NHL commissioner Gary Bettman could be dangling the prospect of Olympic participation as a way to gain leverage in future negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, CBC Hockey Night in Canada contributor Pierre LeBrun told the Hotstove segment on Saturday night.

Bettman has so far remained noncommittal on the idea of having NHL players compete in the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia.

With $2.1 billion US in player salaries at stake at the recent Vancouver Olympics — much of it uninsured — there is plenty for Bettman to lose.

"This notion that the NHL gets nothing isn't quite right," HNIC host Ron MacLean said. "They did get that publicity."

And, MacLean added, NHL players are all developed through programs run in their home countries, something the NHL doesn't have to pay for.

There are reports that the International Olympic Committee made about $30 million US from the Vancouver hockey tournament. LeBrun suggested the NHL, NBA and FIFA should band together and threaten to pull out of future Games unless the IOC starts to share some of the profits.

"He's playing his cards right," LeBrun said of Bettman. "Why announce something now, when you could get something out of the IOC or the NHLPA?"

Quid pro quo

The current contract between the league at its players' union expires in September 2011. When negotiating a new agreement, Bettman could ask the players for something in return if he allows them to participate in the Sochi Olympics.

But that strategy could also work against Bettman and the 30 owners.

"It's the league that should be giving the players something," HNIC analyst Glenn Healy said. The players could just as easily demand that the owners drop the salary cap, if they take away their opportunity to play for their countries on the world's biggest stage.

The Hotstove segment began with an archived clip of Bettman, just prior to the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, saying it doesn't matter who plays in the gold-medal game — and that the result would have no bearing on future participation in the Games.

The Canada-U.S. matchup this year was a ratings bonanza for U.S. television. Last Sunday's gold-medal matchup in Vancouver drew record audiences on both sides of the border and was the most-watched hockey game in the U.S. since 1980.

But the NHL is having trouble capitalizing on all the positive marketing scenarios. For example, the IOC rules didn't allow enough time to adequately promote the players on each team, Healy said.

Broadcast restrictions are another major issue.

"I'd like to see the Crosby goal [again]. But there are so many regulations about showing that goal. The NHL can't even bring [Crosby] into New York and show the goal while they do an interview with him. The IOC [is] not about fairness, and it's time for them to buck up."

Milbury added: "The IOC is about as arrogant as it gets."

While the Olympics appear to still be fresh on the minds of most hockey fans, another issue is about to rear its ugly head again. That, of course, is the debate on what to do about head shots.

NHL general managers will tackle this problem during their three days of meetings in Boca Raton, Fla., starting on Monday.

Toronto's Brian Burke and Carolina's Jim Rutherford are among eight GMs who will present a case calling for the NHL to make blind-side hits to the head illegal, just as the Ontario Hockey League and the IIHF have done.