In case you haven’t heard, that jackass of a commissioner, Gary Bettman, has hinted at the possibility that the NHL will not be sending players to the Olympics after the 2010 games in Vancouver.  Meanwhile, the NHLPA has shown unwavering support for continued participation.

With the 2014 Winter games taking place in Sochi, Russia, there’s no way that I would expect this Russian superstar to refuse to play for his country.  “Nobody can say to me you can’t play for your country in the Olympic Games,” Ovechkin said. “I don’t care.  I’ll go play in the Olympic Games for my country. If somebody says to me you can’t play, see ya.”

Is Bettman hell-bent on destroying this sport?  It just doesn’t make any sense to me that we’ve gotten to the point where a player is forced to choose between playing in the NHL and representing their country in the Olympics.  It’s silly and dumb, actually.

image: TSN

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In addition to the 2010 Winter Classic being held at Boston’s Fenway Park, the schedule shows that six Canadian teams will be playing when the new season begins on October 1, 2009.  John Tavares will play in his first NHL game on October 3, 2009 when the New York Islanders host the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Also, the NHL will have to work around the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games which will result in a brutal, team record 14-game road trip beginning January 30, 2010.  Additionally, all games will be suspended from February 15-March 1.

The last eight games of the regular season will be played on April 11, 2010.

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Steve Yzerman, who currently serves as the executive director of Canada’s Olympic team, knows Babcock well from his time with the Red Wings so, along with the coach’s recent record, it’s not too surprising that he was chosen for the job. 

Also, while he hasn’t coached an Olympic team he did lead Team Canada to a 2004 World Championship title and the 1997 World Junior title.  I am hoping he does a better job than Wayne Gretzky last time.  Canada is full of young, amazing talent – use them! 

Who would you choose for Canada’s Olympic team? 

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image: TSN.ca

The man is a nutball, his NHL team sucks and he’s got a strange temperament.  What’s wrong?  Was John Tortorella not available for this job?  He’s the only guy that I think could be a worse choice.

Alright, now that I’ve gotten that out of my system I’m ready to be fair.  Wilson is a well-liked coach and may be able to work better with a team that actually wants to win (sorry, Leafs fans).  Sure, he might have looked like a complete ass when he had the officiators measure Jason Spezza’s (Ottawa) stick in an attempt to get his team a power-play opportunity and maybe he got ejected from a later game for fighting with a ref.  If anything, the man has passion and I’ve got to give him credit for that.  I’m looking forward to watching the Olympics and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on Team USA.

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