Crosby, MacKinnon, Mitch and hockey dreams, at last, brought to life once more.
As the 4 Nations Face-Off begins, caveats aside, it is a reminder of what men's international hockey has been missing for nearly a decade.
To be fair, it didn’t take long.
After well over a decade of such a partnership existing as a mere, what-could-be hypothetical, it took less than a minute on Wednesday night for Canada’s recently formed superteam of Avenger-level proportions to bear fruit.
Fifty-six seconds into the first period, in this, the first round-robin game of the freshly-minted 4 Nations Face-Off, Connor McDavid, with the puck just above the dot in the Swedish end, played a quick back-and-forth with captain Sidney Crosby, who was spotted up below the goal line.
And so, there was Crosby, momentum in hand and the puck on his stick, whipping around (on his backhand, naturally) to slickly feed a wide-open Nathan MacKinnon.
Of course.
Though their controlling opening frame didn’t devolve into a blowout, Canada held on to beat Sweden, 4-3, in an absolutely electric effort via three Crosby assists, a Mitch Marner OT winner and a Montréal crowd at the Bell Centre nearly forcing the Richter scale out of hiding (as is their custom)
Sweden, trading blow-for-blow right up to the end however, was a reminder that although Canadians will always claim to be the alphas, their once taken-for-granted dominance in international competition has not been assured for some time now.
For, to noted bewilderment, it is the first time many of these players have suited up together underneath their national colours at a high-level event since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey (and of the 2010 Canadian Olympic team, most notably, only Crosby and Drew Doughty were selected to participate in this tournament).
Though to think, regardless, that it took almost ten years to get Crosby (perhaps the most complete two-way player in the history of the sport) or the duelling heirs to his top-dog status, in fellow Cole Harbour-ite MacKinnon and McDavid wearing white-and-red is a frustration felt even if you’re a fan outside of the Canadian orbit.
For international hockey, (on the men’s side at least) has been fraught for well over a decade now - the best, simply not given any proper opportunity to stretch their legs.
Ostensibly, this tournament is meant to address that, although isn’t without legitimate eyebrow-raising folding into criticism.
Completely backed by the NHL, without IIHF involvement, it features exclusively NHL players and is played by NHL rules, to the extent that it is simply replacing the League’s traditional All-Star weekend. A nine day sprint bookended by a winner-take-all championship game that will be played on February 20th.
Ultimately, in limiting itself this way, with only four countries (Canada, Sweden, Finland and the United States) participating, the tournament inevitability stretches the limits of the “best-on-best” qualifier: be it players based in Europe or the exclusion of countries that, otherwise, would surely make the cut (excluding Russia who continue to be barred from international competition wholesale due to their ongoing invasion of Ukraine).
And however one may rightfully feel in regards to the amateur-professional dividing line when it comes to the Olympics, when the League refused to allow participation of its players in both the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, it sparked vocal pushback from those same players (McDavid most prominently) who, generally, fit nicely into their “get pucks deep” stereotypes.
The catch being, they didn’t have any alternatives.
But the NHL has confirmed involvement in both the 2026 and 2030 Olympics, in addition to the next two World Cups of Hockey (2028 and 2032).
An actively committed effort by hockey’s suits, even with all their inexcusable operating faults be it the NHL, USA Hockey or Hockey Canada, to prioritize their talent on the world’s stage.
So perhaps, with what is to come considered, may the 4 Nations Face-Off be something of a staging ground?
To a certain extent, sure.
If Wednesday’s opening contest proved anything, it is that any concerns over players not going 100% or the quality of the hockey being played were never well-founded - when you bring (some) of the best-of-the-best into a truly competitive environment, with close to winner-take-all stakes, they’re going to play to do just that.
To what end, well, give it a week - and we’ll find out how far they go.
Thanks Ryan! Go Canada! Crosby really is an special player ☺️
Trying to use Substack.