NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off, featuring Team USA and Team Canada, stole the show from the NBA’s All-Star weekend, drawing a record-breaking TV audience | NHL News

The NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off, featuring the U.S., Canada, Sweden, and Finland, was a major event that surpassed the NBA’s All-Star festivities. The tournament, which featured the best-on-best hockey teams from the U.S., Canada, Sweden, and Finland, received an overwhelming reception on social media, with the online buzz reaching as high as the roar within Montréal’s Bell Centre.

NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off stole the show from the NBA’s All-Star weekend

The NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off has been a resounding success, attracting both avid and casual hockey fans to witness the high-stakes action. Despite going up against the NBA’s All-Star Skills Challenge Saturday night, the showdown between Team Canada and Team USA did excellent ratings.
The U.S.-Canada game, which drew massive ratings, became the most-viewed non-Stanley Cup Final hockey broadcast since 2019, with an average viewership of 4.4 million on ABC. “Real humans are watching NBA skills competition over USA vs Canada and I feel bad for them,” wrote one person on X. “I didn’t have Gary Bettman outshining Adam Silver on my bingo card this year,” wrote another.
Although Mac McClung won his third consecutive Slam Dunk Contest, pro basketball fans were focused on other matters. “I’m the biggest NBA fan on the planet,” a 4 Nations Face-Off viewer posted on X during the U.S.-Canada game, “but the difference in buzz vibe and intensity between NBA’s All-Star weekend and the NHL 4 Nations is astronomical.”
The NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off is a one-off event, with the league returning to its All-Star Game in 2026. Despite concerns about fan reception, the tournament managed to defeat a well-established Saturday primetime event in a larger league than the NHL, which struggles to grow rapidly.
Also Read: Team Canada defeated Team Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, paving the way for a rematch against Team USA
The NBA’s 4 Nations Face-Off event has garnered significant attention, highlighting the struggle to revive the All-Star events. Commissioner Silver has acknowledged this issue, and the NHL’s decline reveals the league’s ongoing All-Star dilemma.