From: mlindroos@abo.fi
Subject: Re: NHL in the Olympics
Organization: Abo Akademi University, Finland
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1992 17:56:24 GMT

In article <1992Aug12.134904.1165@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca>, golchowy@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca (Gerald Olchowy) writes:
> In article <1992Aug12.135716.1@abo.fi> mlindroos@abo.fi writes:
>>I'm 100% for an "open" Olympic tournament, despite the problems. It will
>>help the NHL in the States, CBS & co. reportedly have been building their 
>>coverage of the Olympics around the hockey tournament since Lake Placid'80.
>>Too bad many of the playing sites (like Lillehammer in 1994) aren't "hockey 
>>markets" in the first place. A separate World Cup (with games in North America 
>>and the big European nations) might make more sense, but you do what is best 
>>for the NHL. And let's not forget that IIHF (not NHL) rules will aply this 
>>time. No question we Europeans will have an edge:-)  
>>
> 
> There wouldn't be any more TV money available in Canada for the NHL
> in the Olympics...CBC already had a Stanley Cup final type of
> audience...2 million plus at 9 AM on a Sunday morning to watch
> the final between Canada and the Unified Team last year...you can't
> get better than that, and you can't get more money from US TV unless
> you are already famous...for the American audience, it doesn't really
> make any difference if it is Wayne Gretzky or Ray LeBlanc, since
> most of them don't know the difference between Wayne Gretzky or
> Ray LeBlanc.

TV money is no issue here - getting exposure for (NHL-) hockey is! The
Olympics are the only forum where hockey can market itself across
the nation. That is why the NHL could do a lot worse than try to create some
fan interest by sending its stars to the Winter Games.

> The NHL in the Olympics, I predict, won't happen, because basically
> there is no money in it and a lot of the players aren't going to
> be interested...and any money there is will go to the IOC mostly
> and not to the NHL or NHLPA.

Well, that's how former NHL prez. Ziegler would have thought. "Fool's gold"
and quick cash has traditionally been what the National Hockey League is
about. Gil Stein cares about the long-term interests, which is great.
 
> The NHL is going to take real NHL games to Europe eventually with
                           ------------------------
> neutral site games as a prelude to expansion, and this makes
> infinitely more sense than the NHL in the Olympics.  

They tried to - and got the cold shoulder from the European federations! 
For almost twenty years they dithered, dallied and in the end virtually ignored
the idea of playing NHL games in Europe. Then basketball and American Football
gets here first, the NHL tries to follow - and nobody wants them anymore! 
The NHL has an awful lot of work to do before IIHF forgets the greedy blunders
courtesy of Ziegler & co.. Relationship between the Swedish, Soviet and Czech
federations and the NHL are bad at the moment, particularly because of
the way many North American teams have been snatching talent from Europe.
Ironically, Finland is something of an exception here. That is probably why
the NHL recently approached the Finnish Hockey Federation and the city 
authorities of Helsinki about a long-term  (early 2000s?) NHL expansion 
franchise (I'm not joking!). Opening the Olympics for professionals just might 
make the Swedes, Czechs and Russians more positive towards the NHL. Another 
reason why the idea should be tried.
Of course, had they come up with this a little earlier, the Russians and the
Czechs may well have released their best players twenty years ago. They were
only concerned about national team egilibility(sp). 
 
> Gerald
> 

MARCU$
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