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NHL seasons marred by Olympic injuries: a history

Before leaving for Sochi, John Tavares was third in NHL scoring with 66 points, while his New York Islanders were 12 points out of a playoff spot but still mathematically in the hunt. 

Tavares saw his season - and likely the Islanders' playoff chances - come to an end Wednesday after he suffered torn left MCL and meniscus in Canada's 2-1 quarterfinal win over Latvia. 

Tavares' terrible fortune, combined with injuries to the Red Wings' Henrik Zetterberg and Rangers' Mats Zuccarello — their respective teams' top-scorers — have only added fuel to the debate of whether NHL teams should risk sending their stars to the Olympics in 2018.

With some clubs having up to ten players (Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit) selected to national teams, playoff hopes are on the line. 

While many clubs have survived scares (Steve Yzerman went on to captain Detroit to a Stanley Cup victory after injuring his knee at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City), others have had playoff hopes, and even championship aspirations, dashed due to the NHL's participation in the Winter Games.

Nagano, 1998 - Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche

After injuring his MCL in the quarterfinals against Kazakhstan, Sakic missed an entire month before returning in time for the playoffs. While the Avs held on to win the Pacific Division, they went 10-13-1 after the break before losing in the first round to the No. 7 seeded Edmonton Oilers.

In 2002, teammate Patrick Roy passed on playing for Team Canada, citing the Olympics' influence on the Avalanche's collapse after Nagano.

Side note: after the injury, Canadian head coach Marc Crawford claimed the forward would have "been on his list" if the team were faced with a shootout. (The Gretzky-less lineup could have used him.)

Salt Lake City, 2002 - Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins

The cash-strapped Pittsburgh Penguins traded Jaromir Jagr, the reigning scoring champ, for a bag of bones prior to the 2001-02 season. If that weren't enough to drive Penguins fans mad, Lemieux opted to play a condensed schedule (23 games prior to the break) to make sure he was ready for Salt Lake.

While Super Mario scored six points in five games, leading Canada to its first gold in men's hockey in 50 years, the rest of his NHL season proved less fruitful. He suited up for just a single game, and the Penguins finished last in the division.

Turin, 2006 - Dominik Hasek, Ottawa Senators

The 2005-06 Ottawa Senators were an absolute juggernaut, led by the elite defensive pairing of Zdeno Chara and Wade Redden and the best line in hockey. Hasek was the prime beneficiary, going 28-10-4 with a 2.09 GAA and .925 save percentage (both second in the NHL) heading into the break. 

Less than 10 minutes into the Czechs' first game, Hasek injured his right adductor muscle, ending his Olympics and NHL season. While the Sens' top line of Dany Heatley, Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson had a combined 296 points and the Senators finished first in the East, they were eliminated 4-1 in the second round of the playoffs. 

Despite Hasek's claim that he would play for the league minimum to stay with Ottawa, the Senators chose not to resign him in the off-season.

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