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Every four years the NHL sends its best players to compete in the winter Olympics and represent their countries. While this results in exciting hockey games for fans around the world, the NHL faces a unique dilemma that other major sports that send professional athletes to the Olympics do not have to endure. Since hockey is a winter sport the winter Olympics always occur right during the middle of the NHL season, creating an NHL Olympic dilemma.

One of the major issues surrounding the NHL’s Olympic dilemma is that the NHL owners do not want to send their players to the Olympics for fear that their players might get hurt. The added games just increase the chances of star players from the NHL getting hurt. Also, for the countries that make it to the medal round they could play close to 10 games in less than 2 weeks, which is a lot of hockey in a short span of time. Those increased number of games can take a toll on a player’s body, causing them to wear down much quicker at the end of the NHL regular season and into the post season. For teams such as the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks, who routinely send the most players to the Olympics, are faced with a disadvantage when it comes playoff time in the NHL since a good majority of their players have played many more games than their opponents.

On the other side of the NHL’s Olympic dilemma is the league’s decision to showcase their best players on the world stage. Hockey’s popularity continues to lag behind the other sports in America, and the league feels the Olympics are a great place to showcase the best players in the world to attract more fans. Casual fans are much more likely to watch a hockey game if it is part of the Olympics than a random night on television. If the NHL were to send minor league or college players to the Olympics potential fans would be viewing a watered down version of the sport, and less likely to tune into NHL broadcasts in the future.

When it comes to the hockey in the winter Olympics the NHL faces a great dilemma of risking the health of their players, and jeopardizing and NHL team’s chances at a Stanley Cup, versus growing the popularity of the sport in America by showcasing the best talent in the world on the Olympic stage. So far having NHL players in the Olympics has seemed to be a success for the league, hopefully they will continue to send the best players in the world to represent their countries in the Olympics.

Hockey is one of the most popular sports in the world. The history of hockey is divided into fours eras, through which the sport has grown and evolved. We take a quick look now at the time line of Hockey history.

The Founding.

The first era of Hockey is known as “The Founding”. It begins in 1917 and extends to 1942 and the second World War. With the after effects of the Great Depression still lingering, and the world in a state of turmoil many teams sold out, or simply were so decimated by the draft that they couldn’t continue. By the end of this era there were six teams left, which comprised the NHL. These teams would adopt a new title and lead hockey into its second era.

The Original six.

The original six teams of the second area were Detroit, Toronto, Chicago, Boston, New York, and Montreal. Between 1942 and 1967 these were the only teams in the NHL and carried on the proud traditions set forth by the Founding era. For 25 years these teams carried the NHL banner, and in many regions the idea of a professional hockey league began to fade in many peoples mind. However as the political and economic climate of the world began to stabilize the NHL was preparing to make it’s reemergence as professional sports behemoth.

The Expansion Era.

At the end of 1967 professional hockey had begun to once more reassert itself in the sports world, and the league expanded from six teams to a massive 22. this is what is known as the expansion era, and it was during this time that hockey once more began to thrive in the worlds eye. The expansion era also brought some new rules and regulations, like manditory helmets, designed to keep the players safe. This era of hockey is also one of the most exciting and featured some of the most high scoring games in history. In 1992 the NHL was set for yet another change.

The Modern Era.

The Modern Era of hockey has seen a further expansion of teams from 22 to 30. Often times it has been marred by labor, and contract disputes including the cancellation of several games, and a full season. However the Modern Era is not without it’s perks, as it has seen the founding of the World Cup, and the allowance of professional players into the Olympics.