The 4 Nations Face-Off has been a huge success—but David Pastrnak isn’t exactly thrilled with the event. His seven-word response about the championship final has fans reacting.
Instead of the usual All-Star break, the NHL took a different approach this year. In preparation for next year’s Olympics—where NHL players will finally return to the tournament—the league introduced the 4 Nations Face-Off, featuring top players from Finland, Sweden, Canada, and the USA competing against each other. And it’s been a massive hit.
The games have drawn record-breaking TV viewership and have been entertaining, feisty, and just plain awesome to watch. The USA-Canada matchup even delivered three fights in the first nine seconds. Now, the two teams will face off again in the championship final on Thursday evening.
David Pastrnak slams 4 Nations
The highly anticipated game is expected to draw millions of viewers worldwide. But not everyone is as excited about the tournament. Last week, superstar forward Alex Ovechkin dismissed the 4 Nations Face-Off, saying he had no reason to watch since Russia wasn’t included. Now, another superstar has joined the “not-so-impressed-with-the-4 Nations” group. Despite the final being played in Boston, Bruins star David Pastrnak said he “couldn’t care less” who wins.
Pastrnak, of course, isn’t happy that his native Czechia was excluded from the tournament. After helping Czechia win gold at last year’s IIHF World Championship, he posted a celebratory Instagram photo with the trophy, captioned: “Maybe Four Nation invite now?”
Pastrnak also called his exclusion from the tournament a “huge disappointment.” However, he’ll have his chance to compete against the world’s best in Milan next year—when he represents Czechia in the Olympics.
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