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Will NHL remain a Games player?
By Tim Buckley
Deseret News Olympic specialist
It seems Mike Eruzione has been almost as visible during the 2002 Winter Olympics as he was in 1980, when he captained a club of college hockey players to America's Miracle on Ice.
During opening ceremonies for the Salt Lake Games, he and old teammates were front-and-center, lighting the Olympic caldron as millions around the world watched.
When the United States and Russia tied 2-2 in a final-round game, there was Eruzione, cheering an American team of NHL stars. And when Team USA beat the Russians 3-2 in a semifinal showdown, you-know-who was seen rooting for the millionaire Olympians.
Truth be told, though, Eruzione doesn't think boys who make the big bucks have any business in the Games.
"I'd like to see what it used to be," he said. "I'd like to see the pro players leave and let the amateur players play."
Whether or not NHL stars have a place in future Olympics remains to be seen. They were at Nagano in 1998, too, but there's no telling for Torino in 2006 or beyond.
A decision will be made only after International Ice Hockey Federation, NHL and NHL Players Association officials negotiate numerous issues, not the least of which is how to cram a 14-nation tourney into 12 days — the longest NHL owners seem willing to shut down their league for the Games.
If it were only up to the NHLers, however, there'd likely be no debate.
"I think the best players should be there," American defenseman Chris Pronger said. "They are in any other sport. They are in basketball. Whether it's figure skating or whatever, they go. So I don't see why we shouldn't."
One NHL star after another echoes that opinion.
Czech Republic goalie Dominik Hasek: "I hope that every four years the best players go for the Olympics — because it's not only for North American people, but for all the people around the world."
Sweden's goalie, Tommy Salo: "It's nice if the best players are there."
Finnish forward Sami Kapanen: "I'm happy to be part of the Olympic experience, and I want to keep doing it."
Russian goalie Nikolai Khabibulin: "I think it's great for the Games and great for the game of hockey. And I think it's great for fans, too. I mean, if you get on the Internet and (see) how much tickets cost — it's outrageous. That says that people have a lot of interest."
At $325 a pop for the cheap seats at Sunday's gold game, many spent a small fortune watching hockey's best. More notable, though, is what the experience is worth to those who play.
"It's funny that (in the) NHL, every day is pretty much the same kind of day," Finland's Teemu Selanne said. "I bet there's guys that don't even know what day or month it is."
Not so in the Olympics.
"It's a huge thing," Selanne said.
It is, agrees 2002 American defenseman Brian Leetch, an NHL veteran who also captained Team USA in 1988 — just two years out of high school, before he joined the New York Rangers. Back then, the Americans were still mostly amateurs — or at least not yet NHL stars. But the European teams they played were much more established.
"We were younger. I think our average age was 22 at the time," Leetch said. "We were also playing some teams that were together . . . and had professionals there."
That, and the U.S.'s seventh-place showing in Calgary, taught Leetch something: "I figured out if you really wanted to have the best of the best out there . . . you had to shut the NHL down."
Still, even Leetch can appreciate Eruzione's way of thinking.
"If they went back to keeping it just amateur athletes — and they did it from every country," Leetch said, "I think that would be fine, too."
E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com
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February 25, 2002
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