Who else has very little interest in the Four Nations tournament?

[jj cale]

I like the goalies but it is surprising when you see which Canucks are on top

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Not one is on the team. But I don't see Canada being undone by a goalie performance. They may, however, get goalied by one of the other 3 starters. Kind of like the Oilers consistently win and Stu is rarely the best goalie of the 2 in the game. So McD is used to this.lol

Yeah, they made some dubious calls between the pipes given the current circumstances but honestly I wouldn't have confidence in any one of them, there really wasn't a " right call" IMO. There is only " prayers"

It's honestly why I still think Finland has a shot ( or at least a shot at upending the plans of the other teams) despite losing Heiskanen. They will be motivated at showing well with the rest of the core of their golden generation up front on NA ice and have the great equalizer in nets in Saros who can cover for a lot of defensive deficiencies.

Which leads me to another question, who benefits the most from the lack of preparation time this little mid February shindig brings? is it a team like the U.S who has the most talent from top to bottom or is it a team like Finland who can dig in quickly and know how to make life miserable for you before you get a chance to really come together?.

I wouldn't count those guys out yet Heiskanen or no Heiskanen.

 

[Czechboy]

Yeah, they made some dubious calls between the pipes given the current circumstances but honestly I wouldn't have confidence in any one of them, there really wasn't a " right call" IMO. There is only " prayers"

It's honestly why I still think Finland has a shot ( or at least a shot at upending the plans of the other teams) despite losing Heiskanen. They will be motivated at showing well with the rest of the core of their golden generation up front on NA ice and have the great equalizer in nets in Saros who can cover for a lot of defensive deficiencies.

Which leads me to another question, who benefits the most from the lack of preparation time this little mid February shindig brings? is it a team like the U.S who has the most talent from top to bottom or is it a team like Finland who can dig in quickly and know how to make life miserable for you before you get a chance to really come together?.

I wouldn't count those guys out yet Heiskanen or no Heiskanen.

I'd say Canada is the best at short turnaround and winning. Only because I see it happen a lot.

I had the Finn's as my fav but no Heisk is devastating to them. The whole point was that, in the big elimination type games, they could overplay him. That potential PP was looking insane to me

Heisk with Rants, Aho, Laine and Barkov. I wanted to see that!

Finns though do play an absolutely stifling and solid game so maybe they can overcome it. I'm probably changing my pick though. I'll wait till it gets closer as I feel like guys are dropping out like flies.

 

[jj cale]

I'd say Canada is the best at short turnaround and winning. Only because I see it happen a lot.

I had the Finn's as my fav but no Heisk is devastating to them. The whole point was that, in the big elimination type games, they could overplay him. That potential PP was looking insane to me

Heisk with Rants, Aho, Laine and Barkov. I wanted to see that!

Finns though do play an absolutely stifling and solid game so maybe they can overcome it. I'm probably changing my pick though. I'll wait till it gets closer as I feel like guys are dropping out like flies.

Everyone overlooking the swedes too but they are a competent group and with the backend they have they could have a good run with the nature of this tournament.

 

[Hanji]

Having no russia is one of the few positive things about this "tournament". Shows that NHL still has some moral and dignity. Respect.

Moral and dignity? Get real.
Russia is not invited because the European Federations would likely boycott. That means less $$$ for Bettman and co.
It's always about the Benjamins

 

[ToDavid]

This might be the stupidest f***ing idea the NHL has ever come up with and that's saying a lot. Guys are either gonna kill themselves for no reason over a meaningless award or no one is gonna take it seriously

If I watch it's because I need hockey

Concern about the players taking it seriously is one thing but the whole “what if a player gets injured” attitude is so weird.

What if, what it, what if. A guy could toe pick at practice and be out for the season. Might get food poisoning from their favourite sushi place and miss a week or two. Your favourite team isn’t going to fold because a couple players had to play a few extra games. Stop worrying and just try enjoying something for once.

 

[Strangle]

I think the US should be removed from the tournament for threatening to annex another sovereign nation

 

[nyr2k2]

I keep forgetting it's happening honestly. I got a notification about Vaakanainen being added to Finland and I was like, oh yeah.

 

[Tawnos]

No Russia and Czech Republic = joke international tournament.

A Canada vs USA best of 3 or 5 would've been a better idea. They’re the only teams the average NHL fan cares about anyway.
But alas, less games less money.

FWIW, while it was the NHL’s decision not to include Russia, they did invite the IIHF to be part of this and couldn’t come to an agreement. The NHL tried, but it didn’t get done so they decided to go ahead with this anyway. The teams competing are the only ones with enough NHL players to make a roster (besides Russia). They don’t really need the other countries for a best-on-best at the moment, though it’s way more fun when there’s the potential for a big upset. There was a time where the Czechs could compete well at this level, but that time isn’t today.

It’ll happen again for the 2028 World Cup if the IIHF doesn’t want in. Ditto 2032. The point is to get the ball rolling on a tradition of a regular NHL-sponsored tournament offsetting the Olympics. I expect the IIHF to get on board eventually, but the reality is that it’s more the IIHF’s fault the Czechs aren’t there than it is the NHL’s fault.

 

[wickedwitch]

FWIW, while it was the NHL’s decision not to include Russia, they did invite the IIHF to be part of this and couldn’t come to an agreement. The NHL tried, but it didn’t get done so they decided to go ahead with this anyway. The teams competing are the only ones with enough NHL players to make a roster (besides Russia). They don’t really need the other countries for a best-on-best at the moment, though it’s way more fun when there’s the potential for a big upset. There was a time where the Czechs could compete well at this level, but that time isn’t today.

It’ll happen again for the 2028 World Cup if the IIHF doesn’t want in. Ditto 2032. The point is to get the ball rolling on a tradition of a regular NHL-sponsored tournament offsetting the Olympics. I expect the IIHF to get on board eventually, but the reality is that it’s more the IIHF’s fault the Czechs aren’t there than it is the NHL’s fault.

It seems unreasonable to blame the IIHF when we don't know what the NHL was offering. (or vise-versa.)