Rene Fasel, President of International Hockey Federation comes out swinging at the NHL
Rene Fasel, President of the IHF, absolutely loves ice hockey to the core. However, at present, one should refrain from talking about NHL’s expansion into Europe when Fasel is around.
When confronted with the possibility of an NHL move to Europe, Rene burst into a fury. “I will fight like h**l and not allow anybody to come from abroad,” Rene said. The idea isn’t a new one. For a while, NHL has been looking at Europe as its next expansion stop and having franchises in Europe that play under the league’s banner. That was never going to be easy and now the league would have to go up against Rene if those fantasies are ever going to materialize.
Leaving Rene’s anger aside for now, the mere logistics of an NHL move into Europe are just mind boggling. The idea that a team could go to Europe for a week to play a game or two and then fly across the Atlantic back for a packed schedule and still be at their best is a little farfetched. Then there are the time zones. An 8 pm game on the East Coast would be the middle of the night in Slovakia. Getting viewership from both sides of the Atlantic would be a neat trick if the NHL can pull it off. But that’s all moot until NHL can make its move into Europe and for that, their immediate concern would be getting past Rene and those who agree with him.
Rene didn’t just disapprove of a Europe-ward move by the NHL, he was just downright hostile. “Try to come, good luck,” was Rene’s polite way of saying things that would never get published here. Speaking at the International Hockey Summit in Toronto on Tuesday, Rene said that the cultural differences alone wouldn’t permit an NFL move into Europe. “Let us do the job in Europe and in the end let us come together. Keep our identity in Europe, you keep your identity here,” Rene said.
Rene is all for cross continental competition but not in the same way NHL wants. Rene was touting the idea of Champions League style Hockey in Europe. He said he would like to have European teams fight it out amongst themselves and then have the European Champion play against the Stanley Cup winner. “That would be music for the hockey fans.”
Rene added that the Europe vs. North America scenario is what ice hockey fans want to see but that won’t be happening for a while. For starters, ice hockey in Europe is bit mishmash unlike in North America which is a lot more ‘centralized.’ The Europe vs. North America competition won’t come for a long time. The Olympics however is almost here and the NHL wants a bigger piece of the pie.
The IIHF President said that various discussions have been conducted by the NHL to have more say and control in the Olympics. NHL official and players have had reservations about the financial returns or lack thereof from their participation in the Olympics. Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke has asked that NHL players be compensated for participation in international events, including the Olympics. Rene tried to play down the financial aspect of it.
Rene said that money was not the most important factor. He said that Olympic participation would be the best promotion for the league, the players and the game. “I cannot expect the NHL to just try to get the money out of a non-profit federation,” Rene went on to add that he believed every Canadian player wanted to be a part of the Gold Medal winning team in Vancouver. “[They] would love to go and represent the country in the Olympics - and they did it, for free.”
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