BOSTON — How many boxes can a Team Canada championship win check off?
Let’s see.
Canada’s national pride was severely dented last month with a second consecutive quarterfinal loss at the World Junior Championships.
Team USA spoke openly last Saturday night about being ready to take over. “It’s our time,’’ Matthew Tkachuk said after a wild 3-1 win at the Bell Centre in Montreal. And why not feel that way after USA Hockey delivered back-to-back World Junior Championships for the first time ever in its program.
And political tensions between the countries, fueled by U.S. President Trump continuing to troll Canada as a future 51st state, added the kind of backdrop to this 4 Nations finale that was felt here at TD Garden on Thursday no matter what anybody said.
So yeah, as head coach Jon Cooper took a sip from a Molson Canadian during his postgame news conference, I asked him if Team Canada could feel what this win might have meant back home.
GO DEEPER
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“I just hope Canada is proud, because every player in that room is proud to be a Canadian,’’ Cooper began. “Did we need a win? Not only our team, but Canada needed a win. The players (bore) that on their shoulders and they took it seriously. This one was different. This wasn’t a win for themselves. This was a win for 40-plus million people, and the guys knew it, and they delivered.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came off the top rope after Connor McDavid’s overtime heroics, posting on X: “You can’t take our country — and you can’t take our game.’’
You can’t take our country — and you can’t take our game.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 21, 2025
Mic drop.
It has been a rather wild few days. Hockey players by nature don’t like venturing into political brushfires.
But Thursday night, there was an acknowledgement that this wasn’t your run-of-the-mill, best-on-best championship game.
Throw in the hockey side of it with the World Junior losses, and USA Hockey threatening to take over as kings of the hill in Canada’s sport, that was a mountain of pressure on Team Canada to deliver on this night for a multitude of reasons.
“Yeah, there’s been a lot of that kind of stuff going on, we were all aware of that, we were well aware of how much pressure there was on us to bring it home,’’ said veteran defenseman Drew Doughty. “The good thing about Team Canada and the pressure on this team is that we thrive under pressure. And we delivered.’’
Under immense pressure. Probably the most pressure Team Canada has faced since needing to deliver on home ice at Vancouver 2010.
“I said before the game, all of Canada is watching,” Team Canada 4 Nations GM Don Sweeney said after the game. “And for them to go out and deliver, it’s a hell of a lot of pride. You can see it, those guys wear it, they own it, it’s just great for Hockey Canada.
“Brandon Hagel said it best, right? Everything is for the flag.’’
The realistic possibility of Team USA winning its first best-on-best event since the 1996 World Cup blended with the political tensions between both countries concocted an explosive elixir that suddenly propelled the 4 Nations Face-Off into a spotlight nobody could have imagined in their wildest dreams when it was announced a year ago.
“It was much more popular than even we would have imagined,’’ said 4 Nations Face-Off MVP Nathan MacKinnon. “It was getting so much attention from our whole continent. It was pretty cool, the buildup over the last three days of Canada versus USA. A lot of stuff going on with Canada and the USA right now, and us playing against each other was kind of a perfect storm for our sport.”
Was it ever.
But it also put Team Canada players in an uncomfortable spot in the lead-up to the final game. Many of them live and earn a living in U.S. cities and very much enjoy it. They’re not inclined to come out and make a political stand. But deep down, don’t confuse that with not being patriotic.
Many Canadian players, including Brad Marchand, live in U.S. cities, putting them in an uncomfortable spot heading into the 4 Nations final. (Brian Babineau / 4NFO / World Cup of Hockey via Getty Images)
Sidney Crosby played with one good arm in this event. Several players weren’t 100 percent. They gutted it out because it meant so much to them to wear that maple leaf and win this for Canada.
“I love living in Las Vegas, Nevada, playing for the Vegas Golden Knights,” winger Mark Stone said postgame. “But I love spending my summers in Ottawa, Ontario. I’m Canadian and I’m proud to be Canadian. Putting this jersey on means more to me than most people would believe.
“The reaction we got in Montreal for those two games we played at the Bell Centre was unbelievable,’’ he added. “I try to stay off social media as best I can, but yeah, we needed this, we needed this. And we got it.’’
What was rather noticeable in Team Canada’s jubilant dressing room was that nobody was trying to rub it in, however. As brash as Team USA may have sounded after winning last Saturday night, there were no back-in-your-face sentiments from the winners.
“They’re an amazing team,’’ MacKinnon said of Team USA. “They were the favorites coming in, but we pride ourselves on being the best hockey nation. For another year at least we have some bragging rights. We’ve got to go do it again next February.”
That’s certainly one reason not to be over the top in winning it. There’s a bigger tournament coming in Italy next February. But I think deep down, there’s also a realization that Team USA is indeed right there. They dominated overtime Thursday but couldn’t beat Jordan Binnington.
So while Canada found a way again — following the same script as Vancouver 2010 where Team USA won the round-robin matchup between the two countries but Team Canada prevailed when it truly mattered in the end — anyone who knows the game can see the gap has shrunk over the past 15 years.
What we have now is a Team Canada-Team USA hockey rivalry that’s never been better. The sport wins out for it.
“I don’t want to sound too corny, but the reality was hockey won today,” Team Canada Olympic GM Doug Armstrong said. “Canada outscored the U.S., but hockey won. This is the best the game has ever been and for everyone in North America to see it, that’s the winner now. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we outscored them, but hockey truly won.’’
There’s some truth to that. After eight and a half years, best-on-best hockey finally returned and the game’s top players embraced it like it was the most important moment in their careers.
We’re getting best-on-best every two years now for the foreseeable future with a 2028 World Cup of Hockey sandwiched between NHL-fueled Olympics in 2026 and 2030.
At the next Olympics, Team USA will have a chance to finally close the deal on Team Canada.
But not on this night. The game’s greatest player saw to that in overtime. And the nation that gave the world the sport of hockey celebrated for all kinds of reasons.
(Photo: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
