NHL stars are beginning to voice their frustrations over the NHL blocking players from going to the Olympics due to COVID-19 concerns. Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues forwards Brad Marchand and Vladimir Tarasenko are among them.
On Sunday, Marchand expressed his disappointment over the NHL’s decision to block players from going to the Olympics in February during a Zoom call with reporters. On Tuesday, he took things a step further with a strongly worded message posted to his Twitter account.
In the post, Marchand says it’s “bulls***” that the NHL is not honoring its agreement with players and allowing them to choose whether or not to go, which was laid out in the most recent collective bargaining agreement.
Marchand points out that the league has already adjusted on the fly by bringing back “taxi squads” -- extra players who can travel and practice with the team and serve as replacements if someone tests positive -- and suggests they could do the same thing to replace players going to the Olympics. Marchand acknowledges players would likely have to forfeit game checks for whatever games they missed while in Beijing, but says the players should be able to decide if they’re willing to do that.
Tarasenko agreed with Marchand's statement and was asked about his opinion on Tuesday. The Blues forward says it's a "very bad" move by the NHL, according to NHL.com writer Lou Korac.
"I read the Brad Marchand comments. He said it right. They promise us we can go this year and tehy took it away but we still play here. With all the restrictions, all teh rules, i don't really understand the point where people deciding for you in last, how many, '18, '22, eight years?
"There's too many players who are dreaming about Olympics growing up in any country in the world ... I think the players are the ones who supposed to decide. I agree on this point, but i guess this is business and we just follow what the rules are."
Tarasenko says he would go if given the choice to play for Russia and believes people "would be surprised" by the number of others who would do the same.
The NHL originally left much of February open for the Olympic break, but is now planning to use that time to make up all the games that have been postponed over the last couple weeks due to a surge in COVID cases across the league. The Bruins have had six games postponed.
While the league blocking players from going to China felt inevitable as more and more games got postponed, it’s clear that a lot of players were not on board with the decision and still would have gone if given the choice, regardless of the risk, protocols and testing.
Charlie McAvoy, who would have been going to his first Olympics with Team USA, said over the weekend that he believes players -- at least those on the Bruins -- were unanimous in still wanting to go. Patrice Bergeron, who has won two Olympic gold medals with Canada in 2010 and 2014, said he had already talked everything over with his wife and would have gone if given the choice.
The disappointment might be even more acute for Marchand given his situation. Marchand has never been to the Olympics, and he may not get another chance since he will be 37 years old four years from now.
“It’s very disappointing,” Marchand said on Sunday. “That’s something that was promised and part of the CBA when we last signed the deal. I almost felt like they [the NHL] were trying to get out of it for a while, and they didn’t want us to go. There should be something in place, or put in place, where we should be able to go and experience that. Guys have worked their entire lives. I know that at the end of the day, they don’t care about the Olympics. They don’t make money on it. Ultimately it’s a business and we’re an asset. Let’s just call a spade a spade. They don’t want to risk us getting hurt over there, so that’s obviously part of it.
“But it should be the players’ option to go play in the tournament. It’s the Olympics. It’s the best of the best. If you’ve earned the right and earned the opportunity to go there, you should have the option to go play. It’s extremely disappointing that the players aren’t going. I think guys have worked their entire lives to put themselves in position to compete at that level and for that opportunity, and it should be guys’ decisions whether they choose to go or not, regardless of what’s happening in the world. If the Olympics are on and they’re playing, then the best players in the world should have that option. It’s tough to deal with.”
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