IOC President Agrees The Olympics Are Good For The NHL

"I think it's important for the Olympic Games to have the NHL," the president of the International Olympic Committee said on Thursday said during a telephone conference call. "That goes without saying.

"But also I think it's important for the NHL to have their stars shine in the Olympic Games. If you look at the audience of the final of the Olympic ice hockey tournament, it matches the final of the Stanley Cup. That is a good promotion for hockey in North America."

Unsurprisingly, Bill Daly, the NHL Deputy Commissioner, disagrees.

"I understand that's Mr. Rogge's point of view," Daly said in an e-mail to The Canadian Press. "It doesn't mean that point of view is necessarily shared by our owners or the league."

The NHL and the owners are not big fans of the long break in the season, nor do they get that good feeling when their star players are off getting injured during a tournament that has no effect on their team or the season. Right now, the league has not committed to allowing their players to participate in the 2014 Winter Games, something that has many players claiming they'll play no matter what.