The 4 Nations Face-Off was an international hockey tournament that took place Feb. 12 – Feb. 20 and it featured seven games between four teams. It was a round-robin tournament, where each team had the opportunity to play against every other team, and the winner was the team that had the most points by the end of the tournament.
What did it entail?
This tournament was announced at the 2024 NHL All-Star Game on Feb. 2, 2024 and it replaced the 2025 NHL All-Star Game. The 4 Nations Tournament featured one team from these countries: Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States. The first set of games was held in Montreal and the second set of games was in Boston.
While the tournament included four teams, it seemed like the main rivalry was between the U.S. and Canada. The rivalry started in 1920 at the Summer Olympics when Canada won the gold medal and the U.S. won the silver. The century-old rivalry only escalated at this tournament, with players chirping at each other, fights, and political tension.
The 4 Nations Face-Off is getting hockey fans excited for other international hockey events, like the 2026 Winter Olympics, the World Cup of Hockey in 2028, and the 2030 Winter Olympics. It won’t be a quiet few years for hockey fans, especially for the U.S. and Canadian fans!
Who were the big players?
This hockey tournament took place during the NHL’s regular season pause, when the All-Star Game would take place, and the teams consisted of 23 NHL players; so for those not picked for the 4 Nations tournament, they had the chance to go on a two-week vacation! The players were selected by Hockey Canada, the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, the Swedish Ice Hockey Association, and USA Hockey.
Some of the big jersey names across all teams were: Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Rasmus Andersson, Mitch Marner, Drew Doughty, Jack Hughes, Matthew Tkachuk, Patrik Laine and more.
Leading up to the championship game
The first game of the round-robin was played by Canada and Sweden, and with a goal in overtime, Canada took the lead. On the second day, the USA team beat Finland 6-1, with the USA team’s next game being against Canada. Finland and Sweden’s game went into overtime with Finland scoring, ending with a score of 4-3. For the first game between Canada and the U.S in Montreal, tensions were high. The USA team won 3-1 and it was their first win against Canada in an international tournament since the preliminary round of the Vancouver Olympics 2010. On Monday, Feb. 17, Canada took the win against Finland, 5-3, and the USA lost against Sweden with a final score of 2-1. It was clear that it would be USA and Canada competing in the championships on Feb. 20.
Championship game
The final game took place in Boston, and unlike Canada and the USA’s previous game, it did not start with three fights. It was a highly tense game as President Donald Trump had called the USA team to “wish them luck.” This made the game politically charged as the White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said that they look “forward to the United States beating our soon-to-be 51st state, Canada.” The political aspect of the game raised tensions and created a new determination for the Canadian team. The game ended in overtime with Connor McDavid scoring, beating the USA 3-2. The 4 Nations tournament was for hockey, however, it was impossible to ignore the beat of politics. Canada winning the tournament meant more than just winning a trophy, it showed the strength of Canada. Many tweets came out following Canada’s win, and most notably Justin Trudeau tweeted, “You can’t take our country—and you can’t take our game.” showing Canada’s unity.
Results
Overall, the 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament was great for fostering crowd engagement and bringing hockey back to life. About 16 million people tuned into the 4 Nations Face-Off Championship game from North America, making it this decade’s second-most watched game.
Fans were shocked by how fun the tournament turned out to be. This tournament had people tuning in and talking about it with their friends. Players were playing their best and fans were eating it up. The NHL was smart for using this tournament to promote future hockey tournaments because this game definitely left people wanting more.