Canadian NHL teams Reportedly Ask Permission to Stop Playing National Anthems Before Games

Last month's Four Nations faceoff tournament was a resounding success for the NHL.

The event was full of drama and pride as each country fought hard for the trophy.

In fact, many players treated the tournament as if they were the NHL playoffs, leading many to play through injuries they probably shouldn't have.

One of those players is Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk, who could be out for the season after reaggravating an injury in the final

Making matters worse for Tkachuk is the fact that Team USA lost, making his decision to play all for nothing.

That being said, he did get a chance to be teammates with his brother, which clearly meant a lot to both of them.

Player injuries were not the only major news to come from the tournament though.

As tensions rose between team Canada and team USA, the fans got involved, with many booing the national anthem of the other country throughout the event.

Apparently, this rubbed a lot of Canadian teams the wrong way as they do not want their American counterparts to feel disrespected.

In fact, according to NHL reporter Renaud Lavoie, several teams north of the border have since called Gary Bettman to see if they are allowed to stop playing both anthems for the rest of the season.

However, that clearly has not been the case, and as Lavoie notes, the league commissioner did not give them permission to do so, saying, "It's mandatory; the anthems must absolutely be played."

Lavoie did say though that this topic could be brought up again in the future though if tensions start to evolve past regular booing.

Hopefully things do not come to that and we can continue to enjoy our regularly scheduled NHL content without any more drama this season.