By Canadian Press

Board of governors meeting ends with no clear next step for NHL and 2018 Olympics

Dec 9, 2016 | 12:13 PM

PALM BEACH, Fla. — Wayne Gretzky remembered, with incredible precision, what it was like to fly back to North America from the 1998 Olympics in Nagano.

Part of the Team Canada squad that missed out on a medal, Gretzky recalled the challenge of travelling from Japan, through Vancouver, to New York. He got home on a Tuesday, practised with the New York Rangers a day later and then played in Toronto on Thursday.

“It’s hard on your body,” Gretzky said Friday, recalling the day-to-day schedule accurately while failing to mention his three assists in a 5-2 Rangers win. 

For all the logistical challenges the Olympics present, Gretzky believes it’s ultimately worth it for NHL players to attend their sixth consecutive Games in South Korea in 2018.

No decision was reached, however, at the league’s board of governors meetings in Palm Beach this week and it remains unclear what the next step will be. All that became clear over two days in Florida was a collective distaste among owners with respect to attending the Olympics again in 2018.

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NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said there was “strong negative sentiment” and ultimately, “fatigue” with the event. The group didn’t see the upside of the Olympics and believed it was more of an impediment than a benefit, what with the 17-day season shutdown, potential for injury, and costs.

Nothing tangible was gleaned either, Bettman said, from participating in Games outside North America.

Bettman had hoped a recent proposal to the NHL Players’ Association, which could have offered two Olympics, two World Cups and two Ryder Cup-style events, would have helped change the minds of owners who are against attending the 2018 Games. But the players rejected the idea, which included an extension of the collective bargaining agreement, last week.

“There’s nothing right now,” Bettman said when asked what the next step was in regard to the Olympics. “We’ll see what happens. There’s nothing new from (Thursday) when we discussed it.”

It’s unclear whether sentiment is truly as negative as Bettman suggests or whether the league is simply being tactical as a means of pressuring players toward a better agreement, perhaps one that includes the CBA.

Bettman said time was running short for the NHL to decide whether it would go or not, stating last month that a decision was needed by early January. It took until the summer of 2013, following the lockout, for the league to confirm participation in the 2014 Games. It’s expected that the league and players’ association will discuss the matter again next week.

Now a member of the Edmonton Oilers management team, Gretzky attended this week’s meetings and hopes the league ultimately chooses to attend.

“I happen to love everything about the Olympic Games,” said Gretzky, who also built the Canadian team that won gold in Salt Lake City. 

While acknowledging that there was nothing more exciting in hockey than the Stanley Cup, Gretzky said “the one spectacle that’s really remarkable is the Olympic Games.”

“My opinion is – I told you – I like the Olympic Games, but does that mean that the NHL is going to go? I don’t have a crystal ball, I can’t tell you.”

Bettman said the recently completed World Cup of Hockey, a joint venture between the NHL and NHLPA, was deemed a big success internally, though some owners were concerned by injuries suffered during the event, which included Dallas Stars centre Tyler Seguin, Florida Panthers defenceman Aaron Ekblad and Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Matt Murray.

Holding the event before the start of the regular season, however, continued to be deemed a better option than a mid-season break, such as the one required for the Olympics.

The governors also reviewed the league’s new concussion spotter program which came into focus earlier this month after Connor McDavid was pulled from a game against the Minnesota Wild. The Oilers captain said he was “pretty shocked” to be removed after his chin smacked the ice in 2-1 Edmonton overtime loss.

Bettman said the consensus among owners was that the program was having its intended effect. 

“The reason you have the spotter program is exactly for the instances that people are talking about because players typically — and you go back through the history of this — don’t want to come out of a game,” said Bettman. “Does that mean some players are going to get pulled who didn’t have concussions? Sure. But it also means we’re going to make sure that the players who need to be off the ice are off the ice.”

Gretzky voiced his support for the program. He’s not sure whether he even suffered a concussion in his career, “because in those days it’s a take two Aspirins tonight and tomorrow you’re going to skate for an hour and we’re going to sweat it out of you.”

“We have so much more knowledge now,” Gretzky said. “And yet there’s so much more to learn about it.”

The governors planned to review the matter again after the all-star game in Los Angeles. 

Additionally, Winnipeg Jets executive chairman Mark Chipman and Montreal Canadiens owner Geoff Molson were voted onto the NHL’s executive committee, replacing Philadelphia Flyers late owner Ed Snider and Peter Karmanos of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Jonas Siegel, The Canadian Press