NHL & Olympics: Remember 2018?
Roscoe Maggio
2025-06-02 03:54:15
Count answers: 2
Turns out, the tournament in South Korea offered a glimpse of what was to come for a handful of players. Five years since starring for the Russians on their way to gold, Kirill Kaprizov is now a dominant force for Minnesota. Before joining the Kraken and scoring at will this season, Eeli Tolvanen was roommates with Dallas defenseman Miro Heiskanen, who along with then-17-year-old Swede Rasmus Dahlin are among the best at the position. Few knew about Czech goaltender Pavel Francouz before he beat the U.S. in an elimination shootout in that tournament; now his name is on the Stanley Cup after helping Colorado win it last season.
From Kaprizov to Francouz, the success stories from the 2018 Olympics are now playing out in the NHL. “It’s a testament to how good the hockey was there,” said Donato, who tied with Kaprizov and Ilya Kovalchuk for the tournament lead with five goals. “You had a lot of guys who played in the NHL for a long time. You kind of got a sense that if those guys could hang around a lot of longtime NHLers, that it would bode well for their career.” Heiskanen is now a standout for Dallas in the NHL Tolvanen languished with Nashville before going on waivers this season.
Breanne Krajcik
2025-05-30 12:25:43
Count answers: 3
The NHL made it official last April 4 that it wouldn’t allow players to go, after saying for months the majority of owners were not in favor of going. Here is why the NHL isn’t in the Olympics for the first time since before the 1998 Nagano Games: Shutting down the league causes issues: The NHL needs to shut down for 17 days to accommodate an Olympic schedule, and that plays havoc with business operations. Fear of injuries: Because parity is a reality in the NHL, the difference between a top team and a team missing the playoffs is only a few points. Olympic injuries can potentially cost a team a playoff spot. No partnership with IOC: Though the NHL has supplied players for five consecutive Olympics, the league has no rights to show video highlights on its website. The IOC was unwilling to pay for insurance and travel costs. Time zone issues: NHL officials didn’t see the benefit of going to Korea to have NHLers playing games that were shown live at 7 a.m. or 10 p.m. No quantifiable gain: This is a big issue for the NHL. While it seems logical and desirable to have the NHL in the Olympic spotlight to grow the sport, league officials say the previous Olympic appearances have not increased visibility in any way it can define.
Freddy Padberg
2025-05-24 04:11:01
Count answers: 2
The dispute was largely over who would cover the cost of NHL participation. At previous Games, the IOC paid for travel, insurance, accommodations, and other costs, but opted to not to do so this time. The New York Times reports the insurance alone cost the IOC $7 million at the 2014 Sochi Games. When the IOC made the announcement, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) offering to cover up to $20 million in costs.
The NHL didn't bite because there were other concerns as well. The Olympics forced a protracted break in the NHL season, the cancelation of the All-Star Game, and team owners had concerns about injuries to top players before the start of the playoff push. "Quite frankly we don't see what the benefit is from the game standpoint or the League standpoint with respect to Olympic participation," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said at the time of the announcement.
Doyle Yost
2025-05-14 08:33:43
Count answers: 7
In a nutshell, in April 2017, the NHL chose not to allow their players to compete in the 2018 Olympics because the event would require a 17-day break from their regular schedules, according to the NHL website. The longer story, though, is all kinds of drama. In a statement released by the organization, the NHL said though the majority of their clubs were opposed to disrupting the 2017-18 NHL season for Olympic participation, they were originally open to hearing from other relative organizations who might have been able to sway the issue — like the International Olympics Committee (IOC), the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) — but after months, no meaningful dialogue had happened. Reportedly, the IOC, which traditionally pays for the players' insurance, travel, and other accommodations, refused to do so in 2018.
Mallory Ferry
2025-05-10 06:09:26
Count answers: 6
Olympic Athletes from Russia came away with the gold medal in men’s hockey at the 2018 Winter Olympics. The lack of NHL players led a wild tournament where anything could happen, including a stunning run to the final by the Germans. The decision by the NHL not to take a break during its season to participate in the Olympics sent shockwaves through the hockey world last year. The discord between the league and the International Olympic Committee forced national teams to turn elsewhere to fill their rosters for Pyeongchang, which gave this event a decidedly different feel from the past two decades. Gone was the star power that the NHL could bring to the festivities, and in its place was an opportunity for players who probably never dreamed of being here. The Russian team, which is officially being called Olympic Athletes from Russia as part of the IOC’s punishment for doping violations, fulfilled its role as the favorite by winning the gold medal.
Willow Bode
2025-04-28 01:26:02
Count answers: 6
NHL players were not part of the Winter Olympics in 2018 in South Korea. NHL players were not part of the 2018 Olympics due to a dispute between the league and the International Olympic Committee over who would cover costs such as travel, insurance and accommodations. The U.S. women had better luck by winning gold against Canada 20 years after taking home gold in 1998.
Pearlie Christiansen
2025-04-28 00:38:44
Count answers: 2
Turns out, the tournament in South Korea offered a glimpse of what was to come for a handful of players. Five years since starring for the Russians on their way to gold, Kirill Kaprizov is now a dominant force for Minnesota. Before joining the Kraken and scoring at will this season, Eeli Tolvanen was roommates with Dallas defenseman Miro Heiskanen, who along with then-17-year-old Swede Rasmus Dahlin are among the best at the position.
Few knew about Czech goaltender Pavel Francouz before he beat the U.S. in an elimination shootout in that tournament; now his name is on the Stanley Cup after helping Colorado win it last season. Claimed by the Kraken, he has since scored nine goals in 20 games. The Avalanche became the first team since 1972 to hoist the Cup after two goalies won at least five games each during their run, and they can, in part, thank Francouz’s experience five years ago for putting him on the radar.
Dahlin got into just two games with Sweden; New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin played in one for the Russians; and Rangers Vezina Trophy winner Igor Shesterkin was the No. 3 goalie behind veteran national team starter Vasili Koshechkin. Now the Sabres’ top defenseman, Dahlin is playing plenty. It’s a dream come true to play there as an 18-year-old, but it’s something that for sure I want to be a part of again.
Mattie Bayer
2025-04-27 19:38:46
Count answers: 6
The National Hockey League chose not to participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, which means some of the world’s greatest hockey players, including Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, were not allowed at the Games. The NHL decided in 2017 not to give its players a break during the 2017-18 season to compete for Team USA and other countries. The move puts an end to the NHL’s streak of sending its players to the Winter Olympics for the past five Games.
The NHL’s decision to pull out of the 2018 Winter Olympics came as a result of a series of disputes between the league and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) over the costs incurred by NHL athletes and who would cover them. The IOC had paid for the travel, insurance, accommodations and other costs for NHL players but refused to continue to do so for 2018. Top athletes who go to the Olympics in the middle of the NHL season could get injured, which could affect the outcome of the hockey season, the NHL said.
The players are extraordinarily disappointed and adamantly disagree with the NHL’s shortsighted decision not to continue our participation in the Olympics.
Read also
- Ice Hockey at the Olympics: Team GB?
- Did Team GB Strike Gold in Olympic Hockey?
- Ice Hockey at the Olympics: How Many Teams?
- Winter Olympics Gold: Did Great Britain Ever Win?
- Did Hockey Really Start in the UK?
- Hockey in the Winter Olympics?
- Olympics: When Did Great Britain Last Win?
- Are Great Britain Any Good at Hockey?
- Olympic Hockey: Who Made the Cut?
- Gold Rush: Which Country Tops the Winter Olympics?
- Ice Hockey in the UK: A Puzzle?
- What's the UK's Oldest Ice Hockey Team?
- 2026 Olympics: Hockey's Home Ice?
- Hockey's Origin: Where Did It Start?
- GB Medals: Any Yet?
- Team GB's Olympic Low Point?
- GB Hockey Players: Paid or Not?
- NHL in the Olympics: When Did the Ban Happen?