4 Nations Face-Off exceeds expectations

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This article was published 21/02/2025 (271 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It began with a boardroom discussion 18 months ago about ways the NHL could freshen up the stale old all-star game format. It ended Thursday night with the sports equivalent of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein — a massive, imposing product that produced monster ratings and interest.

Everyone involved in the 4 Nations Face-Off should take a well-deserved bow. Canada’s thrilling 3-2 overtime victory over the United States, courtesy of Connor McDavid, capped an incredible nine-day, seven-game event that quickly became the talk of the entire sports world and even entered the political arena.

“We got a lot more eyeballs on the game,” Winnipeg Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo said Friday.

“Obviously, we’ve missed this, it’s been a decade since we’ve seen anything remotely close to the best on best, so this was huge for our sport.”

Any thoughts this would be a glorified exhibition were quickly put to rest from the moment the puck was dropped.

“I think the biggest thing that I took away from it was the response from everybody else in the community. You got ESPN: First Take talking about it. You got P.K. Subban vouching for not just the sport but for the athletes and the mindset on what (the event) meant to these guys,” said DeMelo.

“At the same time as the NBA All-Star Game, you see two ends of the spectrum. You see a pickup basketball game with guys doing half-court shots and you see three fights in nine seconds (in the round-robin game between Canada and the U.S.). It’s a huge difference.”

The good news is we won’t have to wait too long for another helping of this tasty dish. NHL players are going back to the Olympics starting next February in Italy, and the World Cup concept will be re-introduced beginning in 2028 and happening every four years.

To quote the late, great Bob Cole: Oh baby!

“I think it was unbelievable for the game of hockey,” said Jets goaltender Eric Comrie, who had a very thoughtful take on where things might go from here.

“If I think about growing the game, it’s a hard game to grow. In the sense that unfortunately it’s a very expensive game to play for kids, and it shouldn’t be. I feel bad for people because it can be hard to afford. Goalie equipment these days, it’s ridiculous how expensive it is and it kind of grosses me out thinking about how hard it is for kids to play this game.”

To that extent, Comrie hopes more grassroots efforts are made to bring costs down.

The event may now be in the rearview mirror, but we aren’t quite finished with it. Here are 10 takeaways from Mike and Ken.

Mike says:

1. I admit to having my doubts about Jordan Binnington, but the embattled Canadian goaltender certainly made (and many other critics) look foolish with his outstanding performance in the final.

His style can be erratic at times and the polar opposite of Connor Hellebuyck’s “big and boring,” but he sure came through in the clutch.

I’ll gladly eat some crow on this one. Imagine if Binnington can now lead a late-season St. Louis Blues surge — just like he did in 2019 — and get them into the final wild-card playoff spot where their likely opponent would be none other than Hellebuyck and the Jets.

That would be quite a storyline.

2. I watch a lot of hockey, including as much as possible involving the other 31 teams that I don’t cover for a living.

Admittedly, I don’t see a ton of the Carolina Hurricanes. My goodness, did Jaccob Slavin ever impress me.

I’m not sure if he’ll ever win a Norris Trophy — he doesn’t produce as much offence as some of his blue-line brethren — but I’m here to declare him the best defensive defenceman in the league, and by quite a margin.

He never seems to be out of position or make a wrong read or bad play.

He’s the real deal, no doubt.

3. Kyle Connor may not have been at his best in the first three round-robin games, but the decision to healthy scratch him for the final was absolutely mystifying.

I want as many game-breakers with elite speed and shooting ability on my roster, and keeping that kind of weapon in the holster just struck me as a self-inflicted wound.

One positive for the Jets — I suspect Connor is going to have a little extra fire in his belly over how this ended for him.

4. Matthew and Brady Tkachuk may be the ultimate shift disturbers, but they can play on my team. I would say their stock rose significantly as a result of this tournament, where they both thrived.

We’d already seen that from Matthew in the Stanley Cup Final last year, but Brady showed the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

He has yet to experience NHL playoff hockey, but once he does, I’d say look out to whoever is lining up against him.

He’s built for the big stage.

Other players who really popped off the page for me include D Josh Morrissey, D Thomas Harley, F Sam Bennett and the ageless wonder, Sidney Crosby for Canada.

On the American side there was D Jake Sanderson, D Zach Werenski, D Brock Faber and F Matt Boldy.

5. Based on what I saw (or didn’t see) and looking ahead to the Olympics, I would leave the following Canadian players off the squad to make room for some fresh faces: D Drew Doughty. D Colton Parayko. C Brad Marchand. F Mark Stone. F Anthony Cirelli. G Sam Montembeault.

On the American side, I’d say thanks for your service to: F Vincent Trocheck. F Chris Kreider. F Brock Nelson. D Noah Hanifin.

Ken says:

1. A Golden Goal for the best player in the game?

The same player who lost in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final last June after orchestrating an incredible comeback from 0-3 down?

The scriptwriters probably couldn’t have come up with a more fitting ending, at least from a Canadian perspective.

McDavid had been mostly contained throughout the championship final, but his ability to find a quiet zone in the high slot is another example of his hockey sense.

His ability to do things with the puck at top speed is exceptional, but finding some quiet ice during a game when there was very little of it available throughout the four periods was impressive — as was his perfect shot to end it.

2. Speaking of McDavid, I loved how quickly he shot down the suggestion that scoring an OT winner 15 years after Crosby did the same thing in Vancouver in the 2010 Olympics represented some sort of passing of the torch.

While it’s impossible to ignore the parallels, Crosby showed throughout the tournament that he’s got plenty of gas left in the tank — which is why McDavid pointed to that as a reason Crosby will not only be suiting up in Italy in 2026 but he’ll once again be wearing the C for Canada.

Although he wasn’t at full health, Crosby finished second in the tournament in scoring and delivered for his country like he has throughout his career.

The passing of the torch isn’t that far down the road, but let’s enjoy the rest of the ride rather than push fast-forward on Crosby’s storied career.

3. It was a wild event for Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner, who rode the roller-coaster of emotions from starting on the top line and delivering an OT winner of his own in the tournament opener before being moved down the lineup onto more of a checking line.

With Canada struggling to generate enough offence in the final, Team Canada head coach Jon Cooper reunited Marner with McDavid and the duo combined for the clinching goal.

Marner also made an exceptional play to create the time and space for Bennett to deliver the equalizer, capping his best game of the event.

4. Morrissey opened up some eyes outside of the Manitoba market with his play in the event and remains a top candidate for the Norris Trophy and he should continue to play a valuable role on the second pairing next February at the Olympics.

Although I’ve long been an advocate of the Jets trying to make a deal to acquire Parayko from the Blues, seeing Morrissey line up alongside Alex Pietrangelo at the Olympics is something Cooper should also consider.

5. Doug Armstrong and his staff deserve credit for the roster decisions they made, but finding room for Jets centre Mark Scheifele with an expanded roster shouldn’t be a difficult choice.

Adding Tom Wilson of the Washington Capitals also looks like it would be a wise move.

There will also be some movement within the defence, with Harley clearly establishing himself as someone deserving of additional ice time, despite jumping in under challenging circumstances.

The beauty of hockey in this country is before Canada had even secured victory, the debate over the 2026 Olympic roster was already taking place.

No matter where you stand on that front, it’s hard to imagine the experience gained during this fantastic event should serve plenty of players well when the quest for the next Cup chase begins in April.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @WiebesWorld