PHILADELPHIA – For his 17-year NHL career, Scott Hartnell’s most memorable was probably 2010. It wasn’t his most productive of years but two events made it quite special. The Flyers made it to the Stanley Cup Final, the only time they’ve done so in the 21st century, and a guy named Crosby sc ored an overtime goal to win the Vancouver Olympics gold medal for Canada. It was a hate-love moment for Hartnell, who spent seven years playing for the Flyers and many of those games against Sidney Crosby’s despised Pittsburgh Penguins. We bring this up, of course, because this year’s Olympic hockey tournament will be getting underway shortly in Italy and all eyes will be on Canada to see if it can continue its dominance on the world’s biggest stage. Hartnell smiled during a recent interview at Xfinity Mobile Arena when asked about that Steel City vs. City of Brotherly Love rivalry. He also chuckled when he thought back to those glory years for both franchises. And Crosby is still playing, so who knows? He just might do it again 16 years later. “You can live a legacy like no other, like Sidney Crosby did in Vancouver,” Hartnell, a Regina, Saskatchewan, native, said of Olympic hockey. “So, personally, playing against Sid in my time with the Flyers, even when he scored that day, I was happy when he scored that goal.” Canada’s Sidney Crosby is mobbed by teammates after making the game-winning goal in the overtime period of a men’s gold medal ice hockey game against USA at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010. Canada won 3-2. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) Then Hartnell paused. “And I hated him even more when I played him in games after that.” After retiring from the NHL following the 2017-18 season, Hartnell worked his way from the ice to the hockey analyst’s chair where he works alongside Hall of Famer Al Morganti and Ashlyn Sullivan on NBC Philadelphia’s pre- and postgame shows. Hartnell has played alongside and against many Olympians. That gave him a chance to hear all the stories. The Games are hockey in its purest form. There are no fights, people cheer for countries rather than individual players and the vibe is just different. That’s particularly true for Canada, which considers hockey its birthright. “It’s a life experience, you care about your country, where you’re from,” Hartnell explained. “It’s your first love, it’s Canada. For ‘Risto’ [Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen], it’s Finland. It’s do-or-die hockey, you want to get through the qualifying, get into the semis to get into the finals. “I would say it’s awesome for those guys. I’m happy for them to be able to be healthy, get over there and play.” The talk then turned to the Flyers and whether this two-week break will help with a reset. The Flyers have struggled of late and find themselves eight points out of a playoff spot with 26 games to play. “It’s kind of been like that the last few years,” Hartnell said. “Especially a great start, then an eight- or nine-game losing streak. A couple years ago, they were right in the playoffs and then they had a seven-game skid. Then they picked it up the last few games of the season to make it interesting.” A number of players from that 2023-24 team are still with the Flyers. “So those guys have gotten some valuable experience,” Hartnell said. “And then you learn from the past.” Hartnell played against Flyers coach Rick Tocchet (an assistant coach for Team Canada in these Olympics) toward the tail end of Tocchet’s career when Tocchet was with Philadelphia and Hartnell was with Nashville. Hartnell recalls what a fierce competitor Tocchet was and a lot of that competitive spirit carries over into his coaching. “I know he’s hands-on in practices and coaching guys in between periods,” Hartnell said. “You don’t want to do it too much. You know, it’s such a young team to get on the same page, get on the system and see improvements throughout how they play, how they prepare. “For Tocchet, it’s not an easy situation coming into a team and a city, the demands, the expectations. Everyone wants to win right now. But it’s still a process as we all know.” One of Tocchet’s biggest challenges so far has been the curious play of second-year forward Matvei Michkov. Hartnell tends to lean toward Tocchet in this one and how he’s handling the situation. “I think he [Michkov] came into camp out of shape to be honest,” said the 43-year-old Hartnell. “I think everyone could see it. He said it in November. He said, ‘maybe I screwed up a little bit.’ It looks bad on him. I think the guys in the room are probably a little disappointed. I know I am, after the kind of rookie year he had. “You wanted to see him build on that. He definitely taken a step back. He [Tocchet] said it the other day, this is a learning experience for him.” It’s Hartnell’s belief the Flyers need to get this situation straightened out sooner than later. “This summer, if he [Michkov) does the same thing he did last summer, he might not even be in the lineup,” Hartnell said. “I expect him to get his butt in the gym, work on his speed and fitness. Coming in being one of the fittest guys in camp. A few preseason games that they do, he should be ready to rock. He’s been playing better lately but it’s taken him a while.” As for the Flyers’ somewhat slim playoff chances, Hartnell believes they can make the postseason if they can keep their recently revived power play going. Even if Crosby scores another gold medal-winning goal in these Olympics and then has his Penguins facing the Flyers in the playoffs, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out which team Hartnell will be rooting for. Canada is in his head but the Flyers are in his blood. Wayne Fish is a freelance writer. Follow his coverage at www.flyingfishhockey.com   ...read more read less