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World Cup of Hockey Does Not Mean End of Olympic Involvement

By Tanner Rebelo

Sep 9, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr appear on stage together with host George Stromboulopoulos during a press conference and media event for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 9, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr appear on stage together with host George Stromboulopoulos during a press conference and media event for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman Says World Cup Of Hockey Doesn’t Mean The End Of NHL Players In Olympics

When the NHL announced the World Cup of Hockey, many fans assumed that it would be the end of NHL players in the Olympics. But NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says otherwise saying both events aren’t necessarily related.

This news does come as a bit of a shock for fans. As the NHL is unhappy at shutting down in the middle of the season to allow players to take part in the Olympics. Additionally, the International Olympic Committee annoyed NHL owners. They did this by announcing earlier this year it would no longer cover insurance and travel costs.

Bettman may have appeased the crowd, though, as his speech came at an economic meeting in Canada.

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"The fact we are doing a World Cup and we believe it is going to be huge success, and that we are going to continue to do it on a regular basis does not mean we can’t also do the Olympics,” stressed Bettman, speaking at the Economic Club of Canada.“The fact that there are complications relevant to the stopping of our season in the middle at a very prime time … and the difficulties of dealing with the International Olympic Committee and the International Ice Hockey Federation are really the factors if we continue to go."

The NHL and NHL Players Association have rebooted the World Cup  after 12 years with plans to stage it every four years. Thus positioning it to become the league’s prime global property and lessening the need for the spotlight the Olympics have provided

Restarting the World Cup does signal that the NHL believes it is putting more into its Olympic investment than it is getting in return. With the IOC playing hardball, tough negotiations lie ahead for NHL in the Olympics regardless of what Bettman says.

NHL Players Association Say Players Want To Play In Olympics

Donald Fehr, head NHL Players Association, acknowledged that the Olympics is something the players want to play in. Fehr agreed with Commissioner Bettman that there is room for both events.

"The events are fundamentally different, they are played different times and there is a long, long history to the Olympics,” said Fehr, who joined Bettman on the panel.“The players want to play provided an appropriate agreement can be reached so you can shut the season down. Shutting down a $4 billion business for several weeks is not the easiest thing in the world.“Having said that, I don’t see any reason why one would preclude the other.”"

Next: NHL Mailbag (World Cup, Bruins, Calder Candidates)

Going forward it will be interesting on how their rhetoric changes, based on the success of this year’s World Cup of Hockey tournament. There is a chance the players end the tournament and decide that they’d rather only play in it instead of the Olympics. There is also a chance that the ratings are so low that the league scraps plans and reinvested into the Olympics. At this time all anyone can do is guess the future.

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