Which NHL Team Will Have Its Cup Run Effed The Most By Sochi?

February 11, 2014

For most of the planet, the Winter Olympics are a special time when the nations of the world come together in the pursuit of athletic excellence. For hockey fans, it’s a nail-biting two weeks when your favorite players head off to foreign lands filled with concussions, broken femurs, and potentially career-ending high sticks never to return again. So which teams’ Stanley Cup dreams are most at risk in Sochi? The red-hot Chicago Blackhawks are throwing 10 key players to the wolves, while both Buffalo and Detroit are rolling the dice on their farm team depth by allowing both of their goalies to travel overseas. Here’s a look at the other franchises sending a ton of players overseas (we’ve left off the teams that are only sending three or less players-so, sorry, Toronto and Nashville) to play for the honor of the U.S., Canada, Sweden, Finland, and, um, Slovenia (stick tap, Anze) even if it means trading a ring for a medal.

As a writer, editor, and producer, Eric’s work has appeared in publications such as Men’s Journal, NBC, Mental Floss, Nylon, and Cosmopolitan. He helped launch the original Maxim.com and served as entertainment editor for the print magazine, and most recently was a lead editor of the Co.Create digital vertical at Fast Company. He helped launch Attack of the Show on the G4 Network as the show’s first head writer (and occasional stunt panda), and developed the brand voice across multiple platforms as senior copywriter/editor for Tommy Hilfiger. He has also served as a script consultant for Spike TV, and a copywriting consultant for VaynerMedia as well as fashion brands such as Kahn Lucas and Flaneur. He studied English and Film at Boston University, once babysat with Angelina Jolie while doing thankless PA work on indie films in the 90s, and his first grown-up office job was with Muppets.