Connor McDavid could not team up with Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon for Canada. Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel did not get the chance to play alongside Patrick Kane for the U.S. Henrik Lundqvist never got a chance to win a second gold medal with Sweden, this time with Victor Hedman in front of him.
The NHL skipping the 2018 Olympics looks in retrospect like a major mistake, since the world's best players have yet to face off against each other on the international stage. Turns out, the tournament in South Korea offered a glimpse of what was to come for a handful of players.
