GERMANY – Heading into the Olympic break one could sense some real excitement within the German hockey scene. Bolstered with seven current NHL players the national squad on paper seemed to be the strongest team that ever hit the ice for Germany.

And with a 0-2 defeat against defending Olympic champion Sweden coach Uwe Krupp’s men did earn a lot of respect. They couldn’t quite live up to it when they were beaten 5-0 by Finland in game two, but still had the Belarus game to gain some momentum heading into the playoffs.

Even though Germany outshot their opponents 40-17 (!) and erased a 3-1 deficit by scoring twice within 21 seconds late in the third, Belarus still skated away with a 5-3 win.

So it was Canada instead of Switzerland in the pre-playoff round, and a highly motivated Sidney Crosby and his determined bunch showed no mercy as they routed Germany 8-2. Eleventh place meant the worst Olympic performance in the history of German hockey team, adding to the latest string of poor results in major tournaments (e.g. last year’s World Cup in Switzerland, when only playing host in 2010 saved Germany from relegation).

You definitely do not want to be in Uwe Krupp’s shoes. His numerous critics are raising their voices even louder, critically analyzing his achievements during his four-year-tenure and questioning his sometimes surprising player nominations.

Emotions are running high, and there are not few who rather today than tomorrow would like to see parting Suisse coach Ralph Krueger at the helm of the German squad.

And the sport is even producing more negative headlines. The Kölner Haie (Cologne Sharks) have admitted financial problems which seriously endanger the franchise’s immediate future. Reportedly the franchise is in desperate need of 500,000 Euros ($675,000) “to get through the season without damage”, as GM Thomas Eichin said. In total the deficit adds up to 1.5 million Euros ($2,000,000) until the end of the season.

“If we are not able to organize the money within the next couple of days, we will have to file for bancrupy”, Eichin was quoted in the Kölner Rundschau.

Even though similar scenarios are not new to the DEL (just ask folks in Nuremberg, Hannover, Krefeld or Kassel), the situation in Cologne probably is the most shocking. As Daniel Kreutzer, captain of arch-rival DEG Metro Stars put it: “If the Sharks go down, it will be a heavy blow for German hockey in general.”

The future does not look too bright …

Contact Carsten.vanZanten@prohockeynews.com