“It’s very disappointing. We were promised in the collective agreement. Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand has publicly protested against the National League’s decision not to send its players to the Olympics.
A native of Halifax, Marchand could have been one of the players selected to be part of the Canadian team. At a press conference on Sunday afternoon, the 33-year-old striker, for whom it was probably the last chance to participate in international competition, expressed his dismay.
“I had the impression that they [les dirigeants de la LNH] were trying to get out of it for a while and they didn’t want us to go, he lamented. There should be a way to go and have that experience. Some people work their whole lives for it. ”
“I know that in the end, they don’t care about the Olympics because it doesn’t bring them money,” he continued. It’s a business and we are resources. Let’s call a spade a spade. They don’t want us to get hurt there, that’s part of it, but it should be the player’s choice to go to this tournament. ”
“We are talking about the Olympic Games. They are the best in the world. If you’ve earned the right to go, you should be able to. It is very disappointing. ”
Marchand had the same reaction in 2017, when the NHL announced that the players would not go to the PyeongChang Games. He was 28 at the time and also had a good chance of being selected to represent Canada.