Connor McDavid Calls Out NHL for Excluding Some of the Best Players from the Four Nations Face-Off
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![Feb 17, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada forward Connor McDavid (97) skates with the puck during the second period in a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game against Team Finland at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/i/photo/530316.webp "Feb 17, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada forward Connor McDavid (97) skates with the puck during the second period in a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game against Team Finland at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn")
Photo credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn
Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid let his true feelings be known about the Four Nations tournament today.
Connor McDavid sat down with the media after Team Canada's final practice before the Four Nations tournament final tomorrow against the USA.
he was asked how he felt about the tournament and if he would like to see the NHL all-star game replaced by something similar, prompting an interesting response.
First, he talked about the fact that only players from four countries were allowed to participate in this tournament, which is a real shame.
This echoes what we have heard from other NHL players including Alex Ovechkin, who bashed the event earlier since Russia is not involved.
"I'd love to see all countries represented. Its great that it is best on best and its four nations, and stuff like that, its been really exciting, but there's some great great players sitting at home. If we want it to be the biggest stage in the world then we need everybody involved."
McDavid went on to speak in greater detail about what the international tournament schedule is like for NHL players.
He admitted that it would probably be too much to have an event like this every year, but noted that with NHL players returning to the Olympics next year and the World Cup of hockey returning in 2028, fans will have plenty of events to look forward to.
"The league announced the World Cup, that's really exciting. I'm not sure you could do this every single year.
Its been pretty taxing, you see guys going down getting hurt, but it goes to show how much guys care about playing for their country, how much pride they have when they're wearing the jersey. I think with the Olympics and the World Cup, we'll get enough"
Its been pretty taxing, you see guys going down getting hurt, but it goes to show how much guys care about playing for their country, how much pride they have when they're wearing the jersey. I think with the Olympics and the World Cup, we'll get enough"
The good thing about both the World Cup and the Olympics is that every country that qualifies will be eligible to participate which means as fans we will get to see players that could not play in this year's special tournament.
That means players like Leon Draisaitl, David Pastrnak, and Alexander Ovechkin will get their chance to show what they can do against countries like Canada and the US on the world stage.
In the meantime though, we will just have to enjoy the Four Nations faceoff final between the United States and Canada before we get back to the remainder of the NHL regular season.
Previously on Bladeofsteel
| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 19 | 1186 ANSWERS Connor McDavid Calls Out NHL for Excluding Some of the Best Players from the Four Nations Face-Off Would you like to see the NHL replace the all-star game with something more similar to the Four Nations tournament every year? | ||
| Yes | 1010 | 85.2 % |
| No | 176 | 14.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
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