Jeremy Laura: Surprised by response to 4 nations from fans, are you?

If the guys WANT it, legitamently want it vs being guilted, etc... into it, then fine. The games have been pretty sweet to watch - almost an All-Star game quality. My take; is scrap the ASG because it stinks (viewership supports my statement...), and make some sort of Round Robin format; 5 Nations (include a Team Europe, maybe, for Germans, et. al.).

Now, Stadium Series, Outdoor Classic, etc... shine's worn off because of over-use. Special events aren't common-place nor routine. There's no real draw which means new viewers drop, expansion of interest & revenue, etc... falls, ROI bottoms out.

It's hard to say what should be done to expand viewership. League's tried a bunch of gimmicky stuff. I half expect to have some sort of Scrabble or Trivial Pursuit comp vs ASG, it's become that desperate.

This is a beautiful game, that has to be shown somehow. Skills Comp, etc... don't really show how truly talented these guys are.

I just don't know.....

9 seconds,3fights, 7 guys in the Sin Bin!! 🤣🤣

Although the fights can be entertaining for the fans... this is yet another reason I don't want the Wings players to go to these tournaments or the Olympics and potentially get injured going into the final stretch of the season. Not worth the risk. No team in a desperate playoff race needs any of their star players getting an injury. I still have memeories when Yzerman got injured in the Olympics many years ago and basically was out the rest of the season. No thanks...

The games have been entertaining because the players care.

Honestly I 100% understand that some fans are not interested in 4 Nations and probably never will be. Lots of fans are really only interested in their NHL team, don't care about international hockey (at least if it's not the Olympics), would rather their stars not play and risk getting hurt, would rather the NHL not break for so long. That's totally valid.

But there are also lots of hockey fans who love international hockey, maybe as much or more than the NHL. (I think this attitude is more common among the European NHL fans). They're into it.

And there are hockey junkies who will always tune in to watch a game if the caliber of play is high. The kinds of fans, for example, who will watch the entire playoffs even if their team is out. They're also into this tournament because, well, the games are actually good. Because the players care.

And even fans who are not interested because it's "just an exhibition" might well come around eventually. Ultimately everything is just an exhibition. Prestige is subjective, based on how much the participants and fans value it. If the games continue to be good, and the players continue to care, prestige will increase.

Contrast with the all star game, which has no constituency whatsoever. Players don't care. Fans who just want to see a good game won't get it. There are tons of fans who identify strongly with their national team but "Atlantic Division pride" is not a thing and never will be.

That game last night was honestly about as entertaining a hockey game that you will ever see. 40 of the best players in the world going absolutely all in. That was honestly hockey at its best.

The players have made this tournament because they care. I was worried that it would be "all star" competitive but they have proved us all wrong.

Huge win for the NHL in my opinion. That first period, including the anthems, was electric. Crowd included. I think it is stupid to boo any nations anthem but it created quite the cinema.

That game last night was honestly about as entertaining a hockey game that you will ever see. 40 of the best players in the world going absolutely all in. That was honestly hockey at its best.

The players have made this tournament because they care. I was worried that it would be "all star" competitive but they have proved us all wrong.

Huge win for the NHL in my opinion. That first period, including the anthems, was electric. Crowd included. I think it is stupid to boo any nations anthem but it created quite the cinema.
- Mahewman

Here’s my only pushback (relates to some comments above as well). How do we define a “win”? Great hockey gets played, but if U.S. viewership is way down, that’s where the $ is. Euro games, good games, stadiums are half empty sometimes. Canada has a total population of 38 million, the U.S. is around 340 Million. If the games come at a net loss in revenue it’s something that can hurt the ability of these to continue. Players had to fight to get the Olympics back as interest dwindles and shifts to VPN/piracy etc. love the competition, big improvement over the all star game, but a lot of time and money goes into this (including insurance for the players). Just food for thought.