NHL All-Stars Getting Ready to Head To Vancouver, But Should They Be?

Ever since the Dream Team from USA Basketball made their debut at the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain, the IOC has been obsessed with big time pro players appearing in the Olympics, even though they are supposed to be for amateurs.

I'll admit that when I was nine and got to see Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson all play on the same squad, I got excited, and honestly, who wouldn't. Heck even the opposing teams were excited to get spanked by the Americans.

At the winter games in Nagano, Japan, the NHL followed the NBA's lead and shut down for 17 days to allow their All-Stars to compete for their countries in the Olympics.

It was a cool idea, but not nearly as monumental as the '92 Dream Team, mostly because the NHL is made up of players from around the globe and even though they'd be playing in the Olympics they all wouldn't be on the same team, so in a sense it lost the magic.

Well, ever since, the NHL has shut down every four years for roughly 17 days to allow these players to represent their countries. This is an annoyance to NHL fans and a slap in the face to those of us who hold the 1980 USA hockey team dear to our hearts.

What was so great and so magical about that team was that they were a bunch of college kids with a snow ball's chance in hell of winning anything.

Of course you all know the story, they did the unthinkable and beat the Soviets and then went on to beat the Finland to win the Gold medal.

This type of story, which was picked the best international hockey story of the last 100 years by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), would not have happened if the pros were playing.

To me, having the NHL players at the Olympics just takes away from the magic of the games. I'm sure it helps the ratings but it kills the story lines.

I'm sure there are still some minor rivalries between countries, but when many of the players who are supposed to be rivials play together on a daily basis in the NHL, it takes away some of the bad blood that exists.

Plus it makes us fans feel confused about who to root for. As a Capitals fan, most of my favorite players are playing for Russia. Herb Brooks would roll over in his grave if he heard a US citizen was seriously considering rooting for the Ruskies.

Also, if you think about it, a lot of these players go into these games worrying about injuries. Where I have no doubts (and I worry) that Alexander Ovechkin will be flying around the ice, others might be a bit more cautious.

Where as the young college guys who aren't in the NHL yet won't worry too much about injuries. They're going to go all out because, this being the biggest stage for hockey, they know it's one extra try out to make it to the NHL.

As a hockey fan I would prefer that the NHL not shut down for almost three weeks and that the younger players who aren't making a ton of money got a chance to play for their countries. 

However, I will enjoy watching the Olympic hockey games and even though Ovie is with the Russians, I still hold out hope that USA can bring home the gold.