For hockey fans, 2025 was a landmark year. For the first time in the history of the sport, the NHL All-Star game was called off. Disappointing? Probably. But something good also came out of the decision to swap the All-Star game for the 4 Nations Face-Off. The inaugural international hockey tournament, held in February, proved to be a massive success. However, as the All-Star games of other sports continue to find success, hockey loyalists can’t help but feel annoyed at how the 4 Nations still doesn’t seem to be considered on par.

The NHL‘s 4 Nations Face-Off drew massive viewership numbers across both the USA and Canada. And with that, speculations about the future of the All-Star game also came into question. The debates were further fueled by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. “We’re reevaluating how we want to do things because I think we’ve raised the bar about as high as you can for an All-Star Game in any sport,” Bettman said after the tournament came to an end. Evidently, the 4 Nations Face-Off proved that a viable All-Star replacement could be on the table. But not everyone seems to have as much faith, and hockey fans are here to defend the fort.

On July 19, The 3-0 Take podcast’s Kyle Corwin went on X to share viewership details of different All-Star games. As per the social media update, the MLB All-Star game this year drew 7.2 million viewers this year, while its NBA and NFL counterparts both posted 4.7 million viewers. However, it was the subtle dig at the NHL that irked the fans.

In their post, Corwin sneered, saying the NHL “dumped their All-Star Game,” while the others enjoyed incredible viewership success. Throughout the entire post, though, Kyle almost seemed to forget that the 4 Nations Face-Off even happened, or that it recorded numbers that would make the MLB All-Star stats look puny in comparison.

For the unversed, the first edition of the 4 Nations Face-Off managed to pull throngs of fans to the TV screens. However, it was the first match between the North American neighbors that broke all charts. The February 21st USA-Canada match drew 9.252 million viewers on ESPN alone, while in Canada the number was 6.883 million. That game was hailed as the “Most-watched non-Olympic hockey game on record in the United States,” and for good reason.

ESPN noted that the combined average of 16.13 million viewers set the highly anticipated USA vs Canada match in a league that was higher than any NHL game ever. Naturally, with that in mind, fans couldn’t help but come forward and remind Kyle that the NHL All-Star’s replacement did a pretty decent job, and that ignoring it wasn’t the right way to go.

What angered the fans further was probably the fact that the social media post didn’t even care to mention the 4 Nations Face-Off. Instead, it seemed like the baseball fan in Kyle was only here to take a dig at hockey, and even conveniently turn a blind eye to the facts to do so. But never, for one second, did we believe that the hockey fans would let the potshot slide.

NHL fans counter All-Star logic with 4 Nations Face-Off

The success of the 4 Nations tournament has the hockey community buzzing about what the governing body of the sport could be thinking for 2026. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly noted, “I can’t provide you clarity yet because I think everything is on the table,” on how the international tournament could affect the format of the 2026 All-Star game. That kind of success can’t just be ignored deliberately to jeer at hockey, fans posited.

“Take the L, Kyle. Your take sucks. But go ahead and get the last word in because we know it’s important to you,” one fan flatly stated that Corwin was in over his head on the matter. And why shouldn’t they be so aggressive with their comments? After all, both of the first two games of the 4 Nations garnered millions of viewers. “NHL was by FAR the best,” announced another fan, without even caring to delve into the debate on whether the All-Star and the 4 Nations Face-Off were comparable.

It did, in fact, seem like Kyle’s post didn’t sit well with many NHL fans. Considering that their favorite sport actively promotes and condones fisticuffs on the ice, it wasn’t too surprising to see that they came after Corwin, either. “The four nation tourney had those top 3 combined and some. You can delete this now,” one fan just wanted the social media post to accept the reality.

“4 nations clears everything. NHL wasn’t even the worst all-star game either lol, that goes to the NBA,” another fan seems to know what’s really up. The same sentiment was reflected by another NHL admirer: “the NHL comparison isn’t a good comparison because they replaced it with something that is better than all. It was called the 4 Nations Tournament and it was electric. Blows everything else out of the water.

What’s your take on the debate? Do you think Kyle’s way of segregating the All-Star game and the 4 Nations is right? Or do you think differently? Tell us with a comment.