 Internationally , Canada had long been protesting the Soviet Union 's use of " professional amateurs " at the World Championships and the Olympic Games , which were amateur events . Canada withdrew from international competition in 1969 and boycotted the 1972 Olympic hockey tournament . As an alternative , NHL Players ' Association executive director Alan Eagleson negotiated a deal with Soviet authorities to hold an eight @-@ game series between the Soviet national team and Canada 's top professionals . 
