MacKinnon, along with Cale Makar and Devon Toews, had the opportunity to play for Canada in a best-on-best men’s tournament for the first time at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off. He had the chance to play with his childhood idol-turned-friend Sidney Crosby in games that matter for the first time. He also didn’t let down 8-year-old Nathan MacKinnon.

The 4 Nations Face-Off final was a hit on the ice for viewers across North America. The championship game of the best-on-best international tournament between the United States and Canada on Thursday was watched by 16.1 million viewers in North America, with 9.3 million viewers in the United States and 6.3 million in Canada.

The 4 Nations Face-Off championship game between the United States and Canada on Thursday drew the largest audience for a hockey game ever on ESPN, the network announced on Friday.

A record number of viewers tuned into Team USA and Team Canada's Thursday night battle for the 4 Nations Face-Off title. The ESPN broadcast drew 9.3 million viewers, setting a network record for any hockey game and an ESPN+ record for any non-NFL event,

Connor McDavid scored at 8:18 of overtime to give Canada a 3-2 victory over the United States on Thursday night as the North American rivals turned what had been a tune-up for the 2026 Olympics into a geopolitical brawl over anthems and annexation as much as international hockey supremacy.