Olympic hangover for NHL teams?

What sort of impact do the Olympics have on players coming back to their respective NHL teams? We can debate the issue all we want, but a study was actually done on it which may provide the measurable effects for which critics of sending players to the Winter Games have been looking.

The New York Times takes a look at a 2012 study conducted by University of Massachusetts professor Neil Longley, which was published in The International Journal of Sports Finance.

Longley, in the study: “The Olympics do seem to change competitive outcomes in the N.H.L.. The best-performing N.H.L. teams — because they send the most players to the Olympics — are somewhat disadvantaged relative to weaker N.H.L. teams.”

Longley, via telephone interview: “It could be physical fatigue; it could be emotional fatigue — we can’t really answer that question. There could be an energizing effect to being at the Olympics. But the numbers show that the more Olympians an N.H.L. team supplies, the greater its post-Olympic drop-off relative to its pre-Olympic performance.”

The article notes franchises like the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins, Anaheim Ducks, New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks sent seven or more players each overseas.

Source: Jeff Z. Klein, New York Times