Sochi Stumbling Blocks

Vancouver 2010 Men's Ice Hockey Medal Ceremony Via cbssports.com

Considering what a huge success the 2010 Winter Olympic Games were in Vancouver, especially for the men's ice hockey tournament, there is little doubt that all involved wish to continue to send the world's best to Sochi, Russia in 2014. This week representatives of the IIHF, IOC, NHL, and NHLPA have been meeting to finalize the details, and there are some rather large obstacles still in the way of an agreement.

First and foremost will be the cost of insurance on player contracts. While the Vancouver Games were pricey, the increase of massive, long-term deals since then will make it even higher for Sochi. Elliotte Friedman had a great breakdown of the insurance needed to cover Team Canada alone in his latest 30 Thoughts column. Though the numbers are a bit ambiguous at the moment, and there are many specific financial aspects to consider, it could be as high as $700 million to insure those contracts. That doesn't even include the American, the Swedes, the Russians, etc...just Canada. The various national governing bodies seem willing to cover the cost, but there is still much to negotiate.

Another point of difficulty will be the logistics involved with housing, ticket sales, venues, advertisers, and transportation. These issues seem a bit easier to resolve, however there are many small points of contention. For example, the players wish to take more than one guest with them, however there simply may not be enough rooms available. Additionally, each national governing body has it's own individual concerns. "It's finding the balance between every request," said Rene Fasel, head of the IIHF.

Fasel said that ideally he would like a deal in place before the start of the IIHF World Championships starting on May 3rd in Stockholm and Helsinki. That may be optimistic considering just how many issues, both small and large, are yet to be resolved. But at the end of the day the decision is clear: The NHL wants to go, the players want to go, and all involved are working as hard as they can to make it happen.


Snap Shots:

• Could this season have possibly gone any worse for Tyler Myers? First he fails to live up to his huge new contract ($5.5 million cap hit, $12 million real dollars!) with only 3 goals in in 39 games, and now he's out for the year with a broken leg. At least with all that money he can afford to take it easy and prepare for next year.
• Before everyone starts giving Alex Ovechkin the Hart as league MVP for his sizzling play of late, let's check ourselves for a minute. Are you aware that almost a quarter of his goals this year are against the Florida Panthers? Honestly, competition has to be considered before one is determined to be most valuable to his team.
• Something to keep in mind with the playoffs rapidly approaching: ROW. Regulation and overtime wins. In all likelihood there will be multiple teams tied in the standings at the end of the season, and this stat will be very important to break ties. Consider New Jersey, who is only 4 points back of the Rangers and Jets, who are tied for 8th. Yet they have 3 fewer ROW and 7 fewer ROW than the Rangers and Jets, respectively, and could find themselves on the outside of the playoff picture as a result.
• Lastly, if you like what you read or want to offer your opinion, please share and comment! Here's your daily gif, Kris Letang getting a sweet two for one deal against the Lightning: