Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online 2012-8
The Impact of International Competitions on Competitive Balance in Domestic Leagues: The Case of the National Hockey League's Participation in the Winter Olympics
This paper analyzes the impact of the NHL's participation in the Winter Olympics on competitive balance outcomes within the NHL. It finds that the post-Olympic performance of NHL teams is negatively related to the number of players that the team supplied to the various Olympic rosters. This is consistent with a notion that participating in the Olympics can induce greater fatigue in players, thereby reducing their effectiveness upon their return to their domestic clubs. This effect was found to be particularly strong for players representing the host country at the Olympics.
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