Follow @james_tanner123 While I prefer NHL games to international competition - mostly, I guess, for the surrounding story-lines, the Leafs and the hockey pools - I do look forward to the upcoming World Cup.
To me, the Olympics are terrible because of the high cost of human suffering that comes along with the games, and because they stop the season right at it's best part to have them.
In the interest of writing shorter intros, here's a song that has nothing to do with what you're reading about, followed by what I think are five good reasons to care about the World Cup.
It's been several months since we were last able to watch NHL quality hockey, and so I don't see why everyone is bitching about the World Cup - it's hockey.
One team will play the other and we will sit back and loudly complain about the minutia of the game - what could be more fun?
In all seriousness, the quality of the games will be high and the best players in the world will be playing after a three month lay-off. As far as diversions for your crappy life, this is right up there with sex, golf and batman.
I keep hearing people complain that it's a cash-grab. What isn't? Do you think the regular NHL is some kind of pure, not-for-profit entity of goodwill and friendship? Is NHL head-office located in the the Shire? Give me a break here.
No one gets out of bed for the Columbus Blue Jackets due to love of the game, so let's be honest with ourselves and try to love things in spite of the fact they only exist to separate us from our money.
That being said, there is a line, and that line is putting ads on the Jerseys - a shameful and disgusting cash-grab by cynical, anonymous dirtbags with no regard for anything but their paychecks, may they all rot in hell.
2. Connor McDavid
In this international tournament, Canada is denied arguably their best player. Heading up team North America is Connor McDavid, and seeing how he performs in this environment will go a long way in establishing how we view him.
If this team makes any kind of run, people will look at the Oilers in a whole new light. McDavid may or may not live up to the hype, but finding out will be sensational.
Never before have the Leafs picked up a #1 over-all draft pick who people are calling "generational." At least, I assume no one was throwing around Mario Lemieux comparisons back when the Leafs picked their last #1, Wendel Clark.
Drafted to the Leafs, at this time, with this hype, Matthews pretty much has to have a Hall of Fame career to avoid being labeled one of the biggest busts in NHL history. Unfair? Of course, but this isn't just Toronto, it's the culmination of a vision sold to the world's most rabid fanbase/media combination after 12 years of failure.
So how he fares lining up behind McDavid in a tournament against NHL all-stars is going to be very, very interesting. To my mind, even though it's number three on this list, it's the most interesting thing about this tournament.
4. Another Opportunity to Make the Point About Fighting
Will Corey Perry - one of the league's dirtiest players - go out of his way to injure another team's best player now that there's no fighters to scare him?
Of course not, because the idea of "protection" is as mythical as the reference page on Randy Carlye's resume.
This tournament will feature the world's best players playing top-notch hockey against each other and there will be less dirty plays than in the normal NHL. There will be either zero or, at most, one fights.
Once again proving that the NHL should take fighting were it belongs: off the ice and into the hallway that leads to the dressing room.
There are a lot of Hufflepuffs in the Olympic tournament. That is to say, dud teams that no one cares about who have zero chance of winning. Latvia, Germany, El Salvador and the Vatican are just some of the whacky characters that show up at the Olympics with homemade sticks and goalie equipment re-purposed from the chesterfield of some Latvian widow.
In the World Cup, there are six good teams and two made-up teams, both of which will be superior to the bevy of ridiculous teams entered into the Olympics. Oh boy, can we please watch the Swiss try to end every game in a tie? Can you even prove that Latvia isn't a made-up country?
Come on, the objections to these teams are silly. You get to eliminate all the teams that have no chance anyways, and make up actual good teams that will be fun to watch. The net result - a higher quality level of hockey.
The tournament should be a great prolouge to another NHL season. I look forward to it.