In lieu of an All-Star Game, the National Hockey League hosted a unique international tournament over 10 days in February 2025. It featured the United States, Canada, Sweden, and Finland. It was played under a political controversy in which President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canada advocated for Canada to be the 51st state of the US and called Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a governor. During the USA-Canada Round Robin game, Canadian fans booed the US National Anthem. That game featured three fights in the first 9 seconds. The action was truly best-on-best, and the NHL's top players rose to the occasion. Canada defeated the US in the championship game and took the trophy.Dan Rosen covers the NHL for NHL.com and is making his second appearance on the podcast (Episode 339). In this episode, Rosen depicts what it was like to be there in person. He addressed how the league came up with this tournament and the future of international hockey. He also discussed the political overtones during the tournament. He also assessed the final “stretch run” of the 2024-2025 hockey season.

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