Controversy and bad blood draws attention. Marketing 101.

On Saturday night, in the fourth game of the first ever Four Nations Face-Off, Canada took on the United States in what was the most anticipated hockey game of the year. The result was viewership that blew the roof off the hockey world.

Via NY Post:

The United States’ showdown with Canada on Saturday in the 4 Nations Face-Off drew an astonishing 10.1 million viewers in the US and Canada, the NHL announced on Tuesday. 

According to an NHL release, Saturday’s rivalry showdown between the North American neighbors was a 203 percent increase from viewership numbers seen during the 2016 World Cup of Hockey when the US and Canada played.

Nielsen fast-nationals had already shown that the game had been a massive success for the NHL in the United States with the metrics showing an average of 4.4 million viewers and a peak of 5.2 million. 

Bananas. The build up to that game was absolutely electric. Then before the puck even hits the ice you get Hagel and Matthew Tkachuk chuckin’ knucks. Then Bennett and Brady, then Parayko and Miller. All in the first nine seconds. The crowd was going bonkers and hockey was the king of the sports world that evening. Not to mention this all happened on the same weekend the NBA was showing us more Kevin Hart, Druski and Mr. Beast than actual basketball.

Going from USA-Canada-all-gas-no-breaks into watching LeBron pose in street clothes was a stark comparison of the state of these two leagues.

“Another fight has broken out” pic.twitter.com/QlM9LtSGpc

— Jake Malasek (@jakemalasek) February 16, 2025

So what caused this? Sure USA-Canada is always a draw for hockey but as stated above this game had a 203% increase from the last time NHLer’s from the USA and Canada played each other.

Bad blood.

It’s no secret to anyone anywhere that Trump has definitely cranked up the heat on our northern neighbors for maybe the first time ever in history (because why is there ever a reason to fight with Canada outside of on the ice?) Now whether you agree, disagree, love, despise or have no clue what is going on- there is no denying the tension between the two nations are what caused relentless boo’s during the US National Anthem and led to three fights in the first nine seconds of the game.

So what’s the conspiracy? It’s all for show. Trump is no stranger to reality TV and creating controversy for viewership and he’s at it again in one of the least likely partnerships- Gary Bettman and the NHL. Trumps putting on the classic “tariff, annexation and 51st state” dance we’ve all read about in our Intro to Marketing class in college. A timeless play to create controversy and stir up drama to get to that sweet, sweet end goal- explosive viewership.

I gotta hand this one to Gary Bettman. For a guy who is a regular on the “Hate You Forever” section of The Weekly Non-Debatable Detroit Heat Report™️ this was a brilliant move. Create an international tournament, partner with the President of the United States to create unrest with your long-time North American neighbor, schedule that game in primetime on a Saturday during your rival leagues’ embarrassing all-star weekend and BAM-  10 million viewers.

A masterclass.

What did Trump get out of the deal? No clue. At that high of a level I don’t want to know how the sausage gets made. That’s a question for the powers that be.

Now if only Bettman could find a way to get Trump to sign an executive order banning ads on jerseys and Fanatics from being the NHL’s official outfitter, I’d consider removing him from “Hate You Forever”

– Frank 🍾