Don't Overdo It

As soon as the first hit was delivered in the Canada-Sweden game on Wednesday night, it was clear that the players care deeply about the 4 Nations Face-Off.  The players are taking the games incredibly seriously and tournament's ratings have reflected how much fans have bought in, as well.  Which inevitably (and immediately) led to the calls that the NHL should drop its All*Star Game entirely and just play the 4 Nations every year.  Which would be a massive mistake.

Part of the reason the 4 Nations Face-Off has been such a hit is precisely because we don't see tournaments like this very often.  This is the first best-on-best hockey tournament with NHL players since 2016.  That's a huge part of its appeal, for both the fans and players.  Hockey players want to represent their countries, but (mainly because of NHL and IIHF nonsense) rarely get that chance.  Now that they finally have that opportunity, they're relishing it.

Next year, NHL players will return to the Olympics for the first time in 12 years.  That tournament will feature 12 countries.  This is just a warm-up.  Since it's a short tournament, it had to include a limited field.  In Milan, players from nations like Germany (Leon Draisaitl), Czechia (David Pastrnak) and Switzerland (Roman Josi) will be able to get in on the fun.  Pastrnak, especially, has been experiencing some serious FOMO during this event.

That's one of the reasons why the 4 Nations Face-Off shouldn't become a regular thing.  While the four countries that were chosen make sense, it would be incredibly unfair to players from every other nation represented in the NHL if they never got the opportunity to play in a showcase of this sort.  And, as I said last week, how would you be able to get away with not including Russia?  Especially since they'd field a pretty good team?

I think the NHL fears international oversaturation, too.  Which is why they're being very deliberate about NOT succumbing to temptation and making this an annual event, which would definitely get watered-down as it went on.  That doesn't mean the NHL isn't right to embrace international hockey, though.  The league and owners finally get it.  It's what the players AND fans want, which is only good for the game.  (More people are watching the 4 Nations Face-Off than NHL regular season games by a wide margin.)

Rather, the NHL wants to have an international tournament every other year.  In 2026, it'll be the Milan Cortina Olympics.  Then, in 2028, a revived World Cup of Hockey, which will be moved to the same in-season February window (after all three previous editions were held in late Summer before the start of training camp).  Followed by the 2030 Olympics, another World Cup in 2032, rinse and repeat.

The World Cup of Hockey will be an eight-team tournament.  It'll be interesting to see how the teams are selected, though.  It's being run by the NHL, not the IIHF, so the decision on Russia's participation is entirely up to the league.  Honestly, I don't see how you have a tournament without them.  Ditto about Czechia.  But who would get the other two spots?  Especially when you have three viable choices in Germany, Switzerland and Slovakia.  One option could be having the eight Olympic quarterfinalists "qualify" for the next World Cup.

While we're still three years away and a lot of decisions need to be made regarding the format and other details, it was notable that the Commissioner mentioned they were accepting bids from potential host cities in both North America and Europe.  Yes, the 2026 Olympics are in Italy.  But making the players travel to Europe in February for the World Cup of Hockey seems like it would be a mistake.  Especially when they could easily have one group play at an NHL arena in the U.S. and the other play at an NHL arena in Canada.  That, to me, would make much more sense travel-wise.  Especially since a majority of the players will be based in North America.

Even if the NHL decides not to play the All*Star Game in World Cup years, that doesn't mean it's going away permanently.  Nor should it.  Because that midseason showcase is too valuable a property to just do away with it entirely.  Teams that open new arenas generally get to host an All*Star Game within the first few years.  That brings in a massive amount of revenue for the home team and city.  Plus, you have the ancillary events like the Skills Competition.  Next year's All*Star Game is being used as an Olympic send-off (which was also the intent of the 2022 All*Star Game before the NHL opted out of the Olympics), so the two (international play and the All*Star Game) can coexist.

Could the NHL All*Star Game be better?  Sure.  The league understands that, too.  That's why they keep tweaking the format.  They went from conference vs. conference to North America vs. the World to captains picking their teams to a four-team tournament between the four divisions to last year's hot mess combining the four-team tournament with the captains' picks. 

Will the All*Star Game ever have the intensity of an international tournament?  Absolutely not.  Can it be competitive?  Sure.  It's really up to the players.  If they cared about the All*Star Game, people wouldn't be asking these questions.  So, ultimately, it's a matter of incentivizing it for them.  The 4 Nations Face-Off is still exhibition games.  But they have plenty of incentive, which has made all the difference.

Compare that with the dumpster fire that was the NBA All*Star Game.  After last year's 211-186 debacle, they tried something new this year.  It was somehow even worse!  It was so bad that there was more "entertainment" and commercials than actual basketball.  It didn't help matters that LeBron announced an hour before the game that he wasn't playing.  Format changes can only make so much of a difference when the biggest name in the sport is making it abundantly clear how much he doesn't care.  Lack of caring/effort has been what plagues the NBA All*Star Game.  That's what needs to be addressed.  Otherwise, format changes are just putting lipstick on a pig.

More format changes could be on the horizon again as early as next year.  The NBA All*Star Game moves back to NBC next season.  It'll be sandwiched by Olympic coverage and will likely have an earlier start as a result.  The NBA knows they need to put forth a watchable product.  What they've displayed in each of the two years is not it.  Could a switch to USA vs. the World be coming?

While the NBA is still predominantly American (70 percent), some of the best players in the league aren't.  The international team could include players like Victor Wembanyama (France), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada) and Nikola Jokic (Slovenia).  Filling out the international roster might be tougher (and it would be easier for foreign-born players to make the All*Star team), but the point is you could do it.  And it would be a good game (assuming the players care).

International basketball can be just as great as international hockey.  Just look at the quality of the Olympic tournament!  NBA players were representing their countries and, most importantly, they cared.  That amazing tournament was the result!  The USA-Serbia semifinal and the gold medal game between the USA and France were two of the best basketball games I've seen in quite a while.

Regardless, both the NBA and NHL need to figure it out.  Because the All*Star Game is too much of a money-maker for the league to simply do away with it.  They just need the players to buy in.  Otherwise, they might as well just turn them into the joke the Pro Bowl has become!