Many thought a tournament with just four participants and no heritage would fall flat when they announced the 4 Nations Face-Off. However, NHL fans proved the doubters couldn’t be more wrong as 21,105 fans filled Bell Centre for the tournament’s debut match between Canada and Sweden. However, this only reflected a part of the people who watched worldwide.

“Wednesday’s opening #4Nations contest between Canada and Sweden averaged 1.04 million viewers across TNT and truTV. Canada’s 4-3 win was more viewed than any contest during the 2016 World Cup of Hockey in the United States,” hockey insider Braylon Breeze revealed in a post on X. Well, Braylon’s right. According to SportsTVRatings.com, it was the USA vs Canada preliminary-round game that got the biggest viewership of 766,000 in the U.S. during the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. So, as Braylon’s post made it r/Hockey, fans took the comparison one step further and made some bold statements comparing the tournament to other sporting events, including Saturday night football.

With the NFL season reaching its conclusion and no other big sporting events set for Saturday, fans speculated the 4 Nations Face-Off will rule network television. “It’s going to be huge numbers Saturday night on network TV I bet. There isn’t much else on right now. Daytona racing is Sunday, no football, no soccer in the US, no golf, basketball isn’t close enough to March madness,” commented a Redditor.

“It is US vs. Canada during some geopolitical tension. Seems like it will be the sporting event everyone will watch or put on in the bars,” added the fan, referring to the ongoing tensions between the two countries following President Trump’s earlier call for 25% traffic on most Canadian imports.

While the POTUS later postponed those tariffs just hours before they came into effect, the damage was done. Canadian NHL fans booed the U.S. national anthem even after Donald Trump decided not to impose the goods tariffs. However, these political tensions bleeding into sports aren’t the only reason why fans thought Canada vs. USA might pull even higher viewership.

Hockey fans had a simple demand from the NHL

Besides drawing an average viewership of over a million, the Canada vs. Sweden match peaked at 1.2 million. While not everyone had faith in the 4 Nations Face-Off, the NHL went all out in ensuring the event was a success, roping in more than thirty corporate partnerships for the tournament. Moreover, they made sure it was broadcast in more than 240 countries and territories. For that, they shook hands with the likes of ESPN/ABC, TNT Sports, Sportsnet, TVA Sports, Viaplay, and Nelonen. “Crazy. They treated it like a big deal, and people watched. Maybe apply that to the rest of the NHL season,” commented one fan.

The fact that NHL players would face one another after nearly a decade since the 2016 World Cup was enough to drum up huge anticipation. So much so, that even the most casual hockey fans got excited. “I had people that don’t watch hockey texting me asking if I was watching. The game delivered too,” commented one fan. The Netizen also highlighted how epic the clash between Canada and Sweden was.

While Canada took the lead early, Sweden slowly but surely caught up, forcing the thrilling game into overtime at Montreal. These reactions showed that despite the league not hosting international tournaments for the better part of the last decade, the demand for such tournaments remains high. Others also highlighted this point.

“Absolute insanity that the NHL thought it was smart not to have international hockey with NHL players for a decade. The amount of money they’ve lost…” a Redditor commented on the post. While it’s impossible to guess how much money the League lost, the 4 Nations Face-Off might be the wake-up call they needed.

Finally, while many speculated that USA vs. Canada might break viewership records, others thought tonight’s game between the USA and Finland might overtake yesterday’s numbers as well. “Those are playoff numbers, and the US wasn’t even in the game. Wonder how much ESPN gets tonight for USA-Finland…” commented one fan.

However, hockey fans will have to wait for those numbers to surface. Yet, what do you think? Will USA vs. Canada become the most-watched hockey game in recent times? Let us know in the comments.