That was a fun week and a half, wasn't it? As a Canadian, I was 100% prepared to say that even if Canada didn't win. If you're an American, hopefully you concur. In the end, the big winner is the game of hockey, which generated the kind of buzz that it hasn’t had for quite a while among even casual fans with the 4 Nations Face-Off. You can't say that about a typical All-Star break.  

When Connor McDavid's career ends, his overtime winner in the 4 Nations championship game will be remembered as part of his legacy – even if a 4 Nations Face-Off championship doesn't hold the same prestige as the Stanley Cup or an Olympic gold medal. Yet the combination of no best-on-best tournaments for nearly a decade and the suddenly uneasy relations between Canada and the US made this win seem just as historic, even if the trophy didn't look as familiar.

THERE IT IS! THE GAME WINNER! THE TOURNAMENT WINNER! 😱😱😱

CONNOR MCDAVID HAS WON IT FOR CANADA!!! #4Nations pic.twitter.com/nDneA2e26K

— NHL (@NHL) February 21, 2025

Maybe the difference in this game (and ultimately the tournament) – as slim as that margin could be – was that Canada has the best player in the world in McDavid. Number 97 led all forwards in this game with 23:05 in icetime, finished the tournament with three goals, and had plenty more scoring opportunities.

Canada's biggest question mark was in net, yet Jordan Binnington silenced the doubters by adding to his reputation as a clutch goalie in this game. Binnington stopped 31 of 33 American shots, including some incredible saves in overtime.

JORDAN BINNINGTON MY GOODNESS 😱 #4Nations

🇺🇸: @espn & @ESPNPlus ➡️ https://t.co/S5tPrXCygm
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/EPFCUVyZ48

— NHL (@NHL) February 21, 2025

Nathan MacKinnon was named the tournament MVP, leading all players with four goals. MacKinnon's all-around game showed that he has that dog in him with five shots, three hits, and two blocked shots in the championship match.  

Sam Bennett also showed up with a goal, six shots, and five hits. I have to admit I thought Canada left better players off the roster than Bennett, but he showed his big-game experience here.

Cale Makar led Canadian skaters with 28:17 of icetime in this game. His average icetime of 26:47 was also the highest of the tournament.

Josh Morrissey was unable to play due to the flu, so super-sub Thomas Harley was able to get into this match. Harley assisted on MacKinnon's opening goal.

I can't write about this tournament without mentioning Connor Hellebuyck. As much as Binnington was able to dial it up when it mattered the most, Hellebuyck was easily the best goalie of the tournament. In three games against (most of) the best of the best, Hellebuyck finished the tournament with a 1.59 GAA and .932 SV%.

If you were in some kind of 4 Nations hockey pool, congratulations if you picked Zach Werenski. The Blue Jackets blueliner led the tournament with six points – all of them assists. McDavid and Sidney Crosby tied for second with five points. You can find 4 Nations stats at this page at the NHL's website.  

Brady Tkachuk scored the USA's first goal, which was his third of an all-around great tournament for him. Tkachuk finished tied for second in goals in the tournament with MacKinnon, McDavid, Jake Guentzel, and Mikael Granlund. Tkachuk's Thursday stat line resembled that of a typical fantasy game for him, as he also finished with four shots and five hits.  

Jake Sanderson, who entered the lineup in place of Charlie McAvoy, scored the Americans' other goal and blocked five shots.

Matthew Tkachuk tried to give it a go, but ultimately logged just 6:47 overall and was relegated to cheerleading duties when the game was in its crucial moments. Like many other teams, the Panthers are back in action on Saturday. As much as the Tkachuk expressed in no uncertain terms his desire to lay everything on the line to win this tournament for Team USA, it looks like his effort in pursuing that goal will cost him games for the Panthers.  

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Every hockey fan would agree that the 4 Nations Face-Off has been a better use of the All-Star break than the All-Star Game itself. In addition, the NHL can put the "what to do with the All-Star Game" debate to bed for at least one more season, as NHL players will be participating in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. The NHL has also agreed to participate in the 2030 Winter Olympics in France, which means that the league only has to think about 2027, 2028, and 2029 for the rest of the decade.

As much as fans have an appetite for international tournaments every year from now on, I can't see it happening. For one, extending the season like this would be too taxing on star players, who already have a lot invested for their NHL clubs. In fact, you might start to see players take international tournaments as seriously as… All-Star Games, if international tournaments were to take place every year. So the NHL still has to come up with something for those non-international tournament years. And please don't bring back the player drafts, like the NBA had for its All-Star Game this year. I don't care in the least who wins between Team Shaq and Team Chuck, or Team Toews and Team Foligno.

The NHL could steal another idea from the NBA, though. Did you see their slam dunk contest winner Mac McClung jump over a car? Did you know that McClung actually plays in the G League, which is the NBA's equivalent of the AHL? Apply that to the NHL's Skills Competition, which seems to have lost some of its sizzle through the years. Since the NHL now tracks numbers like skating speed and shot speed through NHL EDGE, let's invite the top qualifiers to the Skills Competition, regardless of whether they are playing in the game itself. You'd see a few names that you would never expect.

From the NHL Edge Report Generator on Frozen Tools, here are the top 10 fastest speeds in 2024-25:

Name	Pos	Age	Team	GP	Top Speed
MARTIN NECAS	R	26.1	COL	57	24.49
RASMUS KUPARI	C	24.9	WPG	52	24.47
SETH JARVIS	L	23	CAR	49	24.42
MATTIAS JANMARK	L	32.2	EDM	55	24.36
STEVEN STAMKOS	C	35	NSH	54	24.21
JACCOB SLAVIN	D	30.8	CAR	56	24.19
MARTIN POSPISIL	R	25.2	CGY	55	24.06
VINCENT TROCHECK	C	31.6	NYR	55	23.99
CONNOR MCDAVID	C	28.1	EDM	49	23.97
MORGAN BARRON	L	26.2	WPG	52	23.92

Along with an obvious name like McDavid, someone like Rasmus Kupari or Mattias Janmark could grace their skills on the Skills Competition. You could also measure by 22 mph+ or 20 mph+ bursts by clicking on the Report Generator link above.

Let's try shot speed, aka the hardest shot for 2024-25:

Name	Pos	Age	Team	GP	Top Speed
TAGE THOMPSON	R	27.3	BUF	48	106
MICHAEL KESSELRING	D	25.1	UTA	56	103.77
COLIN MILLER	D	32.3	WPG	40	103.08
ALEX VLASIC	D	23.7	CHI	55	101.92
RYAN PULOCK	D	30.4	NYI	48	101.34
RADKO GUDAS	D	34.7	ANA	53	101.24
GUSTAV FORSLING	D	28.7	FLA	57	100.81
PHILIPPE MYERS	D	28.1	TOR	23	100.37
DARREN RADDYSH	D	29	T.B	47	100.34
DMITRY ORLOV	D	33.6	CAR	56	100.14

Come on down, Michael Kesselring and Colin Miller. Also, it's funny how most of these players are defensemen. Tage Thompson would certainly need to be in this competition, as we don't see as many forwards here because they don't take as many slapshots from the point. Maybe height helps with having a hard shot, as Thompson is 6-6 and previous hardest shot champion Zdeno Chara is 6-9.

This report also lists number of shots over 100 mph and over 90 mph, which you can find by clicking the Report Generator link above and then selecting shot speed.

Anyway, it's just an idea of bringing in some one-skill specialist non-stars into the All-Star Weekend without dealing with the awkwardness of John Scott-like write-in votes. This proposal doesn't address the game itself, but it's something that could make the overall event more interesting. 

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