Garth Snow wants a change. And a bunch of other general managers probably would if they were in his position.
John Tavares is out for the season and that’s bad for the New York Islanders. It could have been worse, of course; an MCL tear and a torn meniscus is bad news, but an ACL might have sidelined him for the start of next season. And the Islanders are essentially toast, out of the playoffs by 10 points and ready to wave the white flag by trading Thomas Vanek, so it’s not as if the injury torpedoed their season.
Still, this is exact type of thing NHL players, coaches and owners fear every four years. And it’s one of the big reasons why this might be the last Olympics the NHL allows its players to take part in.
MORE: Snow furious | Canada advances | U.S.-Czech Republic photos
Tavares’ injury is not the only one of the 2014 games. Henrik Zetterberg’s herniated disk in his back may or may not have been caused by the Olympics. But playing in Sweden’s opener, in addition to sitting on a long flight across the world, could not have helped matters. He is definitely out though, with his last game having come in the Olympics. The only question now is whether he’ll miss weeks or the rest of the season.
Red Wings GM Ken Holland still says he wants the Olympics and the NHL together. Will his tune change if Detroit, which has a tenuous one-point lead for the last wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, misses the playoffs as a result of Zetterberg missing time? Unlike Snow’s Islanders, Red Wings fans have plenty to be upset about.
MORE OLYMPICS: U.S.-Canada TV info, rosters | Photos from Russia-Finland | USA vs. Canada women's gold medal game
Mats Zuccarello’s broken hand definitely came in the Olympics. The injury isn’t as serious as Tavares' or Zetterberg’s. But do you think the Rangers care at the moment? They’re without one of their most productive players as they fight for the playoffs in the East.
What are the teams getting in response? Not, much if Snow is to be believed. Exposure is nice but it’s intangible. Are new audiences taking a liking to the game? Hard to say — hockey, while a premier event at the games, is an afterthought on NBC’s made-for-TV coverage. You won’t find hockey in primetime unless something memorable happens like the Russia-USA shootout and even then, it’s a snippet. Sports fans will do their diligence to find it, but they could do that for an event similar to the World Cup, that was unattached to the Olympics.
You can’t blame NBC for that of course. Its bottom line is served by showing figure skating. But you also can’t be upset at the NHL for not seeing a worthwhile benefit out of this arrangement.
This leaves the situation appearing to be untenable. Something has to give.
It already did with baseball. Major League Baseball refused to play ball with the IOC and baseball is no longer in Olympics. Instead, MLB created the World Baseball Classic, which, while not a big deal for some, generates more money for the league than would stopping its season and sending its players to the Olympics.
Baseball isn’t alone. FIFA treats the Summer Olympics as an under-23 tournament that doesn’t hold a candle to the World Cup in prestige or glory. The NBA, which doesn’t even have a schedule conflict with the Summer Games, has been looking to copy FIFA’s Olympic model.
In fact, it is the NHL that appears more and more isolated. And it’s the sport, given its physicality, with the most to lose.
Garth Snow is angry. But common sense says he’s not alone. Not in hockey and not in the professional sports world.
Which is why Olympic hockey as we know it, eventually, will come to an end.