Booing of national anthems, cross-border tensions, a national hero betraying his country, and wall-to-wall press coverage. Normally the only thing that could provoke this type of reaction and interest is some sort of geopolitical event, which maybe the 4 Nations Face-Off was.
The events of the past six weeks since the inauguration of Donald Trump for his second term as President of the United States has seen political tensions between formerly cosy neighbors the United States and Canada ratchet up to previously unseen levels.
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Trump has in essence declared economic war on Canada, imposing tariffs on its neighbor in response to perceived lack of border security allowing illegal immigrants and drugs to enter the United States. Trump further provoked Canada by musing that he wanted to make Canada the ‘51st state’ and referred to outgoing Prime Minster Justin Trudeau as ‘Governor’.
With almost perfect timing, the 4 Nations tournament began with the final marking the first time the USA and Canada had played a title game since the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010. The stage was set.
Ice Hockey is Canada’s national sport, and one that they take extremely seriously. There are seven Canadian NHL franchises, a record high for a US sports league. The aggression displayed by Trump towards its neighbor had provoked some profound soul-searching amongst Canadians, who are stereotypically perceived to be sanguine and rational people.
The booing of the US anthem at various sporting events such as NBA and NHL games in the lead up to the 4 Nations had provoked the Americans who do not take insults at their flag and anthem with good grace and humor. In the first group stage game between the two nations, three fights broke out in the first nine seconds of the game.
Right before the final, singer Chantal Kreviazuk changed the lyrics of ‘O, Canada’ in protest at Trump’s policies, a pointed response to the increasing geopolitical tensions. While the Americans certainly didn’t like their anthem being booed, Canadian national hero and Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky apparently switching sides and showing his support for Team USA was met with understandable hostility north of the border.
The 4 Nations was a response from the NHL to promote some interest in its ‘All-Star’ game, changing the format from the typical game to an international round-robin tournament featuring the USA, Canada, Sweden, and Finland.
As the NHL has typically not agreed to its players participating in the World Championships and Olympics, the 4 Nations was the first time the sport’s elite had gone head-to-head for national pride and was a likely preview to the 2026 Winter Games which will see NHL players compete for the first time in over a decade.
The format change, which will surely be noted by the NBA given the dismal reception its new All-Star format received, was a massive success. ESPN stated the 4 Nations final, won in overtime by Canada, was its most-watched ice hockey game ever, drawing over 16 million viewers people across North America.
An average of 9.3 million viewers watched in the US, while Canadian broadcaster Sportsnet averaged 5.7 million viewers, with a peak audience of 7.3 million and a reach of 10.7 million. In comparison, game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers averaged 7.7 million of ESPN.
Tickets for the 4 Nations finale in Boston were trading for sums normally reserved for the Super Bowl. The cheapest ticket for the final was selling for around $1,200, a 450% increase on the price when they originally went to market. Most tickets were trading between $2,000-4,000 a time for the game at TD Garden.
With Canada winning the inaugural 4 Nations thanks to a Connor McDavid goal in OT, it provided an opportunity for Canada to bite back at Trump. Trudeau wrote on X: “You can’t take our country – and you can’t take our game,” and many Canadians began referring to the USA as the ‘13th province’ on social media.
The tournament captured the imagination of the sporting public in a real and tangible way. The challenge for the NHL is to capitalize on this moving forward and to grow the NHL product because of the interest generated by the tournament.
