The Russian hockey team will have finished the 2010 Olympic tournament somewhere between 5th and 8th, their worst placement ever. Not only is it widely speculated that this caused their President Dmitry Medvedev to cancel a trip to the closing ceremonies (unusual for the next host country I believe), but it also caused him to say this (via KK):

Taking into consideration all that happened in Vancouver, we have to change our methods of training drastically. We’ve been living on Soviet resources for a long time, but it’s over now. We do make a huge investment in sport, but money’s not everything. Those responsible for preparing Russian athletes for the Olympics have to make a brave decision and resign. And if they don’t, we’ll help them to do it. But the most important thing now is the preparation for the 2014 Olympics

Just sit back a second and imagine if Obama said something like that about hockey. Ok, maybe hockey isn’t really fair. Suppose he said that after our Olympic basketball team lost (I think to Argentina?). I really wouldn’t want to be anyone involved with Russian hockey right now.

Also, I really hope the NHL allows players in the 2014 Olympics so I can see how these guys respond.