There may be a lot of pride winning gold for your country, but the length of the grind, the odds and difficulty winning, obstacles overcome, etc probably factor heavily into which one feels "better" winning.
Also the group you win with. I'd like to believe Iginla would want to try and win the Cup to get Conroy's name on it after playing with him for close to 10 years. Not to say he would rather get his name on the Cup than win the Gold but things like that also probably factor into it.
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No doubt this differs greatly from group to group, year to year as a result.
Yeah, there's some pretty clear demographics (seems gold>>>Cup for "most" European posters) and I would also bet the younger fans and new fans will value gold moreso than I did when the competition is best vs best since the getgo for them. Like I said, back in 88 and 92 not as easy to value the gold when you got Lemieux, Gretzky, etc. not participating and some guys you didn't know instead.
I'd like to know what Canadians would be saying if the United States won the 2002 Gold and you finished where you did in 2006. Hockey is to you in the Olympics as Basketball is for the United States....you are not supposed to lose. And when it happens that is typically when the rest of the players go to step up to bring the medal home. Not to mention, having it won in your lifetime kind of makes it a "check" as being Canadian and being a hockey fan.
I'd like to know what Canadians would be saying if the United States won the 2002 Gold and you finished where you did in 2006. Hockey is to you in the Olympics as Basketball is for the United States...
I'd care a lot less about that scenario than if my team lost in the Stanley Cup finals instead of winning it (Avs versus Devils).
I think it's partly because as a fan of a team, I go through the motions of an 82 game season along with the trials of the playoffs. It's a huge journey, that goes from when the team drafts the franchise player to where they first make the playoffs and fail to when they hopefully get to the Stanley Cup finals. So many heartbreaks have to happen prior to that point.
With the Olympics, the loss can be painful but it goes away quickly because the journey is so short. I know that in four or eight more years, the Canadian team will be strong and have another chance for the Gold.
But for an NHL team? It's so much more uncertain... it requires a lot of great timing, scouting, chemistry and luck. There are still teams in the NHL who have been great at one point in time but still haven't had a chance to win it all.
I'd care a lot less about that scenario than if my team lost in the Stanley Cup finals instead of winning it (Avs versus Devils).
I think it's partly because as a fan of a team, I go through the motions of an 82 game season along with the trials of the playoffs. It's a huge journey, that goes from when the team drafts the franchise player to where they first make the playoffs and fail to when they hopefully get to the Stanley Cup finals. So many heartbreaks have to happen prior to that point.
With the Olympics, the loss can be painful but it goes away quickly because the journey is so short. I know that in four or eight more years, the Canadian team will be strong and have another chance for the Gold.
But for an NHL team? It's so much more uncertain... it requires a lot of great timing, scouting, chemistry and luck. There are still teams in the NHL who have been great at one point in time but still haven't had a chance to win it all.
Would your mind change if they did a FIFA World Cup type thing? Obviously there isn't that many countries out there in comparison, but to have it separated into regions to qualify and then go into a longer tourney? Obviously this means NHL players probably would not be going to the Olympics though.
Generally the Stabley Cup is higher on the list for North Americans, and the inverse for euros.
The NHL is merely a local tournament, while the Olympics are global, no wonder the Olympics are bigger outside NA. I'm sure NA value the Olympics more than Le Mat, too.
While you get fewer chances to win an Olympic medal, I would have think a Cup would be much more rewarding.
Grueling 82 game schedule just to make the playoffs and then four 7 games series of the most punishing, intense hockey on the planet.
VS
There are really only 6-8 teams that can legitimately challenge for a gold medal and the max number of games you play is 8. Not exactly a test of endurance or will. While the level of hockey is high, it really comes down to which team gels the fastest and to be honest, with a 1 game elimination format, dumb luck.
While a gold medal would be a great honour, I have a feeling most NHL players realize the sacrifice and commitment it takes to win a Cup makes it a little more special.
With this reasoning the Danish league is also bigger than the Olympics.
Playing more games does not make a trophy more important.
The incredibly short sample size of the Olympics goes against the "team" concept, for me. Just throw 20 guys together, play a few games, and it's over. Where's the journey and dynamics? I can't get emotionally invested in it. I enjoy watching the hockey but I forget about the Olympics results a week after they're over. The outcomes just don't feel significant with so little actual playing.
Just throw 20 guys together? Maybe try: Just throw 20 guys, who are the best guys your country have to offer to win the Olympics? In some cases, 20 egos who must find a way to play as a team to win it.
The tournament could have been bigger, but hockey hasn't that many good countries. No point on having teams coming in, just to lose 15-0 three times and go home.
For european players, the world championships are bigger. For North American players it's the stanley cup. As you kids the guys on the other side of the ocean don't think about the cup they think about the world championships. Same goes for north americans.
I remember Scott Oake asked this same question to Mikael Samuelsson and Samuelsson basically danced around the question. It's not a knock on him or european players. This stuff is just a lot bigger in europe.
I know it's not olympic gold but it's kind of related to the question.
I'm Canadian and I'd rather win the Gold. I suppose for players slogging for years in the NHL, the Cup might become more important though. But the Olympic is a standard of accomplishment that transcends hockey. It represents being at the pinnacle of whatever sport you play, against the very best in the world. The Stanley Cup doesn't have that level of standardization.
Basically, if your team doesn't have much hope of winning, the value of the Gold shoots up.
Especially for the small fish teams that are not considered a good threat, like the eastern bloc teams, a Gold would be ludicrous to them. There is no way a Cup would be as big an accomplishment.
For a Canadian player, or for a USA fan like myself dying for his team to get a Cup, the Gold sucks by comparison.
So there is no wrong answer, and certainly the only people wrong are those claiming only one has value over the other.
What would give you more pride - Crosby, Nash and Stills Stamkos standing before the World to Oh Canada or your team finally winning the cup? How did you feel about the Canada Cup wins and losses or the Summit Series? The Canadians vs Red Army New Years eve match?
Yeah I'd be ecstatic if the Leafs won. Especially if it was clear they had it wrapped up after game one, two or three of a seven game set but seriously one game takes all for an award that the whole world of hockey recognizes your country is the best? No contest.
How about Hawerchuck to Gretzky to Lemeiux for the game winner in the final minute(s) of a 6-5 game against an amazing Russian team? Bossy's tip in in OT? Sittler putting a move on the Czech goalie that a Leaf trainer suggested to win against a fantastic, outrageously excellent goalie performance.
Rogie Vachon's perfomance with Bowman coaching the team to a perfect record. Yzerman playing in pain to lead to Olympic gold? Not a broken leg but guts personified nonetheless.
The memories of our best beating the world easily trump but in no way diminish our local team's triumphs. We all win the cup when the boys get the gold.
It's funny because for a russian or canadian is it really THAT big of an accomplishment. They are going into the olympics knowing that realistically there is ONE team that can/should beat them.
Going into the NHL season there is probably around 20.
Olympic Ice Hockey: Medal Winners
Year Gold Silver Bronze
1920 Canada United States Czechoslovakia
1924 Canada United States Great Britain
1928 Canada Sweden Switzerland
1932 Canada United States Germany
1936 Great Britain Canada United States
1948 Canada Czechoslovakia Switzerland
1952 Canada United States Sweden
1956 Soviet Union United States Canada
1960 United States Canada Soviet Union
1964 Soviet Union Sweden Czechoslovakia
1968 Soviet Union Czechoslovakia Canada
1972 Soviet Union United States Czechoslovakia
1976 Soviet Union Czechoslovakia West Germany
1980 United States Soviet Union Sweden
1984 Soviet Union Czechoslovakia Sweden
1988 Soviet Union Finland Sweden
1992 CIS Canada Czechoslovakia
1994 Sweden Canada Finland
1998 Czech Republic Russia Finland
2002 Canada United States Russia
2006 Sweden Finland Czech Republic
Sweden has won 2 of the last 4, Canada 1, Czech 1 and Russia 0. Finland has the most medals-3 over the same time period.
Seems to me that Swedes have been a big part of the last couple of Cup series too.
Coincidence?
I think it all depends on the player and the situation. I know for sure that some players aren't happy on their teams, and other guys get traded somewhere they don't want to be --- all foils of the NHL being, in the end, a business.
The Olympic Gold, though, I think that every single person there on the team and at the Games really really wants to be there, is proud to be there and wants to win no matter what.
The Stanley Cup is definitely the "ultimate trophy" for a player's career, but I think plenty of guys in any given Olympic year would say they'd take the Gold over the Cup because it is bigger than a personal achievement.
If I was raised in Sweden, Russia, Finland...I am pretty sure winning the Gold would be more valuable to me...Maybe in time like 12 years or so playing in the NHL I would want a Stanley Cup more
The Olympics are every country's chance to see their best players playing together in competition. Who do you think Canada's best players are? Wouldn't you love to see them all on the ice together? Hawerchuck to Gretzky to Lemieux was one of the greatest moments in history for Canadian hockey fans. No other way you'd get to see that other than the Olympics these days.
Ovechkin, Malkin, Kovalchuck? Yeah we can salivate over that too as true hockey fans.
It just doesn't get any better. One game, winner take all. Can you handle it?
If I was raised in Sweden, Russia, Finland...I am pretty sure winning the Gold would be more valuable to me...Maybe in time like 12 years or so playing in the NHL I would want a Stanley Cup more
I'm sure if you asked Sundin if he would trade any of his international accolades for at least the OPPORTUNITY to play for the cup he'd do it in a heart beat. Most Euro's do indeed place greater importance on winning something significant for their country than they do the cup, particularly when they're younger and just coming into the NHL. At the same time though, the further they progress into their NHL careers, the more that cup starts to mean to them, as they finally realize its true value, which likely wasn't the case when they were growing up in Europe.
The Olympics are every country's chance to see their best players playing together in competition. Who do you think Canada's best players are? Wouldn't you love to see them all on the ice together? Hawerchuck to Gretzky to Lemieux was one of the greatest moments in history for Canadian hockey fans. No other way you'd get to see that other than the Olympics.
Ovechkin, Malkin, Kovalchuck? Yeah we can salivate over that too as true hockey fans.
It just doesn't get any better. One game, winner take all. Can you handle it?
One game, winner take all is always exciting, without a doubt. BUt compared to the sacrifice and dedication it takes to go through 2 months of grueling, playoff hockey, it's simply no contest as to which accomplishment is more fulfilling in the end.
I'm sure if you asked Sundin if he would trade any of his international accolades for at least the OPPORTUNITY to play for the cup he'd do it in a heart beat. Most Euro's do indeed place greater importance on winning something significant for their country than they do the cup, particularly when they're younger and just coming into the NHL. At the same time though, the further they progress into their NHL careers, the more that cup starts to mean to them, as they finally realize its true value, which likely wasn't the case when they were growing up in Europe.
Ask Sundin this 12 years ago...yeah now he wants the cup. But I bet 10-12 years ago, winning the gold against team canada or russia or someone else was more special.
One game, winner take all is always exciting, without a doubt. BUt compared to the sacrifice and dedication it takes to go through 2 months of grueling, playoff hockey, it's simply no contest as to which accomplishment is more fulfilling in the end.
You think throwing a team together a week before a tournament in which every single game is meaningful takes less dedication?
Are you crazy man ? With world hockey supremacy and bragging rights at stake for four years?
Diss it all you want but Lidstrom et al can say that Swedish hockey players are the best in the world right now. Do you agree that Swedish hockey players are the best in the world? Then prove it!
I bet Sundin wants to win every hockey championship out there. Sure he regrets not winning the cup as captain of the Leafs but don't assume that he places the cup above the Gold just because he regrets not winning a cup, a Spengler, a world championship, a Canada cup, whatever.
The NHL is about money. The Gold is national pride.
I'll bet it feels good to be a Swedish hockey fan right now. They have proven themselves the best hockey players in the world twice in four tries over 16 years. Detroit Red Wings have been the class of the NHL over some of that time with all their Swedish players.
There is something to be said about winning for your country and winning the Gold at the Olympics is top honor for these players by there country. I believe they would say winning the Gold would be better.
? With world hockey supremacy and bragging rights at stake for four years? 
