When NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced a deal allowing the New Jersey Devils, along with the rest of the NHL's franchises, to send their players to participate in the 2014 Sochi Olympics, fans and players alike let out a sigh of relief.
Since the 1998 Winter games, hockey's greatest stars have traded their franchises for their flags, resulting in must-see international matchups.
This time around, the deal between the NHL and the IIHF was delayed as the two sides negotiated a few key issues. The negotiations held up the release of the upcoming season's schedule and at times seemed bleak.
When a deal was finally announced, it was a win for the fans, the players and the sport in general.
Bettman said in a statement, "...Our athletes take tremendous pride in representing their homelands on the global stage" (via CBSSports.com).
The NHL expects to send about 120 players to Sochi to play for the gold. Let's take a look at how many of them could be Devils.
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Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Mark Goldberg
Predicting Which New Jersey Devils Will Compete in 2014 Sochi Olympics
August 12th, 2013 by Mark Goldberg Leave a reply »
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