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1) the nhl is not the only hockey league on this planet, dipshit. every league that i personally know of in europe has crowned its winner and wrapped up its season. a lot of players aren’t there because they couldn’t hack it in their playoffs but because it is a chance to compete at an international level, representing their country. which brings me to

2) many players, nhl players included, do actually feel pride in representing their home countries in a tournament like this. is every nhler’s goal to make the stanley cup playoffs? sure. but that doesn’t mean they are going to be dicks about an entire other tournament that they are competing in in the meantime if they don’t.

tkachuck is a rude, classless asshole, not that i expected anything else from him, and i’d be more than happy to never see him at worlds again. he didn’t need to come in the first place, his wife (? girlfriend? idk their relationship status) just had a CHILD. one of austria’s best players chose to sit the tournament out for exactly that reason, because he wanted to be there for his wife and child.

what he said could have been phrased several other ways that would have been way less disrespectful, but he chose to be an ass about it.