4 Nations Face-Off shatters
expectations as a hockey showcase. The Milan Olympics are up next
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 [February 22, 2025]
By STEPHEN WHYNO
Canada won the 4 Nations Face-Off by beating the United States for
the championship in an overtime thriller capped off by Connor
McDavid's memorable goal that will be on highlight reels for decades
to come.
In the grand scheme of things, the NHL, its players and the sport of
hockey all came out as winners.
The 4 Nations was a one-off tournament with no past and no future, a
trimmed-down version of a World Cup of Hockey staged because the
best players in the world waited so long for something of its kind.
With tens of millions watching across North America it exceeded all
expectations, with play on the ice better resembling a Stanley Cup
Final or the Olympics than the All-Star Weekend festivities it
replaced.
“It was much more popular than even we would have imagined — it was
getting so much attention from our whole continent," 4 Nations MVP
Nathan MacKinnon said. “The 4 Nations caught on fire. I’m sure
everyone didn’t really know what to expect. Obviously questions
about it being an All-Star Game, things like that. Obviously people
didn’t really know the players' mindsets coming in, and rightfully
so. You never really know. But guys took this very seriously when
you represent your country."
Given that a generation of players from McDavid and MacKinnon to
Americans Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel never got a chance to
represent their countries in so-called best-on-best play as
professionals, it was clear in their minds they were taking it
seriously. For many fans, it took seeing the opening game — Sidney
Crosby's no-look pass to MacKinnon for a goal 56 seconds in and the
frantic pace at which Canada and Sweden were skating up and down the
rink — to believe this was going to be worth watching.
Then people watched.
ESPN said the game had 9.3 million viewers in the U.S. — higher than
any NHL game on its networks and the second-most watched over the
past decade. Sportsnet reported 10.7 million people across Canada
watched Thursday night — over a quarter of the country's population
— after the six round-robin games averaged 4.6 million viewers in
North America and 10.1 million tuned in to the first U.S.-Canada
game.
In a series of social media posts, former NFL player J.J. Watt
raved, “It’s just incredible how much of a home run 4 Nations has
been for the NHL and hockey in general” and said friends who had
never watched the sport before were reaching out asking about plans
to watch and what to eat during it.
"Definition of growing the game," Watt said. “Much, much respect for
how much effort, energy and passion (players) poured into this
tournament. That’s what’s made it so special. The best in the world
going all-out for pure pride.”
The next chance they will get is a year away at the 2026 Olympics in
Milan, the return of the players to that stage after the NHL skipped
in 2018 and pulled out at the eleventh hour in 2022 because of
pandemic-related scheduling problems.
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Canadian fans rally prior to the 4 Nations Face-Off championship
hockey game, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles
Krupa)
Commissioner Gary Bettman billed the 4 Nations
featuring the U.S., Canada, Sweden and Finland as an appetizer for
Milan. The level of play — and the result — set the stage perfectly
for the Americans to again challenge Canadian hockey superiority,
with the Swedes, Finns, Czechs, Slovaks, Germans and maybe even the
Russians also in the mix for Olympic gold.
“I’ll always remember this feeling when it’s next year,” U.S. winger
Brady Tkachuk said after losing 3-2 in the final. “Everything
happens for a reason and I think this year, this moment can really
motivate us going into next year.”
For now, Canada remains unbeaten over the past 15 years in
tournaments with the NHL's top talent involved, extending its
winning streak to four, with a title at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey
and gold medals at the 2014 and 2010 Olympics before this.
Crosby has been a part of all of this, plus an unbeaten run at the
2015 world championships, and played through injury at the 4 Nations
because of how special the occasion was.
“Every opportunity you get to wear the Canadian jersey and compete
in this event, it’s something new, but I think you saw the hockey
that was on display,” Crosby said. "It was pretty incredible. Happy
for this group. We came together in a short period of time and found
a way to get it done.”
In the leadup to the final, Canada coach Jon Cooper said anyone
expecting it to be more like an All-Star Game “was sorely, sorely
mistaken.” It was, in fact, a collection of All-Stars, but the final
product was anything but.
Even before Canada's players and coaches got their gold medals and
trophy, it was clear the event put together over the past year-plus
attracted new fans to the NHL and the sport of hockey better than
anyone could have anticipated.
“I hope they love it," McDavid said. "It’s a great game, it’s a
great sport and I hope we put on a good show these last couple days
and gained some fans, ultimately. You can’t ask for a better show
than that.”
___
AP Sports Writer Jimmy Golen and AP freelancer Ken Powtak in Boston
contributed to this report.
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