This is it.
It's taken ten years and three gut-wrenchingly close games, but Connor McDavid is finally about to play for gold in best-on-best international hockey. Still searching for the Stanley Cup, the best player in the world is one win away from finally securing the first championship of his career in the 4 Nations Face-Off final on Thursday.
He's earned this chance, scoring two goals and four points in Canada's three round-robin games. Despite lineup changes and the United States' stifling defense, McDavid has been the best player on the ice basically all tournament, matched only by his teammates and fellow superstars Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon.
Now, he can take revenge against the U.S. while also placing the capstone on a near-perfect tournament in his international best-on-best debut.
In doing so, he would be following in the footsteps of the greatest players in Canada's long hockey history. Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux at the 1987 Canada Cup. Sidney Crosby at the 2010 Olympics. Marie-Philp Poulin at the 2014 Olympics.
Crosby, meanwhile, is following that same path to its' conclusion, reminiscent of his old teammate Mario Lemieux at the 2002 Olympics. Canada's captain has been everything they've needed and more, and one gets the sense that was only the appetizer for Thursday's finale.
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This all comes together in what is starting to feel like a shadow of the 1972 Summit Series. Just as Canada and the Soviet Union fought their proxy war on the ice, Canada and the United States have only increased their intensity as U.S. President Donald Trump has made repeated comments and moves threatening Canada's sovereignty.
From the anthem-booing in Montreal, to the three fights in nine seconds to kick off Saturday's game, to United States general manager Bill Guerin's appearance on Fox News, to Trump addressing the U.S. locker room on Thursday, tensions have been rising all week, and the political element of Thursday's final is inescapable.
All of these storylines -- and more -- will collide at puck drop on Thursday. Discussions of legacy and politics aside, the final will be an all-out war between two of the greatest rosters ever assembled in the most anticipated hockey game in years.
The festivities start at 6:00 MT, on Sportsnet. Strap in.
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