Hockey wants so badly to be like other sports that it is trying the worst way possible: by joining Olympic overkill.
The NHL season begins Wednesday night, slightly earlier than usual, but for a reason. There is this gaping hole in the league schedule during February, no games from the 8th through the 24th, so selected players can head for that little snowball fight in Nagano, Japan.
Pro hockey players don’t belong in the Winter Olympics, but pro basketball players already have invaded the Summer Olympics and we all know the background of Gary Bettman. Before he became NHL commissioner, he was a disciple of David Stern, the fabulously successful NBA leader.
Some of Bettman’s strategies to elevate hockey’s profile have worked and one hesitates to criticize any attempt at progress by the NHL, which doesn’t have a history of enlightenment or marketing savvy.
But the Olympic interval is totally unnecessary and potentially damaging to the NHL. Bettman was duly impressed by the attention given America’s “Dream Team” during the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona, Spain, and imagines such a boost for the NHL’s global image.
How that would help the sorry situation of the Carolina Hurricanes is unclear. Beyond ticket-selling woes since their move from Hartford, however, there is this problem of shutting down an entire league for a winter break while an elite few NHL players fly away to skate for their countries.
The NBA, remember, is not in session when its tycoons yawn through the Olympic experience, signing autographs for opponents who consider it an honor to lose by 50 points or so. The NHL will be just past midseason when the time comes for what the league lyrically calls its “winter break.”
You see that in print and you wait for Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon to grace us with “Beach Blanket Bingo.” Unfortunately for the NHL, most of the games from Japan will be up against some very old movies on television here. Broadcast times in the United States will spread the NHL gospel mostly during wee hours.
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By closing down for 2 1/2 weeks, the NHL could lose its already tenuous grasp on the American public. Canada won’t be a problem, but in the United States, the competition is fierce from basketball, pro and college. Will those who need a hockey fix wait until after the David Letterman show for Finland vs. Sweden?
There is a downside risk for the NHL, even after the players return from the Winter Games and resume business as usual here. The regular league season doesn’t end until April 19, followed by four rounds of playoffs, followed by the Fourth of July. Late, very late.
Olympic hockey could be a nice diversion from the NHL variety, and even that might adversely affect the pros. After the “Miracle on Ice” of 1980 at Lake Placid, N.Y., NHL types fell over their Guccis jumping on the bandwagon. When it was suggested that their game bore scant resemblance to the international brand with no fighting, NHL bigwigs were enraged. Must have touched a nerve.
In any case, the NHL still has too much to prove in North America. The Olympic diversion accomplishes nothing. If NHL players go to Japan and dominate, so what? They’re supposed to be the world’s best. That’s their job.
On the local level, you normally would welcome a 17-day winter vacation from the deadbeat Blackhawks, who lack necessities like scoring and leadership. But the hunch is, with a deal or two, this team will respond to an injection of youth and be more successful than last year’s. It won’t take much to be more entertaining.