Olympic hockey highlights what is wrong with the pro game

one thing you are going to learn about me--i love ice hockey. i consider it to be the greatest sport ever created, and even though i claimed i would never watch another NHL game after the strike, i found myself watching Red Wings games on NBC once they came back on.

anyway, once again we've had some Olympic hockey and what seems to be a pattern, the North Americans had a very bad showing, much like the did in Nagano in 1998. and even though the U.S. and the Canadians showed up in Salt Lake City in 2002, i think that this year's games show the real deficiencies in the North American pro game.

Olympic events, unlike NHL games are governed by IIHF rules, which call for a larger ice surface. i think they also call for less acceptance of some of the thuggery you see in NHL games--roughing, boarding, checking from behind. and while today's NHL features many great European players, the majority of the pros are North American and they've learned that on a smaller ice surface it's easier to just hit someone than to actually play the game as it was intended.

so is it any wonder that fans are bored with the NHL product? there's little scoring and not much skill, something that was apparent watching the North Americans in the Olympics.

here's to hoping they both get their shit together by the Vancouver games in 2010--and that Chris Chelios has retired by then so the USOC doesn't feel the need to name him to the team. (C'mon Cheli...it's time to hang it up.)