 Many Soviet citizens believed that the outcome may have been different if Anatoli Firsov and Vitaly Davydov had not sat out the series to protest a coaching change . In response , some offer that Canada was without Bobby Orr due to his knee injury as well as Bobby Hull ( due to his departure from the NHL to the newly formed WHA league ) . These were arguably the best Canadian players at the time ( along with Phil Esposito ) , so neither team had all of its greatest talent on the ice . The Soviet team also had the obvious advantage of playing year @-@ round . Meanwhile , the Canadian team was picked and prepared in only a few months and most players were out @-@ of @-@ shape . At the time , NHL players did not regularly train during the summer months , using the period for a holiday or other activities . 
