Something happened last Saturday night during the first Canada vs USA matchup in the 4 Nations Face-Off. Hockey fans were tuned in, of course, but then the puck dropped, and so did the gloves, and then the eyes of the entire sports world turned towards Montreal.
Team USA’s Matthew Tkachuk started a fight with Canada’s Brandon Hagel. As the fists started to fly, the Bell Centre reached a fever pitch. The crowd was roaring, the players were all standing on the benches tapping their sticks on the boards in support.
As Matthew Tkachuk was going to the penalty box, on the ESPN broadcast, Ray Ferraro stated, “I’m standing down here, and I think there’s zero chance that we see the puck hit the ice for more than one second before we’re going to see both Tkachuk brothers sitting in the same penalty box.”
Moments later, as the puck was dropped on the ensuing faceoff, Brady Tkachuk dropped the gloves with Sam Bennett. The crowd of 21,000 plus was going crazy at this point, the sound was deafening. Before the Tkachuk brothers were even sitting down in the box, JT Miller scrapped with Colton Parayko. That was it; the narrative was set, three fights in nine seconds between the USA and Canada, and all of a sudden, the entire sports world was talking about hockey.
Non-Hockey World Reaction
It was fascinating to see, in real-time, comments coming in online from non-hockey people. Onlookers who don’t regularly watch hockey were taken aback by the tension and intensity of that game. In this day and age, where the NFL Pro Bowl has literally turned into a flag football game, and NBA players sit out of meaningful regular season games, the rest of the sports world seemed excited to see something with a pulse.
Another interesting angle to witness in real-time was that the NBA All-Star festivities were happening at the same time. The juxtaposition of these two events highlighted the direction that these two leagues could be going in from here. The NBA is a league focused on the players’ drama and building super teams. The NHL has stars, but those stars are sacrificing their bodies to win an exhibition tournament for their home country. The NBA couldn’t get LeBron James to even suit up for the All-Star Game, yet the NHL had players trying to knock each other out for national pride.
Fortunately, what followed was a fantastic hockey game. Connor McDavid lit the lamp with a beautiful goal, but the underdog US squad came back to stun Team Canada with a decisive 3-1 victory. Maybe, just maybe, the NHL has a chance to gain some ground on the other leagues, in terms of popularity in the US.
The TV broadcast in the United States peaked at 5.1 million viewers, which means it was the most-watched non-Stanley Cup Final event since 2019. Beyond the actual broadcast, it crept into the cultural zeitgeist, everybody was seemingly talking about the game. Casual sports fans, media members that cover other leagues, and athletes from other major sports, like former NFL star JJ Watt, all of them were talking about a hockey game on Saturday night.
The NHL has a real opportunity here to strike while the iron is hot. The entire sports world will be focused on the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game on Thursday night between the USA and Canada. How can the NHL parlay that into a real boost in viewership and popularity when it returns to its regular season play?
Feature Star Matchups Nationally
Every single nationally televised game should be between big rivals, or big stars. Recently Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid played each other on a random weeknight, not on national TV.
That game should be the featured Sunday prime-time game, every week. Every week, the national game should be a game of that caliber. Crosby vs Alexander Ovechkin, Ovechkin vs McDavid, McDavid vs Nathan MacKinnon. For far too long the NHL hasn’t focused on its stars enough.
Related: The 4 Nations Face-Off Without Russia Is Pointless
In this year’s Winter Classic, the NHL featured Connor Bedard and his lackluster Chicago Blackhawks against a St. Louis Blues team that is not exactly brimming with star power.
McDavid isn’t showcased enough on national TV in the USA. I know he plays for a team in Canada, but so what, you aren’t trying to sell tickets in Edmonton, you’re trying to sell the game in the US. He should be on national TV in the USA multiple times a week.
Protect Your Big-Name Players
The stars of the game need to be protected more. Everyone appreciates the toughness of the NHL, but nobody is tuning in just to see Jacob Trouba cross-check Crosby or McDavid. They want to see Crosby and McDavid wow the crowd with their speed and skill.
You can have the best of both worlds, and that was on perfect display Saturday night. The game started with some rugged skill guys scrapping, and continued right into a highlight reel goal from McDavid. It was perfect.
If you have a healthy balance of grit and finesse, you’ll have a much greater chance at mass appeal. This means higher TV ratings, which equals more revenue, which means more money for the players, and a healthier league.
Build Up Rivalries
The NBA has a serious problem with a lack of rivalries, the NHL has plenty of rivalries, but it needs to lean on them more. In the initial seasons after the lockout, the NHL opted to have divisional foes play each other eight times. Now they only play three or four times a year. They need to bump that up to six times a season.
We need the Penguins vs Flyers two more times a year. We need Colorado and Dallas once a month during the regular season. Boston and Montreal only meeting three times in one season is criminal. Build up these rivalries, then you can sell those games on the national stage when the audience needs a break from a star-driven narrative.
The NHL has had these opportunities before, but has yet to take it and run with it. I’m not saying this tournament has been transcendent like the Miracle on Ice was in 1980, but something happened on that Saturday night in Montreal last week. Maybe it was nothing, or maybe it was the beginning of a new era for this league.
