NHLPA: 4 Nations Face-Off just beginning new era for international hockey

It certainly felt like an ending in those moments after Connor McDavid’s dramatic snapshot from the slot eluded United States netminder Connor Hellebuyck in overtime of Thursday night's 4 Nations Face-Off championship final.

The scene of sweat-drenched Canadian players, newly minted medals slung over their necks, arms interlaced across each other’s shoulders as they sang along to “O Canada” in what had been a raucous, sell-out crowd at TD Garden, seemed to signal a closure of sorts.

A difficult job well done.

Canadian captain Sidney Crosby took the trophy, specially made for this event with its four handles representing each of the teams involved, as the players quickly took turns holding it – an abbreviated routine reminiscent of Stanley Cup winning teams.

By any metrics – television ratings, ticket sales, fan and player reaction and jaw-dropping on-ice action – the 4 Nations Face-Off, featuring teams from Canada, the U.S., Sweden and Finland, was a gargantuan success.

A national broadcaster stopped on his way out of the arena after Canada hoisted the trophy and marvelled aloud at how he never expected it would look like this, just how much fun and dramatic it all was. He shook his head as though still reconciling it all as he walked out the door and back to the regular-season NHL schedule.

And here is where endings and beginnings get a bit blurred, because in so many ways, on so many levels, what took place over the course of almost two weeks in Montreal and Boston isn’t really a stand-alone event. And Canada’s 3-2 overtime win in the final didn’t necessarily mark the ending of what was accomplished here.

In fact, just the opposite.

Because the legacy of this wildly entertaining 4 Nations Face-Off event has the possibility to serve as a cornerstone for a golden age of best-on-best hockey.

A year from now, NHL players will return to the Olympic stage for the first time since 2014, this time in Italy.

During the 4 Nations Face-Off, NHLPA executive director, Marty Walsh, and NHL Commissioner, Gary Bettman, confirmed ongoing Olympic participation beyond 2026.

The two also announced the return of the World Cup of Hockey competition starting in 2028.

Cities in North America and Europe will be able to bid on hosting games in the competition, which will feature at least eight teams.

Unlike the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, which featured two hybrid teams, Team North America and Team Europe, the upcoming World Cup of Hockey events will hearken back to earlier incarnations of best-on-best events, dating back to the Canada Cup starting in the mid-1970s, with national teams from around the hockey globe competing in a true best-on-best format.

So, the template is set – an Olympic tournament featuring NHL players every four years and a World Cup of Hockey event run by the NHLPA and NHL every four years, spaced evenly around the Olympic tournaments.

Put simply, every two years, fans and players get what they have been longing for – a regular schedule of best-on-best hockey. Any question about such longing was put to rest the moment players arrived in Montreal to start the 4 Nations Face-Off almost two weeks ago.

“Us players imagined it pretty much like this, the intensity, the pace. Guys were excited and guys were itching to get this back, and that’s why, certainly the players have, wanted this for a long time,” explained Canadian forward Sam Reinhart.

“I think when you put this much into it from a playing standpoint it only helps the game and it only helps the league. I think we both respect what each side is doing from a league and a players’ standpoint and we both want to push the needle forward and this is what an event like this is doing. Certainly, a win-win,” added Reinhart.

The players’ hunger for this kind of competition was seen in Crosby’s determination to shake off an injury to once again guide Canada to victory. He’s now won two Olympic gold medals, one World Cup of Hockey championship and the 4 Nations championship since 2010. He has yet to lose in this kind of environment.

The hunger was seen in the permanent smile plastered on Drew Doughty’s face after the veteran defender was named as an injury replacement for Canada shortly before the roster deadline.

The hunger was seen in the way an undermanned Finnish squad fought back from a 4-1 deficit against Canada to briefly close the gap to 4-3 before a Crosby empty-netter sent Canada to the final against the Americans.

“I knew it was going to be intense, but it definitely has exceeded my expectations. I think for everyone it has,” said American forward Dylan Larkin. “It’s just been from start to finish, from practice, to hanging out with the guys, to the games, it’s just been so much fun being around the rink and so much excitement for our sport, I just think it’s been a home run for the league and for hockey in general.”

No longer will fans and players have to wonder when they will get another chance.

For the U.S., whose motto throughout 4 Nations had been “This is our time”, they won’t have to ruminate too long over the stinging championship loss. Indeed, players are already counting down the days to Italy.

"I know for myself personally, it's going to be a goal of mine for next year,” said Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk and a member, along with brother Matthew, of the American squad.

“Back in Ottawa, it's all about team success there, but it's hard when you're playing here and it's clear in a year's time what we want to accomplish,” Tkachuk said, hinting at the Olympics. “I'll always remember this feeling when it's next year."

While it will always – in theory at least – remain a stand-alone event, the 4 Nations Face-Off legacy may be in whetting the world’s appetite for this kind of competition.

In that sense, then, maybe, the event was less about Canada’s win that secures their spot atop the world hockey order, or the American’s loss, and more about a global win for the sport.

“You’ve seen the guys here, how thrilled the guys are to be here. Their families are excited to be here,” NHLPA assistant executive director, Ron Hainsey, said during the tournament.

“International play, you look to soccer. They have so much international play that gets so much attention,” Hainsey added from a press conference in Montreal. “We’re not soccer as far as a global game, but we’re not that far behind it, and I think that’s the long-term goal here. This just becomes a part of the game over the long-term where fans and players, everyone, can look forward to these guys playing for their countries on a regular basis and honestly creating moments like Sid did in 2010 with the golden goal here in Canada, that last a lifetime. That’s really what we’re trying to do here over the long haul and the players are extremely supportive of it.”

Before the championship game, American head coach Mike Sullivan brought in his old Boston University coach, the legendary Jack Parker, as an ode to the bloodlines that run so deep throughout USA Hockey.

Sullivan was asked about the 1980 ‘Miracle On Ice’ team that won a gold and changed hockey forever in the U.S.

In the same way that 1980s miracle gold in Lake Placid inspired a new generation of American players, this talented American group at the 4 Nations Face-Off has that same potential, Sullivan said.

“I think this group that we have in our dressing room have an opportunity to do that and inspire the next generation of players and I think they recognize that,” Sullivan said.

Across the way, Canadian head coach, Jon Cooper, had a similar take on what this tournament meant to the game.

"For me, we're here to celebrate a game. If after this game, all the little girls out there and boys out there that are inspired by the players that play this game and how they compete, if they, after watching tonight, go and become hockey players, that's the real win, not who wins on the ice,” Cooper said.

There’s still lots of work to be done to make sure that memories like the ones created in Boston and Montreal can be replicated in Italy, and then wherever the World Cup of Hockey will unfold two years after that.

In the meantime, the hockey world will bask in the glow of this one-time tournament that captivated the world’s best players and legions of fans.

“It’s great. Especially to have that certainty,” Crosby said. “I think a number of times that wasn't the case and for certain reasons that are out of everyone's control. For guys to have an idea and for fans to know they're going to be able to see best-on-best, I think it's great for everybody.”