By STEPHEN WHYNO, AP Hockey Writer
The 4 Nations Face-Off in February was meant to provide a taste of international competition a year before the Winter Olympics because it had been nearly a decade since the NHL’s top players were able to represent their countries in the same tournament.
Instead, the pace and quality of games captivated sellout crowds, with millions tuning in to watch. In the immediate aftermath of his team beating the U.S. i n the final in overtime, Canada general manager Doug Armstrong met up with American counterpart Bill Guerin in the hallway, shook hands and had a message that was bigger than one game.
“He said it best: Hockey was the big winner,” Guerin recalled. “Obviously Canada won that championship, but the sport of hockey, the game, was the big winner.”
Hockey is seeing a surge in popularity and buzz, fed by the 4 Nations tournament, Alex Ovechkin’s stirring run to the NHL career goals record and the Florida Panthers repeating as Stanley Cup champions to set up a threepeat bid next season. Up next are the draft and free agency, with Mitch Marner and playoff MVP Sam Bennett among the top players available, and anticipation is building for the NHL’s return to the Olympics for the first time since 2014.
“For all of us, I think we’re just really proud of being a part of this bigger picture and growing the game and getting it more on the forefront,” Guerin said. “The game’s never been in a better spot.”
The NHL and NHLPA wanted to stage a World Cup but plans were pushed back until this year with a pared-down version involving the U.S., Canada, Sweden and Finland.
Commissioner Gary Bettman referred to it as an appetizer, and no one knew exactly what to expect.
“We all went in hoping it was going to be a great event,” Armstrong said, “and it ended up being better than anyone could have expected.”
Canada’s star-studded power play of Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Sam Reinhart connecting on a tic-tac-toe passing goal less than a minute into the opening game against Sweden served notice that the play would be at the highest level. The U.S. and Canada had three fights in the first nine seconds, and geopolitical cross-border tensions with crowds booing anthems and more put the 4 Nations in an unexpected spotlight. Fans were riveted.
The final became one of the hottest tickets in Boston sports history, and more than 9 million watched in the U.S. and nearly 11 million in Canada. Not bad for a tournament that never happened before and may never happen again.
Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals took center stage as he chased down Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894 goals, a feat that had long seemed unapproachable. Despite missing more than a month earlier in the season because of a broken left leg, he was in striking distance by late March.
Still scoring at an absurd pace at 39 years old, Ovechkin went on a tear and tied the mark at home on a Friday night that became a celebration of his career. Two days later, he got No. 895 in New York against the Islanders, with Gretzky, Bettman, his mother, wife, children and more there to congratulate him.
“(It is) the biggest accomplishment that the world of hockey has seen a very long time,” longtime teammate T.J. Oshie said. “This record is going to be here for a while.”
Ovechkin, now at 897 goals, is set to play his 21st NHL season and add to his total.
Florida had the 11th-most points out of the 16 teams that reached the playoffs and started each round on the road. Didn’t matter. The Panthers got through Tampa Bay in five games, Toronto in seven and Carolina in six to reach the final for a third consecutive year. They then beat McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers again, this time in six to go back to back.
“Everybody wrote us off from the start of the playoffs,” veteran winger Brad Marchand said after becoming a two-time champion. “They had everybody beating us in every round. We just had that fire. We knew we had something special.”
Matthew Tkachuk, whose arrival in the summer of 2022 along with coach Paul Maurice coincided with Florida becoming an NHL powerhouse, went as far as to use the “D” word.
“We’ve got to be dynasty now,” Tkachuk said. “Three years in a row finals, two championships. This is a special group.”
Retired goaltender Cory Schneider called the Panthers “one of the best teams I think I’ve seen in my lifetime.”
“They’re the epitome of depth, skill, structure,” said Schneider, who worked the final as an NHL Network analyst. “A lot of teams have good players. but it takes the attention to detail and the sacrifice to do it all the time. Teams want to play easy hockey sometimes and get their chances, but Florida does that while also committing to playing a complete brand of team hockey.”
BetMGM Sportsbook lists the Oilers as a slight favorite to win next season’s championship over the Panthers. The NHL hasn’t had a three-peat since the New York Islanders won four in a row from 1980-83.
The league is having its first in-person, de-centralized draft in Los Angeles on June 27-28. The New York Islanders after winning the draft lottery have the first pick, and new general manager Mathieu Darche could pick defenseman Matthew Schaefer, an inspirational story off the ice.
With the salary cap getting the first of several big jumps thanks to record attendance and revenue (increases to $95.5 million this summer), player movement could be fast and furious.
Free agency opens July 1, and teams in markets from New York and Toronto to Los Angeles, Anaheim and Utah have cap space to use.
The 12 countries taking part — Russia is banned — have already unveiled the first six players on their Olympic rosters. The International Ice Hockey Federation has released the schedule of games, with the men’s tournament starting Feb. 11,
“When you’re growing up when you’re watching as a kid, it’s Stanley Cup finals and it’s Team Canada,” said Reinhart, who scored four goals in Florida’s Cup-clinching game the day after getting named to Canada’s roster. “Those are the two things that you dream about playing for. To have that opportunity is pretty exciting.”
The NHL went to five consecutive Games from 1998-2014, then skipped 2018 and pulled out in 2022, leaving teams those years without any active league players. Milan-Cortina will be the first Olympics for players like McDavid, MacKinnon, Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel.
“Getting another opportunity to bring generations that have a Sidney Crosby and a Connor McDavid together to play internationally, it’s just great for the fans and great for hockey,” Armstrong said. “Players are so excited to be part of this. … It’s neck and neck with the Stanley Cup right now of wanting to win that event.”
Tkachuk was named to the U.S. team along with brother Brady. With the two becoming household names for new fans after the fight-filled 4 Nations, it feels a little like hockey is in its Tkachuk era. Italy is the next stop on their journey.
“4 Nations was good, and hopefully Olympics will be great, as well,” said Matthew after becoming a two-time Cup champion. “I feel I’ve been the luckiest guy in hockey.”
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