and notably in South Korea, where there was a 28% increase in enrollment. Bettman has already stated his interest in growing in China, but may loose that chance by sitting out of the 2018 games. Perhaps it would be wiser to view participation as an investment, since it may guarantee access to the Chinese market in the future. But no one ever accused Gary Bettman of being all that smart to begin with.

The bottom line is clear: the league’s choice to sit out of the Olympics in 2018 is strictly a money move in that they can’t convince the IOC to let them dig into international pockets and profit from the Olympic Games. In the process, they’ve shown they are not interested in the thoughts of their players and fans and will sacrifice anything if they don’t think it will pay off. The fact is that it does — and will — pay off if they play. Unfortunately, hockey fans have become used to the idea that the NHL doesn’t think much of its fans or players. We’ve already sat through three lockouts in the Bettman regime. Let’s hope this line of thinking doesn’t lead to another.