NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off Should Have NBA And Other Leagues Wondering How To Match It
The NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off has high stakes and full effort. The NBA and other leagues should "peek an eye" at it for future all-star events, writes Adam Proteau.
The NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off has been a smashing success thus far, with die-hard and casual hockey fans watching the high-stakes action.
You know the NHL has created something special when those who play, watch or cover other sports leagues ask themselves, "How do we create the passion we've seen at the 4 Nations Face-Off?"
The conversation of an international team contest caught traction during NBA All-Star Weekend on Feb. 15 and 16.
"Sometimes things just get old and kind of need a facelift," Golden State forward Draymond Green told the Associated Press. "I think what'll be interesting to see is how this 4 Nations thing turns out in hockey. If that turns out great, might have to peek an eye."
One thing's for sure: many people peeked an eye at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Despite going up against the NBA's All-Star Skills Challenge Saturday night, the showdown between Team Canada and Team USA did excellent ratings. It averaged 4.4-million viewers and had a peak number of 5.2-million viewers on ESPN, the network announced. That's the most-viewed telecast for any non-Stanley Cup final game since 2019, said ESPN.
NHL brass must be overjoyed, and other leagues must be more than a little jealous that the NHL figured out how to lure in more consumers than it's accustomed to in mid-season events.
Even athletes, such as San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama and Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, endorsed a U.S. against the world format.
"I would love to. My opinion is that it's more purposeful," Wembanyama told the Associated Press. "There's more pride in it. More stakes."
"I would love that. Oh, I would love that," added Antetokounmpo. "I think that would be the most interesting and most exciting format. I would love that. For sure, I'd take pride in that. I always compete, but I think that will give me a little bit more extra juice to compete."
Even former NFL star J.J. Watt credited the NHL with a great idea in the form of the 4 Nations Face-Off.
"4 Nations is the best idea hockey has had in a long time," Watt said on X.
Time will tell whether the 4 Nations Face-Off returns, but the NHL has something special with this format. It plans to hold the 2028 World Cup of Hockey as a mid-season tournament instead of holding it in September, which was the case in 2016. That's expected to have at least double the number of teams.
Things may change if the geopolitical situation allows Russia to participate in a best-on-best tournament – you'd have to think Russia, Czechia and Germany would be in the World Cup of Hockey – but this international best-on-best format should only improve and help increase the viewership footprint around the globe.
As we said already, the NHL's All-Star Game doesn't have the same effort and excitement as the 4 Nations Face-Off. It even feels like a concept whose time has come and gone. But the NHL likely wants to have a mid-season marquee event every season instead of having a World Cup of Hockey every four years to drive in ratings and revenue. The league now has something to build on with the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Don't kid yourself – other pro sports leagues are in direct competition to capture consumers' hearts, minds and wallets. But suddenly, hockey's top league has a distinct advantage in appealing to fans.
The NHL found something that players, team staff and fans seem to really care about. This tournament's convincing everyone it has high stakes. Perhaps the NBA will take note for next year.
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