Shocking comments by NHL owner regarding Olympics!

The issue of NHL players going or not to the Olympics occupies a good part of the sports media cycle since Christmas. The PyeongChang Winter Olympics are still far away and plenty of hockey is left to be played before that. However, an interesting fight between players and GMs is brewing. 

Ottawa Senators's owner Eugene Melnyk was asked about if he expects to send players to the Olympics, most notably Erik Karlsson. His answer is VERY telling about his vision of the issue. 

''So I'm gonna give Sweden my best player and risk him being injured? Beating our Canadian team? That doesn't makes sense. If he was a Canadian, wanting to play for Canada, maybe. But right now, it doesn't make any sense for our franchise and it's not fair to our fan if we lose him in the Olympics''. 

Wow! It's refreshing to finally hear an owner be brutally honest about the issue. However, saying the player needs to wear the right flag on his jersey to be sent to the Olympics is controversial, at best. You passport determines if your team's owner will accept to let you go or not! 

The thing is, Erik Karlsson doesn't see it that way and he is quoted saying: 

''I really want to go and feel that all the players do, too''. 

The quotes can be heard here.

So basically, the owner want to protect their assets, but these players are willing to go in South Korea and battle hard for their countries. The next months will be interesting!