Team Canada and Boston Bruins star Brad Marchand didn’t have many kind words for Brady and Matthew Tkachuk after Thursday’s thrilling 4 Nations finale.
‘They play their game,’ Marchand said of the Team USA’s Tkachuk brothers after winning the NHL’s inaugural 4 Nations tournament. ‘They do what they do. Sometimes when you shoot your mouth off in the media, it bites you. You can do that during the season, but when you’re playing best-on-best it’s different, and they got a little bit ahead of themselves.’
Marchand appears to be referencing a comment from Matthew, a member of the reigning Stanley Cup-champion Florida Panthers and one of the Bruins star’s biggest on-ice rivals.
A week ago, in Montreal, Team USA beat Canada 3-1 on a night in which there were three fights within the first nine seconds of game action – two of which involved the Tkachuk brothers.
Afterwards, Matthew took the opportunity to announce the resurrection of American hockey.
‘The message we wanted to send is: ‘It’s our time right now.’
Team Canada and Boston Bruins star Brad Marchand celebrates after winning 4 Nations finale
Brady Tkachuk #7 of Team United States celebrates with Matthew Tkachuk #19 after scoring a goal against Jordan Binnington #50 of Team Canada during the first period on Thursday
Matthew Tkachuk #19 of Team USA fights with Brandon Hagel #38 of Team Canada last week
Marchand has had on-ice scrapes with both Tkachuk brothers in the past, but did have some nice things to say about the Panthers’ Matthew and Ottawa Senators’ Brady after Team Canada’s win in Boston on Thursday.
‘But they’re great players and there’s not many guys in the league that play the way they do and they’re extremely effective, but when you start giving teams ammo, it can work against you as well,’ Marchand said.
‘They’re going to have long, great careers. I think you saw how effective they can be at every level.
‘They do it during the season, they did it in this tournament, and they’re competitors. They’re a big reason why that team is what they are.’
The 4 Nations Face-Off championship game between the United States and Canada drew nearly 9.3million viewers on Thursday night, the most-watched non-Olympic hockey game of all-time.
In both countries combined, the game drew 16.1million viewers, just shy of last year’s Stanley Cup Final winner-take-all Game 7 between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers.
Sidney Crosby #87 of Team Canada celebrates a first period goal by Nathan MacKinnon
With 6.9million Canadians watching the game, more than 17 percent of the country’s residents were glued to their television screens to watch the North American rivalry.
Political controversy surrounded the game as US President Donald Trump has called Canada the ’51st state’, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau not responding kindly to the leader to his southern border.
‘You can’t take our country – and you can’t take our game,’ Trudeau said on X in a message that has over 16million impressions.
It was the second matchup between Canada and the US in the tournament, as the Americans defeated Canada in Montreal before Thursday’s final in Boston.
It was during the first two US games of the tournament not on home soil where the Star-Spangled Banner was booed by Canadian fans.
Last Saturday’s US-Canada matchup also featured three fights in the game’s first nine seconds, which no doubt helped the ratings for the championship game.
Brady Tkachuk #7 of the Ottawa Senators argues with Brad Marchand #63 of the Boston Bruins during the third period at TD Garden on November 09, 2021 in Boston
Boston Bruins LW Brad Marchand skates by after putting a hard check on Florida Panthers RW Matthew Tkachuk in the first period of a playoff game in 2024
A Connor McDavid overtime goal clinched the win for the Canadians by a score of 3-2 after trailing during the second period.
The 4 Nations format was seen as a massive success for the NHL on the backs of the NBA All-Star game, which was criticized for players barely breaking a sweat.
‘It was much more popular than even we would have imagined — it was getting so much attention from our whole continent,’ 4 Nations MVP Nathan MacKinnon said.
‘The 4 Nations caught on fire. I’m sure everyone didn’t really know what to expect. Obviously questions about it being an All-Star Game, things like that. Obviously people didn’t really know the player’s mindsets coming in, and rightfully so. You never really know. But guys took this very seriously when you represent your country.’
‘I’ll always remember this feeling when it’s next year,’ U.S. winger Brady Tkachuk said after losing in the final.
He then made reference to the 2026 Olympics in Italy, where NHL players will once again represent their respective countries: ‘Everything happens for a reason and I think this year, this moment can really motivate us going into next year.’
