It is still ultimately to be determined by the championship game against Team USA on Thursday. However, this tournament marks a turning point and it begs the big question. Is this tournament, the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, the true passing of the torch in Canadian hockey greatness? If Canada can somehow triumph over the hometown Americans, backed by goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, is this truly the time that Sidney Crosby passes the torch of Canadian-hockey icon status on to the next one, Connor McDavid?
The Gold Medal Game Means more than just Team Canada versus Team USA
We aren’t saying that Connor McDavid hasn’t reached near the pinnacle of individual hockey success. In contrast, he is yet to win at the highest level, whether that be best-on-best country play or hoisting Lord Stanley’s Holy Grail. That is something his predecessor, Sidney Crosby, is very well known and respected for in his hockey career.
Coming into this final, through the three round-robin games, at 37 years old, Sidney Crosby is still showing his greatness with his performance. The one main example was the first tournament contest. In that game versus Team Sweden, Sid assisted on three of the four Canadian goals, including Mitch Marner‘s overtime winner. Moreover, there is a reason he has three Stanley Cup titles, two Olympic gold medals (including scoring the 2010 Golden Goal), the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, and countless other titles under his belt. Furthermore, from an individual standpoint, Crosby has recently moved into ninth on the all-time NHL points list. His legacy in the sport, cannot be denied.
We’ve Heard About Crosby for Canada but What About McDavid
Connor McDavid has proven to be one of the all-time greats in his own right. He was the fourth fastest ever to reach 1000 points. Also, consider his recent success from 2022-23 and 2023-24 recording 173 points or more, combined playoffs and post season. McDavid was the only one to achieve this mark twice besides Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.
Now, let’s also not forget that McDavid has been a winner internationally for Canada. He captured the under-18, under-20, and Men’s World Hockey Championships. It’s not exactly his fault there has only been one best-on-best tournament since he’s come into the league. He was only 19 when the 2016 World Cup of Hockey took place, and he didn’t even play for Canada. As a reminder, he represented Team North America in that tournament on the team of players 23-and-under.
But much like McDavid’s first goal against Team USA. McDavid shares a trait with Crosby, and like Gretzky and Lemieux before them. The will, the goal of excellence, the determination to win at all costs.
Reliving the Past to Dream of the Future
Comparisons to the 1987 Canada Cup Team Canada are there with this tournament and generation of players. When Wayne Gretzky found Mario Lemieux as the high man on a three-on-one break. No one remembers that Joe Murphy was the other player on the rush. That play that clinched the tournament for Team Canada with just over a minute to go in the game against the U.S.S.R. was historically seen as Lemieux taking the reins from Gretzky as Canada’s hockey icon.
Now Lemieux was already an outstanding player, but that goal seemed to catapult him into another stratosphere. Gretzky would only win one more cup, but Lemieux would go on to win his back-to-back cups in ’91 and ’92 with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Over the next three seasons after the memorable 1987 win, Lemieux would tally 200 goals and 290 assists in 212 games played.
Another Comparison to the 1987 Team
One more reason you’d naturally compare the 1987 team, is the power play units. That team had Mark Messier, Ray Bourque, and Paul Coffey out there with Lemieux and Gretz. That has been something that has stood out for this year’s Canadian team, is the dominance of the power play. Cale Makar, Sam Reinhart, and of course, for Sid, fellow Nova Scotian, Nathan MacKinnon, along with 97, one could argue they’ve been the best man advantage units ever assembled.
So, what we are really talking about here is championships. Like the way Gretzky passed on the Stanley Cup winning ways to Mario, Sid would love to return the favour back from Edmonton to Pittsburgh back to Edmonton, the city of champions. Could a victory for Canada mean bigger things to come for Connor McDavid when he returns home to Edmonton and they continue their push for the 2025 Stanley Cup title? Only time will tell. However, the championship final between the two North American rivals is sure to unforgettable. If a pair of Canadians are to rise above the rest and make their own legacy, McDavid and Crosby are as good of candidates as anyone.
Main Photo Credit: Eric Bolte – Imagn Images
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