Read the opposing argument from Loyal Homer.
If you were leasing a Cadillac for $650 per month, would you lend it to your 16-year old nephew who was driving cross-country with his buddies on a road trip to Panama City? How about allowing a dog kennel to set up shop in the living room of your newly renovated home for a couple weeks?
When you invest money into a purchase of any kind, you want to do everything in your power to protect it as much as possible.
While I hate to objectify the athletes that play hockey in the NHL, they are all, to a certain degree, investments. The NHL franchises that comprise the league have invested a great deal of time and money into their superstars, and subsequently want to make sure they get solid return on their investments at all times. Part of protecting that investment means that you must sometimes intervene when that investment is at risk of being damaged in any way.
Since 1994, the NHL has allowed its players to leave mid-season in order to represent their respective nations in the Olympic Games. While this is a very exciting opportunity for those athletes, it is a terrible decision for the NHL. Even the NHL Commissioner agrees, at least in part, that it is foolish for the NHL to willingly permit their brightest stars to participate in the Olympic Games in the middle of their own season of competition… a decision they are wisely reconsidering.
I do not blame the hockey players for their desire to represent their nation in the Olympics. Just ask Alexandre Bilodeau what it feels like to become an instant national treasure. The attraction of representing your nation in a world-wide competition is great, and I applaud them for wanting to be a part of that magic.
The problem I have with the situation is that these players have agreed, under contract, to play hockey for a specific NHL franchise. When Sidney Crosby signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins, for example, he was committing his professional skills to that franchise. For his services, he gets paid a hefty sum, and everyone is happy.
That is how contract employment works. When players sign on with their respective NHL franchises they have sacrificed the opportunity to compete in any other hockey event during the season. The primary reason that the NHL is wrong to allow their marquis players a hiatus to compete in the Olympics is simple – PROTECT YOUR INVESTMENTS! Crosby could not go compete in the AHL, or in some European hockey league, in the middle of the NHL season. Why should he be given the opportunity to compete in the Olympics?
Just imagine the situation that the Penguins (and the NHL) would be in if Crosby breaks a bone or tears a ligament while skating for Canada over the next two weeks. Crosby still gets his contract, Canada got some glory out of their time with Crosby on the ice, and the Penguins get a high-priced player that they cannot use.
This is precisely the reason that the Olympics were originally created as an exhibition by amateur athletes. The added influence that money can have on a game can complicate a situation exponentially.
Additionally, the NHL is actually ceasing operations for two weeks while the Olympics wrap up, just to accommodate the fact that all of its stars have left for the Winter Games. Now the league must not only sit back and watch as nearly all of their noteworthy players risk injury for an exhibition, but they cannot even continue their own operations in the process.
It is unfortunate that the timing of the Olympics falls when it does. For NBA stars, this problem does not exist because the Summer Olympics traditionally take place in August, two months after the NBA Finals have been concluded. If that were the case with the NHL, there is no problem at all in allowing the stars of the league compete for national pride. But, the NHL and NBA are in different situations. These players, who agreed under contract to represent their respective NHL franchises, have an obligation to respect the contract. Allowing their athletes to needlessly risk injury during the competitive season for an exhibition event that is completely unaffiliated with the NHL is both reckless and irresponsible.
I fully understand the position the players in, and I do not begrudge them for wanting to compete in the Olympics. However, this is a very bad business decision for the NHL, who can only come out of this break as losers.
