Hockey players have difficult choices to make. One, is that they win the famed Stanley Cup with their NHL team, but not have a chance to play for their country; while the other is the coveted chance to play for their countries in the IIHF World Championships. Why do they have to make that choice to begin with?
The NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs begin in mid-April, and for the lucky teams that make it to the Final, they finish in early June. However, the IIHF World Championships begin in mid-May. As a result, the two tournaments, which players love to play in, overlap. Why does the NHL not consult with the IIHF to change the times to mid-summer (Not around Mid-Summer’s Day in Sweden; we don’t want to miss out on the Swedish talent!) so that players can flexibly play for the Cup, or rest their bodies, until the IIHF World Championship?
This year, all Russians in the NHL pledged that if their team did not win the Stanley Cup, they would go play for Team Russia in the World Championship if Team Russia called them up. Thus, the value of the Stanley Cup is decreased, because players think along the lines of, “Hey! If we don’t win the Stanley Cup, well then guess what? I have another shot at glory – with my country, in the form of a gold medal!” And as a result, players are less motivated to give it their all in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (I’m looking at you, Alex Ovechkin).
The NHL and IIHF should get together and change the tournament to one of two dates, both of which are reasonable. The first is midsummer, and this is reasonable because it is the offseason, and no one is busy at the time. As a matter of fact, this is the time when most hockey players are over-enjoying their summers and they tend to get out of shape, until August comes around and they are desperately trying to get back the conditioning they had before the season starts again.
The second date that the tournament can be held in is in late August, long enough before the season begins so that players aren’t too tired when the season starts, but not too long so that they are out of shape before it starts. This time is perfect because it gives players the opportunity to get their hockey skills back on track right before the season so that they don’t forget their skills.
In conclusion, the IIHF World Championships tournament is taking away from NHL players’ post-season. If the IIHF and NHL get together and plan it so that it does not obstruct the players’ seasons, players will become more motivated to win the Stanley Cup and playoff hockey would become much more exciting than it already is.
