Let the Games go on

TURIN--Shockingly, they didn't close down the XX Winter Olympics today.

Nope, they decided to keep 'em rolling, at least for another four days, despite the fact that for Canadian hockey fans, they ended yesterday in the tiniest rink ever to host a major Canada-Russia tilt.

The moment the last fan left the Torino Esposizioni, they began the process of shutting down the makeshift rink. They'll never play hockey there again, and years from now, the children of Joe Sakic and Martin Brodeur and Rob Blake will return to the scene and wonder: "You played here?"

Canada could only win at women's hockey, not men's, and maybe it was symbolic this morning when Canadian cross-country skiier Beckie Scott was announced as the newly elected member of the IOC's athlete's commission.

Who did she defeat? None other than Finland men's hockey captain Saku Koivu.

Scott outpolled Finnish hockey captain Saku Koivu, although both will serve on the commision, replacing former Finnish hockey star Jari Kurri and Norwegian speedskater Adne Sondral.

Yes, thank goodness for our women.

Canadian hockey fans, needless to say, are going to chew on this stunning hockey setback for a while. the worst performance by a Canadian Olympic entry since, well, how about 1984 in Sarajevo with the national team lost its final three games all by shutout.

Sound familiar?

In terms of NHLers representing Canada, I been fortunate enough to have covered all or parts of the 1987 and 1991 Canada Cups, the 1996 and 2004 World Cups and the 1998, 2002 and 2006  Winter Olympics.

Of those seven events, this year's Olympic squad was the worst, with a close second the '96 World Cup team that wandered through the event and lost the final to the United States.

Just like then, this year's team had no spirit, no elan. No fire. No joy.

It just seemed a struggle from the very beginning. Outside of the goaltending of Brodeur and Roberto Luongo, nothing really clicked or ever seemed suitably Olympian. Their punishment, and for most of us, it would hardly be punishment, is that it appears they can't get out of Italy as quickly as most would like, such as today.

Team Canada flew all the players, support staff and their families over to Europe Feb. 13th on a Boeing 767, set everybody up in hotels and apartments, with the belief that the worse case scenario would have Canada playing for a bronze on Saturday.

Well, apparently there was a scenario worse than that.

Now, they all have to sit tight until the plane leaves Sunday night, unless the logistics can be figured out and an early departure can be arranged. Some players may head for home on their own, others were considering going skiing in the nearby mountains.

Based on the e-mails that have been flooding in, its clear Pat Quinn is going to receive as much or more blame for this defeat as will Wayne Gretzky and the players.

Not sure that's fair, if only because it lets the players off the hook. What I am sure of is that Quinn will return to a struggling Maple Leaf team next week without the golden glow that accompanied him on his return from Salt Lake City four years ago.

GM John Ferguson arrived in Turin several days ago, and certainly he'll be sitting down with Quinn to try and figure out ways to get a moribund Leaf squad rolling quickly when play resumes next week.

Missing the playoffs is a distinct possibility. The NHL standings, after all, haven't changed during the break, and the Leafs are right back at it Tuesday at home against the Washington Capitals.

Imagine how happy Quinn will be to see Alexander Ovechkin again so soon?

Even reaching the post-season might not be enough for Quinn, and this will be the story to watch in the coming weeks. The man's going to have to coach his butt off to get the Leafs on an upswing, and like the rest of Team Canada, he's going to have to hit the ground running when he returns Monday.

The Leaf players remaining in the tournament - Tomas Kaberle, Aki Berg, Mats Sundin and Mikael Tellqvist - are all going to be competing through Saturday. Compare that to the New Jersey Devils, who had a large group - Brodeur, Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta, Brian Rafalski, Paul Martin - eliminated yesterday.

Yes, there will be a post-Olympic effect. How Quinn and the Leafs handle it will be intriguing to watch.

Comments

[Maurice]

Any manager that picks Todd Bertuzzi over Jason Spezza and Eric Stahl deserves to lose. Any league that idolizes Pat Quinn and blacklists Ted Nolan is an embarrassment to the country. Thanks Russia.

[D'Arcy Mackenzie]

I don't care about Quinn or the Leaf's now - not sure I will in a few weeks or months. Yesterday's loss has to be one of the most disappointing results for Canadian hockey in a long time. For now it is time for truth telling. First off, it seems obvious that on the big ice, there is not much that separates the teams and that for Canadians to succeed the coaching needs to be top-notch. Listening to Pat Quinn after the game was almost amusing - "the Russians didn't play the way we expected." Mr. Cox's comments about this team are pretty damming and it certainly reflects badly on a few key players such as Joe Sakic, which is probably not fair to him. Those other Canadian teams referred by Mr. Cox had incredible leadership - from Phil Esposito in 1972 to Lemieux and Gretzky in 87, Messier in 91, and Lemieux in 2002. It re-confirms my sense that we didn't sufficiently appreciate Lemieux's role at Salt Lake City. Yes Sakic was the MVP, but it was Lemieux who got things back on track with two goals against the Czech's, set up the game winner in the 2-1 victory against Finland (on the type of play that only he and few others can make) and then had the soccer like decoy on the first goal in the gold medal game. The last truth for me is Olympic hockey is so much enjoyable to watch and it seems at its best when there is a north american team playing a European teams - the contrast in styles makes for great play. That said, I plan to watch and will be cheering for the Finns as they have never won the Olympic gold medal.

[Roberto]

Yes, the Leafs will return to action, stuggle and maybe make the playoffs but probably not. Does it really matter if they do because this team just does not have the horses for a Stanley Cup run. The debate as to whether this team should be buyers or sellers at the deadline is a non issue in my mind. Sundin is clearly on the downslope, Eddie's past due date has come and gone, McCabe is a free agent and defensive liability, and Antropov will never ever make it in a league where skating is now at a premium.
This fan at least says trade em all, for prospects with speed and upside and start over. The Rangers turned it around in 1 year and so can The Leafs if Ferguson would actually take a bold step.

[Tommy]

The killer blow was the loss to switzerland. This Canada-Russia matchup should've happened in the finals. The Russians are great. Canada was ok, but that was good enough for a silver - if they had brought it against the Swiss.

[Victor Fulcher]

I think it would be ridiculous to start pointing fingers following Team Canada's loss to the Russians. These things happen in sports. (shit happens)

Yes we should try to learn from this experience. And those involved with the 2010 team will probably think they've learned what needed to be learned and are better for it. And they might win in 2010 or they might not. If we win, all will be right with the world and all those involved will congatulate themselves on their wisdom. If we lose the finger pointing will start all over again.

[Pat O'Neill]

Quinn's benching of Rick Nash, who has never been big on "cycle the puck along the boards and then recyle it again and again and again and again" like the Leafs do, shows that he is not really in touch with the "new NHL" or with the "big ice" game.

Team Canada needed goals and Nash is a proven goal scorer at the international level as well as at the NHL level. Keeping him on the bench didn't improve Team Canada's scoring. But then again, if it was up to Quinn, Nash probably would still be in the AHL developing his defensive game.

[Iain Wood]

Somehow we believe the centre of the hockey universe is Canada. That our nationwide passion for the game equates to superiority. It doesn't anyore.

The majority of the exciting players in the NHL are European. Their mastery of puck handling, skating and shooting is dazzling.

Team Canada refused to be beaten along the boards or in the corners - but we need skills to play the whole ice surface. And we just don't have the skillset of the Europeans.

In 1972 we were shocked at just how good - actually better - the Russians were at OUR game. Choking on humble pie we raised or game as a consequence.

Though all Canadians have hockey in their DNA it's time to accept we're behind them yet again. Let's find out why the Europeans are so darn good at the basics and change our approach.

Passion, work ethic and the will to learn will put Canada on top in 2010.

[J Norman]

Two complete separate and independent events: Team Canada and the Leafs.

If Quinn gets the Leafs into the playoffs, he may be a Jack Adams candidate relative to the doom and gloom media predictions for this team and what has transpired since with injuries and rules changes, etc.

As for Team Canada, I think hockey fans need to bear in mind what a difference the big ice, the Olympic setting, Euro systems and ultimately the game is as Jagr, Liles, Sakic, Pronger, Hitchcock, etc have all tried to tell fans. Trying to pull a North American team together in a short period of time for an Olympic tournament has some significant unpredictability and no time for a team to react or come together. Unfortunately, Canadians are going to have to get used to it as the Euros have also closed the gap.

[hockey37]

Mediocre is as mediocre does, Pat Quinn was mediocre with the Canucks and with the Leafs I could never see what the fuss was about
(read coach of the year), but to be fair if you are part of an organization that gives away its prospects every year for overpriced veterans, what do you expect?

[Rob Greenfield]

You know, there is a lot of talk and whining about the large ice surface, the format, the rules, the jet lag between North America, and the year off due to the lockout. Most of the complaints and comments have been "woe are the Canadians" because of this. The layoff has hurt them; the jet lag to Italy was hard to adjust to; the big ice is, well, big; the rules take a while to adjust to ... for crying out loud, most of the elite teams in the Olympic tournament are staffed with NHL players. They all had to deal with everything that Canada had to. True, they may have experience playing on big ice in their youth, but for the most part they had the same hurdles to cross as the Canadians. And do they whine and complain about the system like Canada does; hardly. Their should be a Winter Olympic event for whining and gnashing of teeth ... Canada would be assured of gold.
As for the Leafs, the fat lady is warming up for her act.

[Ninja]

The Rangers turned it around in half of the 03-04 season plus an entire season in Hartford for the mid-season call-ups. I agree with you, but this turnaround needs more than a year. Even two years is amazing. The owner lockout hugely benefitted the Rangers' development program.

[Dave]

Why does it always have to be such a huge negative navel gazing exercise when Team Canada loses a hockey game? Is it a travesty to lose essentially a one goal game to a team as talented as the Russians? I don't think so.
We competed, the guys at least when it mattered gave it everything they had, and came up short, as 7 other medal round contendors will. Do all of their programs need to be dismantled, coaches fired, players blamed and general manager's questioned? No.
There is no shame in losing to the Russians, but is should have been in the semi final or final. The Switzerland game is the only game where I can find criticism with this team, as it ultimately cost them an easier game in the round of 8.
If there is a lesson to be learned it is you need to win those round robin games to get yourself an easier opponent for when it matters.

[Newton]

2010 is another crapshoot waiting to happen.

We played horribly in 06 but if we're waiting 4 years to redeem ourselves we might as well ensure the format is more than a die rolling contest where 1 lucky bounce, 1 hot goalie, 1 bad penalty call determines the fate of a nation's dreams.

The olympics is a spectacle it is not a legitimate tourney. It settles nothing. Start pressing for a real World Cup Cox.

I think the appetite of Canadian NHLer's for continuing the world cup will be greater now that we'll have to wait 4 years for another kick at the olympic can... funny how those things work eh.

[R.ST.Germain]

I don't blame Quinn.I blame Gretzky for picking the wrong players.Staal,Crosby,Karyia and Spezza should have been on the team and Draper,Pronger should not have been on the team.They were awful like most of the entire team.Brodeur played great and kept the score down.Gretzky is entirely to blame.

[Gary]

Keep in mind, it is all cyclic. Even the Russians are not what they once were, and no country has benifited from this fact more than we Canadians. Could you imagine what the old Red-Army team would have done to us? Double Digits! Canada will always be able to ice a competitive team, at least on paper, but Canada never has, and never will have world dominance in Hockey. There are simply too many other good hockey nations. In my opinion, the real threat to Canadian Hockey will come from south of the border, where egos aside, they will be willing to adapt and develop the hockey skills necessary to make American Hockey the world's best. It is unlikely that we, proud Canadians, will do the same.