Alex Ovechkin was unable to walk with Team Russia in the opening ceremonies of the Olympics on Friday night, Feb. 7.
He was not in Sochi, but rather here in D.C., playing one last NHL game with the Washington Capitals on Saturday, Feb. 8. The Caps beat the New Jersey Devils at home 3-0 with all three goals scored in the third period.
The NHL will take a 16-day hiatus so that players may represent their respective countries in ice hockey at the Sochi Olympics.
But the NHL and team owners aren’t happy about it. While fans and players are excited for Olympic hockey, NHL officials see it as a loss.
The league loses sales during the Olympics as fans spend their money elsewhere, on Olympic merchandise. The NHL also worries that key players will get injured in Sochi and won’t be able to return to their regular season. Fans may not be as excited about the NHL after experiencing Olympic hockey, which could result in a loss of ticket sales.
The next Winter Olympics will be in 2018 in South Korea. It’s possible the NHL won’t let players participate in these games. Hockey is not a hugely popular sport in Asia, and it might not be worth sending athletes when Americans won’t be able to watch the games live because of time differences.
NHL participation in 2018 will rest on what happens now in Sochi 2014.
