1979 Challenge Cup - Soviets Too Good, Pure And Simple

On March 2nd, 1979, Tom Murray wrote an article in The Hockey News declaring the Soviets are too good, pure and simple.

The Soviets were just too good for the National Hockey League, long regarded as the solitary source for the most talented collection of hockey players in the world. They aren't any more. There's a bigger, better, stronger and smarter kid on the block that the NHL tried to monopolize, and they have just pulled the rug - and the game of hockey - right out from under Canada's feet. And don't let the excuse you've been hearing from various NHL spokesmen during the days since the defeat fool you into thinking otherwise.

They are No. 1 now, mainly because while the NHL sat pat and gloated over its victories against the USSR in 1972 and 1976, the Soviets were working diligently at improving their game in areas where weaknesses had been exposed in their encounters with the NHL.

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