NHL players might be back in the Olympics sooner than later.
NHL players weren’t allowed to play in the 2018 games after changes to the rules, and it resulted in Russia dominating with their KHL players. Now, momentum might be swinging back to the good guys. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, the ICC has “made overtures” for NHL players to play again in the games after not being allowed to in 2018.
Nothing is set in stone, but it seems like the situation is trending in a direction that could get NHL players back on the ice in Beijing.
The IOC has opened its arms back to NHL players. “It’s pretty exciting stuff,” says NHLPA executive Mathieu Schneider. The NHL is more restrained in its reaction. But one thing is clear: the path to Beijing ’22 is there if they want it. My column:https://t.co/yk7vc94RD2
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) February 10, 2020
This is music to my ears. While I’m all for the idea of non-NHL players being in the games, the days of the Miracle on Ice are long behind us.
We simply can’t be putting AHL guys on the ice when the Russians are putting out KHL guys to compete. The KHL is arguably the second best hockey league on the planet, and they have some serious stars.
Pavel Datsyuk was a superstar in the NHL, went to the KHL, was allowed to play in the Olympics and stepped onto the ice against guys not good enough to hold his jock strap.
That’s a disaster for America. We need our stars back. We need our best. While I respect and appreciate guys in the AHL, they’re simply not good enough to compete with the top guys in the KHL.
If that’s who the Russians are sending, then we have to send our American all-stars. Again, this isn’t 1980. It’s modern day, and things have to change.
Get it done, folks. Get it done, and make sure we don’t get embarrassed again like we did in 2018.