The year is 2016, hockey fans had it all. The World Cup of Hockey had just taken place, providing one of the most exciting hockey tournaments in recent memory, the 2014 Olympics weren't too far behind us, and the 2018 Olympics were just on the horizon. Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby were going to play with each other for the first time, and Auston Matthews was going to Patrick Kane and the Americans to do the same. The past, present, and future of international hockey looked promising.
Fast forward to now, present day, December of 2024. No international best-on-best hockey tournaments have taken place since that 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
However, there is some hope for the future, as the NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off is set to take place this February, to give hockey fans a "tease" of what could be coming next for international hockey. The NHL has plans to return to the Olympics in 2026 and beyond, and potentially mixing in a World Cup in there as well.
With that being said, and while I will still be tuning in to watch at least all of Team Canada's games (likely more), there are still many issues with the 4 Nations tournament coming up in a few months.
Everything Wrong With the 4 Nations Face-Off
Not Enough Teams
This argument has been used to death, as most fans are on the same page believing that a tournament with only four countries does not make it "best-on-best".
Leaving out Russia is understandable, and while it is unfortunate to leave out one of hockey's top countries, the IIHF's ban on Russian teams left the NHL with no other choice but to leave them out.
But only with only four team's competing, the likes of Alex Ovechkin, Kirill Kaprizov, Leon Draisaitl, David Pastrnak, Anze Kopitar, and many others will not be present at the tournament. The fact that this tournament is leaving out so many top players leave the question, is this really "best-on-best?"
I understand the NHL had no choice but to leave Russia out, and having a whole World Cup would bring more attention to Russia not being present, but it's still unfortunate only four teams are present.