What an embarrassment! They have had how long to build this rink since Milan won the bid for these Olympics?
NHL 2025-2026 Season
- Thread starter EagerBeaver
- Start date
This is an issue that goes beyond the Olympics. The NHL, theoretically, instead of playing 82 games, could have shortened the season by the 3 weeks of games they could be losing to the Olympics. It's up to the NHLPA and the players to object to being treated like cattle. If they don't object, it's presumed they accept it.
Sports leagues like the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA have all chosen longer seasons/playoffs over player safety at every turn. The leagues justify this by saying less games means less profits for everyone including the players. And the players and their representatives buy this rather than stand up to it. The only sports where this is being stood up to is tennis, and to a lesser extent golf. It's up to the players to object to being treated like cattle and if they don't object, they have to accept the injuries while getting their bigger paychecks.
NHL: Ice Needs To Be Safe
www.espn.com
There will be a test event on January 9, assuming the rink is finished by then.
Daly: NHL players won't play if Olympic ice unsafe
Bill Daly told owners that he didn't believe construction issues with the ice hockey rink were "insurmountable," but that the league's bigger concern as it gets ready to send players to the Olympics for the first time in over a decade is the ice quality.
NHL: Ice Needs To Be Safe
There will be a test event on January 9, assuming the rink is finished by then.Daly: NHL players won't play if Olympic ice unsafe
Bill Daly told owners that he didn't believe construction issues with the ice hockey rink were "insurmountable," but that the league's bigger concern as it gets ready to send players to the Olympics for the first time in over a decade is the ice quality.
Why don`t they move the games elsewhere? There must be a finished hockey rink in Italy?
Remember how the arena was so small and out of league arenas in Salt Lake City back in the 80s. Yet it produced the most thrilling hockey the game had ever seen.
I have read that they have looked at rinks in Switzerland but you have to remember other rinks can't just give a 3 week commitment, when other pro leagues in Europe are playing and they have contractual commitments with those teams, and/or other entertainers. We are not talking about one game, we are talking myriad games and practices over 3 weeks by all the teams. They probably neee multiple rinks that have no commitments and it's simply not a finger snap to arrange such a thing on very short notice.
