Count Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke among those who feel the NHL will not participate in the Olympics beyond the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games.
After participating in Nagano (1998), Salt Lake City (2002) and Turin (2006), Vancouver will be the fourth Olympics that NHL players have competed in. But other than the attention and prime-time television viewing from the Salt Lake games, Burke believes that shutting down the NHL season for the international tournament hasn’t been worth it.
“I don’t know any other sport that closes its door for 2½ weeks in the middle of the season,” Burke said. “What I’d like to see is this become a Summer Olympic Games [sport].
“I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the last Olympics where the NHL participates. That being said, I know from [NHLPA executive director] Paul Kelly’s viewpoint it’s a real important thing to them. So we’ll see. Certainly, it’s a possibility.”
