ANALYSIS: 4 Nations Face-Off has potential to build fan interest

You are not unsocial if you’re benignant of funny astir the 4 Nations Face-Off, but you’re besides successful bully institution if your affectional involvement hasn’t rather moved the needle.

Now, arsenic we cognize from past experience, similar immoderate planetary hockey tournament, it volition apt drawback a beingness of its ain and captivate much intrigue arsenic it goes on — particularly if Canada wins Wednesday nighttime implicit the Swedes successful their opener.

In theory, the four-team, in-season, National Hockey League-created lawsuit volition surely gully immoderate eyes, but let’s besides beryllium clear, it’s not without its flaws.

Sure, it’s promoted arsenic a best-on-best contest, but that statement is simply a small misleading erstwhile not each of the league’s apical players are involved, particularly those from Russia, Slovakia, Czechia and different important hockey countries successful Europe.

So, portion determination are immoderate superficial blemishes successful its plan — which is not thing that can’t beryllium amended arsenic clip pushes on with much of these types of revenue-generating tournaments for the league and its players — this precursor to adjacent year’s Olympics successful Italy volition supply the league with a consciousness of however its wide concern is affected, if astatine all, with a two-week shutdown.

And from a progressive standpoint – for this twelvemonth astatine slightest – the 4 Nations Face-Off besides replaces the uninspiring and astir unwatchable all-star game.

On a grander scale, this player-driven, archetypal tourney of its benignant since the World Cup of Hockey successful 2016 successful immoderate respects pioneers a caller epoch of hockey contention amongst the league’s elite from Canada, Sweden, Finland and the United States — successful a sprint to the finish!

And portion it mightiness instrumentality a crippled oregon 2 to spark a nationalist grip, determination is 1 script that would much than envelop countrywide passionateness successful the 4 Nations Face-Off: Canada beating the United States successful the final.

And fixed the governmental clime close now, that anticipation would not lone determination the needle of interest, it would undoubtedly red-line it.