It's Finally Time For The NHL To Get Some Revenge After Trump And Putin Discussed Organizing Hockey Games Between NHL and KHL Players
Jess Rapfogel. Getty Images.Lucky for the NHL, the Miracle on Ice took place on February 22, 1980. Because it allowed most people to forget that just over a year prior, the Soviet Red Army came over to America and smacked the NHL All-Stars directly in the dick by winning the 1979 Challenge Cup.
A 3-game series between the NHL All-Star Team (mostly Team Canada with a couple of Swedes thrown into the mix) and the Soviet Union. They split the first two games, but then the Soviets came out and dummied the NHL All-Stars in game 3 with a 6-0 shutout. The NHL threw the best collection of hockey players in the world out there, and they got steamrolled by the Red Army.
Focus On Sport. Getty Images.The NHL has had to just sit on that loss for the past 45 years. Sure, about 10 years later the NHL started to take all the best players out of Russia. But they've never had a chance to get any true revenge. As the kids would say, the NHL needs to get their lick back. A chance to throw together an NHL All-Star squad that completely ragdolls an all-star team coming out of Russia.
Trump and Putin want to make it happen.
ESPN -- President Donald Trump supported President Vladimir Putin's idea to organize hockey games between the U.S. and Russia during their phone call on Tuesday, according to a summary released by the Kremlin.
According to the Russian government, Trump and Putin discussed "hockey matches in the USA and Russia between Russian and American players playing in the NHL and KHL," which is Russia's professional hockey league.
Now the NHL has already come out and shot down the idea. But that's just because the NHL hates any idea that they didn't come up with themselves.
The NHL didn't come up with the idea themselves, so they wouldn't be able to take credit for it. It also means it wouldn't solely be an NHL product, which means they'd have to split revenue with the KHL. If there's anything the NHL truly hates doing, it's giving away money. Combine that with the extremely small but present possibility that the KHL team could pull off an upset, and you can see why Gary Bettman is so quick to shoot this one down.
But the hockey world has been dying to see this happen for awhile now. When the world needs it the most, an American vs Russian hockey rivalry always puts us back on the right track. This could be the perfect, "if you build it, they will come" type of scenario.
Just cut the NHL out of this entirely. Organize it in the summer. Throw a shit ton of cash the players' way to make it worth their while. Play the games in Lake Placid. Just make it happen already. Stop letting politics rob us of an unreal hockey event that will live on for another 45+ years.