Hockey rides into offseason with full-on buzz, a threepeat bid and Olympic-size showdowns ahead
The 4 Nations Face-Off in February was meant to provide a taste of international competition a year before the Winter Olympics because it had nearly been a decade since the NHL's top players were able to represent their countries in the same tournament.
Instead, the pace and quality of games captivated sellout crowds, with millions tuning in to watch. In the immediate aftermath of his team beating the U.S. in the final in overtime, Canada general manager Doug Armstrong met up with American counterpart Bill Guerin in the hallway, shook hands and had a message that was bigger than one game.
'He said it best: Hockey was the big winner,' Guerin recalled. 'Obviously Canada won that championship, but the sport of hockey, the game, was the big winner.'
Hockey is seeing a surge in popularity and buzz, fed by the 4 Nations tournament, Alex Ovechkin's stirring run to the NHL career goals record and the Florida Panthers repeating as Stanley Cup champions to set up a threepeat bid next season. Up next are the draft and free agency, with Mitch Marner and playoff MVP Sam Bennett among the top players available, and anticipation is building for the NHL's return to the Olympics for the first time since 2014.
'For all of us, I think we're just really proud of being a part of this bigger picture and growing the game and getting it more on the forefront,' Guerin said. 'The game's never been in a better spot.'
4 Nations success
The NHL and NHLPA wanted to stage a World Cup but plans were pushed back until this year with a pared-down version involving the U.S., Canada, Sweden and Finland.
Commissioner Gary Bettman referred to it as an appetizer, and no one knew exactly what to expect.
'We all went in hoping it was going to be a great event,' Armstrong said, 'and it ended up being better than anyone could have expected.'
Canada's star-studded power play of Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Sam Reinhart connecting on a tic-tac-toe passing goal less than a minute into the opening game against Sweden served notice that the play would be at the highest level. The U.S. and Canada had three fights in the first nine seconds, and geopolitical cross-border tensions with crowds booing anthems and more put the 4 Nations in an unexpected spotlight. Fans were riveted.
The final became one of the hottest tickets in Boston sports history, and more than 9 million watched in the U.S. and nearly 11 million in Canada. Not bad for a tournament that never happened before and may never happen again.
The GR8 chase
Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals took center stage as he chased down Wayne Gretzky's record of 894 goals, a feat that had long seemed unapproachable. Despite missing more than a month earlier in the season because of a broken left leg, he was in striking distance by late March.
Still scoring at an absurd pace at 39 years old, Ovechkin went on a tear and tied the mark at home on a Friday night that became a celebration of his career. Two days later, he got No. 895 in New York against the Islanders, with Gretzky, Bettman, his mother, wife, children and more there to congratulate him.
'(It is) the biggest accomplishment that the world of hockey has seen a very long time,' longtime teammate T.J. Oshie said. 'This record is going to be here for a while.'
Ovechkin, now at 897 goals, is set to play his 21st NHL season and add to his total.
Panthers repeat
Florida had the 11th-most points out of the 16 teams that reached the playoffs and started each round on the road. Didn't matter. The Panthers got through Tampa Bay in five games, Toronto in seven and Carolina in six to reach the final for a third consecutive year. They then beat McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers again, this time in six to go back to back.
'Everybody wrote us off from the start of the playoffs,' veteran winger Brad Marchand said after becoming a two-time champion. 'They had everybody beating us in every round. We just had that fire. We knew we had something special.'
Matthew Tkachuk, whose arrival in the summer of 2022 along with coach Paul Maurice coincided with Florida becoming an NHL powerhouse, went as far as to use the 'D' word.
'We've got to be dynasty now,' Tkachuk said. 'Three years in a row finals, two championships. This is a special group.'
Retired goaltender Cory Schneider called the Panthers 'one of the best teams I think I've seen in my lifetime.'
'They're the epitome of depth, skill, structure,' said Schneider, who worked the final as an NHL Network analyst. 'A lot of teams have good players. but it takes the attention to detail and the sacrifice to do it all the time. Teams want to play easy hockey sometimes and get their chances, but Florida does that while also committing to playing a complete brand of team hockey.'
BetMGM Sportsbook lists the Oilers as a slight favorite to win next season's championship over the Panthers. The NHL hasn't had a three-peat since the New York Islanders won four in a row from 1980-83.
Draft and free agency
The league is having its first in-person, de-centralized draft in Los Angeles on June 27-28. The New York Islanders after winning the draft lottery have the first pick, and new general manager Mathieu Darche could pick defenseman Matthew Schaefer, an inspirational story off the ice.
With the salary cap getting the first of several big jumps thanks to record attendance and revenue (increases to $95.5 million this summer), player movement could be fast and furious.
Free agency opens July 1, and teams in markets from New York and Toronto to Los Angeles, Anaheim and Utah have cap space to use.
Milan-Cortina Olympics
The 12 countries taking part — Russia is banned — have already unveiled the first six players on their Olympic rosters. The International Ice Hockey Federation has released the schedule of games, with the men's tournament starting Feb. 11,
'When you're growing up when you're watching as a kid, it's Stanley Cup finals and it's Team Canada,' said Reinhart, who scored four goals in Florida's Cup-clinching game the day after getting named to Canada's roster. 'Those are the two things that you dream about playing for. To have that opportunity is pretty exciting.'
The NHL went to five consecutive Games from 1998-2014, then skipped 2018 and pulled out in 2022, leaving teams those years without any active league players. Milan-Cortina will be the first Olympics for players like McDavid, MacKinnon, Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel.
'Getting another opportunity to bring generations that have a Sidney Crosby and a Connor McDavid together to play internationally, it's just great for the fans and great for hockey,' Armstrong said. 'Players are so excited to be part of this. ... It's neck and neck with the Stanley Cup right now of wanting to win that event.'
Tkachuk was named to the U.S. team along with brother Brady. With the two becoming household names for new fans after the fight-filled 4 Nations, it feels a little like hockey is in its Tkachuk era. Italy is the next stop on their journey.
'4 Nations was good, and hopefully Olympics will be great, as well,' said Matthew after becoming a two-time Cup champion. 'I feel I've been the luckiest guy in hockey.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Another trio of prospects undergo pre-draft workout with Warriors
Chase Center has been busy as a flurry of different draft prospects have made their way through San Francisco for pre-draft workouts with the Golden State Warriors. Before Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Steve Kerr are on the clock with the No. 41 selection in the 2025 edition of the draft, the Warriors have been doing their homework on different prospects with pre-draft workouts. The latest group of prospects to travel to Chase Center was headlined by 2025 NCAA scoring lead, Eric Dixon. The Villanova big man was joined by Georgetown's Micah Peavy, Kentucky's Jaxson Robinson and Temple's Steve Settle III, according to Sam Gordon the San Francisco Chronicle. Dixon, the 6-foot-8 forward, led the nation in scoring with 23.3 points on 45.1% shooting from the field and 40.7% shooting from deep to go along with 5.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists. Dixon tallied 30 or more points in five different games for the Wildcats last season, including a 38-point explosion against Maryland. Dixon was named to the All-Big East team in three straight seasons, including 2025, where he was also voted a third-team AP All-American. Peavy, a 6-foot-7 guard, played five seasons of college basketball with stops at Texas Tech, TCU and Georgetown. Peavy earned All-Big East honors with Georgetown, averaging 17.2 points on 48.1% shooting from the field and 40% shooting from deep to go along with 5.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.3 steals per game. Robinson played at Texas A&M, Arkansas, BYU and Kentucky in his college career. Robinson's final season in Lexington was cut short due to a wrist injury. Prior to his injury, Robinson averaged 13 points on 43.2% shooting from the fieldand 37.6% from deep to go along with 3.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. After three seasons at Howard, Settle played the final two seasons of his career at Temple. The 6-foot-10 forward averaging 12.6 points and 6.2 boards in his final season for the Owls. The NBA draft is set to begin on June 25 in Brooklyn. The Warriors are slated to hit the clock in the second round on June 26. This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Former hockey player, beloved 'Slap Shot' movie star Guido Tenesi dead at 71
The sports world is mourning the loss of former NHL player Guido Tenesi. He was 71. Tenesi rose to stardom after he portrayed Billy Charlebois in the sports comedy film "Slap Shot" in 1977. American Hockey League franchise, the Hershey Bears, offered condolences on Thursday. "We're saddened to learn of the passing of Guido Tenesi, a member of our roster during the 1974 Calder Cup championship, and was known to many more for his role as Billy Charlebois in the classic hockey film "Slapshot," the Bears wrote in a social media post. "Our hearts are with his family, friends, and teammates." A cause of death was not immediately released. The Pittsburgh Penguins drafted Tenesi in the fifth round of the 1973 NHL amateur draft. He also spent time competing in multiple professional hockey leagues and had a two-year stint with the Penguins minor-league affiliate in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are the Penguins' current affiliate, while the Bears serve as the primary development team for the Washington Capitals. Tenesi won the North American Hockey League title when he played for the Johnstown Jets during the 1974-75 season. Tenesi recalled his time with the team and how it helped him land the role in the classic sports movie. "I played on the same team as Ned Dowd, Dave Hanson, and the Carlsons. Ned would walk around with a tape recorder, and taking notes on everything that happened on one of our road trips," Tenesi said in 2016 during an interview with the Utica Observer-Dispatch. "If someone tripped on the ice, or if a player broke their stick and threw it over the glass, Ned recorded it." The plot of "Slap Shot" followed the story of a failing minor league hockey team named the Charlestown Chiefs. Actor and director Paul Newman portrayed coach Reggie Dunlop in the film. Steve Carlson, who also starred in the movie, mourned his late co-star Tenesi as a "good guy gone too soon." "RIP Guido Tenesi "Pretty boy" Good guy gone too soon," Carlson wrote on X on Thursday. "On behalf of myself and Vicki We send our heartfelt condolences. He always had HONOR and Class. Prayers for comfort to the entire family and my fellow teammates and co actors who experience yet another loss of the teammate." In another post on Friday, Carlson remembered Tenesi as "forever a Chief." "Rest easy, #5 — you're forever a Chief," he wrote. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Report – 19-year-old La Masia talent set to be Barcelona's third-choice goalkeeper next season
With FC Barcelona securing the signing of Joan Garcia, it will set off a chain reaction in the goalkeeping department – a domino effect of necessary decisions, including some difficult ones. Garcia has signed with Barcelona until 2031 and will be installed as the first-choice goalkeeper in all likelihood, which puts incumbent Marc-Andre ter Stegen in a difficult position. Advertisement The Blaugrana, for their part, are prepared to offload the German international with Wojciech Szczesny, renewal pending, expected to take up the second-choice role. Diego Kochen to be the third choice? Inaki Pena is also on his way out, in search of regular game-time, having fallen out of favour this season. As such, SPORT reports that the responsibility of being the third-choice goalkeeper in the Barcelona first team is expected to fall on Diego Kochen. Though the American did not have a standout season with Barça Atletic, the Blaugrana still consider him a strong long-term prospect. Kochen to be Garcia, Szczesny's understudy. (Photo by) Advertisement Kochen featured 16 times for the reserve team this term, conceding 26 goals in the process as they ended up getting relegated from the RFEF Primera Division. At 19, though, the American talent is still developing. While a loan is not completely ruled out, he is expected to serve as the third-choice keeper this season. If Kochen progresses and proves reliable, he could move up to the second-choice role next year once Szczesny's contract expires. The teenage shot-stopper's contract with Barcelona runs until 2028 and will hope to make an impression on Hansi Flick & co. so as to earn a promotion next year. Meanwhile, Aron Yaakobishvili is likely to take over the mantle of the starting goalkeeper for Barça Atletic with Ander Astralaga expected to leave on loan.
