The 10 biggest legacy shifts up or down after the 4 Nations Face-Off

Paul Pidutti (@AdjustedHockey)
Paul Pidutti (@AdjustedHockey)(AdjustedHockey)
Team Canada center Connor McDavid
Credit: Feb 15, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada forward Connor McDavid (97) prepares for a face off in the first period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game against Team United States at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

If you’re still coming down from the high of hockey’s greatest showdown in more than a decade, you’re not alone. The intense, seesaw battle between USA and Canada will reverberate for a long time.

Now that the sizzling temperature of Thursday’s 4 Nations Face-off finale has cooled, the time is right to consider the event’s impact. An enduring assessment from three or four games is hardly fair in the big picture. But when more than 16 million people tune in, the moments inevitably etch résumé lines in bold, oversized font.

So, we’re diving into the legacies that surged, tumbled, or were further cemented by life in hockey’s fast lane. As the tournament’s proverbial dust settles, we’re counting down its top 10 legacy shifts — both positive and negative. And with the Milan Olympics just 11 months away, most of the key characters will soon have a chance to edit the narrative.

📈 Up

10. Jon Cooper

It had been 21 years since anyone other than Mike Babcock coached Canada to a best-on-best title. Enter Jon Cooper, the NHL’s longest tenured coach and four-time Cup finalist. Long known for his sharp mind, charm, and intensity, Cooper kept his group focused after its round-robin loss. He stuck with Jordan Binnington, smoothly tweaked the lineup and ultimately boosted his future Hall of Fame case.

9. Jaccob Slavin & Zach Werenski

Absent gamebreaker Quinn Hughes and steadying force Charlie McAvoy, USA’s defense never skipped a beat. Polar opposites in style, Slavin’s defense and Werenski’s offense were on display. USA allowed the event’s fewest goals (1.75 per game) and Werenski led the tournament in scoring (six assists in four games). Despite the end result, these two unsung veterans in unsung markets thrived in the spotlight.

8. Brady Tkachuk

Absent any returnees from the 2016 World Cup, USA needed to find its heartbeat. Brady Tkachuk accepted the challenge. Despite a lingering injury, the 25-year-old’s trademark physicality and three goals left a mark on the event. Having yet to see a post-season game in Ottawa, Tkachuk was nasty, outspoken, and effective — the perfect ingredients for an international hockey villain (or hero, if you’re American).

7. Nathan MacKinnon

MacKinnon was salivating to play with his friend and childhood idol, Sidney Crosby, and for Canada in a best-on-best. MacKinnon captured the moment with an event-high four goals. How’s this for a scary-good legacy? MacKinnon joins all-time greats Crosby (2016), Joe Sakic (2002), Wayne Gretzky (1987), and Bobby Orr (1976) on a short list of dual Hart Trophy and best-on-best MVP winners.

6. Mitch Marner

A lightning rod for criticism after perpetual playoff disappointment, Marner mercifully got rewarded on the big stage. The irony is that he’s a consistent, all-world playmaker that brings relentless, Selke-level defense. For Canada? He was inconsistent… but clutch, scoring in OT against Sweden, and dishing two flawless passes in the final that will repeat on highlight reels for years. It was finally Mitch’s time.

5. The NHL, NHLPA & the players

As a collective, the NHL’s brand dazzled. The Commissioner’s Office and Players’ Association believed in the event when the general public doubted its validity and purpose. In the first minute of the first game after a McDavid-Crosby-MacKinnon tic-tac-toe blew the lid off the Bell Centre, the vision crystallized. The TV ratings, mainstream interest in America, and the raw passion of the players produced a public relations’ masterpiece for a league long charged with failing to market its best features.

4. Sidney Crosby

Entering the event on a 25-game, 15-year undefeated streak for Canada, Crosby hardly needed to grow his legacy. But he managed to do just that. While Canada’s captain was neutralized in both USA games, he was masterful against Sweden and Finland. The deafening “Crosby! Crosby!” chants in Montreal are reserved for very few athletes. Salt-and pepper-haired and playing with a generation still seemingly gushing from having his poster on their bedroom walls, Crosby, age 37, tied for the team lead in points (five).

3. Canada’s national pride

29 years removed from its last best-on-best title, USA needed to win after decades of high stakes flops. But Canada needed to win. Mocked and bullied by their greatest ally, Canadians were pleading for a unifying moment. A loss was inconceivable. Connor McDavid’s overtime goal delivered national pride that rocketed coast to coast. Canada’s legacy as the greatest, most clutch hockey power marches forward.

2. Jordan Binnington

Raise your hand if you felt good about Binnington’s ability to deliver a tournament title before or during the 4 Nations Face-off? No one? Binnington famously had won a Game 7 in Boston but had also lost nine straight playoff games after that Cup. No one cares now. The 31-year-old was electric, acrobatic, and improbably stole the event. This will be his legacy.

1. Connor McDavid

There will be some fans that won’t welcome McDavid into the pantheon of inner circle legends until he wins a Stanley Cup. Reminder: he won the Conn Smythe as playoff MVP just last year. More irony? McDavid never got going against USA in the final. His rushes were shut down and his passes didn’t connect. But special players only need one chance. Henderson. Gretzky-to-Lemieux. Crosby. McDavid. As it should be.

📉 Down

10. Connor Hellebuyck

It may seem harsh to have Hellebuyck on this list. Had his teammates finished one of their many late chances, it surely would have meant Tournament MVP for Hellebuyck (.932 save percentage). But that’s not what happened. Binnington made the game-saving stops and McDavid’s wrister went in. The world’s best goalie is sure to get another shot in Milan — his legacy could use a captured moment.

9. Mikko Rantanen

Rantanen entered as Finland’s top scorer and best offensive threat. In three games, he had one point — a fanned power play goal against Sweden. Rantanen has scored at a 38-goal pace for his career and has 102 points in 82 playoff games. He’s a weapon. The statuesque winger will need to continue to roll to make the Hall of Fame one day. 4 Nations was a lost opportunity to remind us of his greatness.

8. Juuse Saros

Saros’ demise has been greatly exaggerated. Playing on a sad sack Nashville team this year, he’s been average according to Evolving Wild‘s GSAx (goals saved above expected). Behind a depleted Finnish back end, Saros needed to steal a game. Instead? A 6-1 opening loss to USA that yielded the starter’s crease to Kevin Lankinen.

7. Mike Sullivan

Even a two-time Cup-winning coach won’t headline an event filled with superstars. But Mike Sullivan quietly needed a win. He’s well-liked, classy, articulate, and a breath of fresh air to his profession. But he hasn’t had team success in quite some time — this post-season will mark seven years since Pittsburgh‘s last playoff series win. How great would Olympic gold in 2026 look on Sully’s Hall of Fame candidacy?

6. Jack Hughes

Hughes was the youngest forward on USA — and it showed. A sublime talent, he just couldn’t make an impact for the Americans. Despite nearly 18 minutes per game, Hughes’ lone point was a secondary assist in the third-period of the Finland blowout. He has a lot of runway to carry a future international team in the next decade, but he was a forgettable player on this year’s flight.

5. Auston Matthews

You had to feel for Auston Matthews. One of he or teammate Mitch Marner was going to disproportionately wear last week’s result. It ended up being Matthews. Playing with a lingering injury, Matthews managed primary assists on both USA goals in the final. But with a couple of glorious looks denied in overtime and a rare defensive lapse on McDavid’s winner, it was more disappointment for USA’s captain.

4. J.T. Miller & Elias Pettersson

Vancouver‘s once-dynamic duo had an ugly breakup in January with Miller’s trade to Manhattan. This event represented fresh starts by making noise for their countries. That did not happen. Miller was pointless in four games with just three shots on goal, while Pettersson was pointless in three games and was given only 13:32 in average ice time. Both need a reputational revival ASAP.

3. Wayne Gretzky

Say it ain’t so. One of Canada’s most iconic athletes suffered a notable blow to his legacy last week. Much like you and I, Gretzky is free to support whomever he likes politically. But when that individual continues to openly assault your homeland’s sovereignty, being an “ambassador” for Canada in that politically charged arena was insensitive at best. Gretzky looked as uncomfortable as the moment was for many Canadians.

2. NHL’s interest in best-on-best hockey the last nine years

The praise heaped upon the NHL for this event was well deserved. The good vibes and long-term goodwill generated were exceptional. But that’s only part of the story. No one was at fault for the pandemic disruptions, but sitting out the 2018 Olympics over travel and insurance disputes with the IOC was tone deaf. McDavid, MacKinnon, and Matthews playing best-on-best for their countries for the first time in their late-20s was preventable and leaves gaps in the legacies of a generation of stars and fan experiences.

1. USA delivering in big moments

Anyone watching the North American rivals duke it out twice can agree the margin between the teams is razor thin. But it’s now three consecutive final losses by USA at the hands of Canada in best-on-best action: 2002, 2010 and 2025. That’s eight best-on-best events (and counting) without a title. It’s time for the current American generation to meet the moment.

Visit adjustedhockey.com; data from Hockey-Reference, QuantHockey.com; international box scores from Wikipedia.

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