It’s safe to say that New York Rangers great Mike Richter was a big fan of the 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament.
The 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament was held during the NHL’s annual period of holding the All-Star Game. Except this time around, they held a tournament featuring four national teams — Team USA, Canada, Sweden and Finland — with the best players from each of those countries.
Needless to say, it was a massive success, with Team USA’s 3-2 overtime loss to Team Canada in the final game drawing the biggest viewership — 9.3 million viewers — for an ESPN hockey game ever.
”That Four Nations Tournament, not easy to put on,” Richter told Sports Lens in an exclusive interview. “I’m not sure it’s able to be replicated. What it did bring to the forefront is just the passion of sport and the pride that you have wearing a team’s uniform.
“I’ve always said right with the Olympics, when the commissioner first said, ‘This is something we want to do two years removed from the World Cup of Hockey in ’96.’ There’s big competition out there and there’s probably legitimately five teams that can win the gold medal,” Richter continues to say.
The 58-year-old believes the momentum and competitive intensity displayed during the 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament continues to carry over into the NHL regular season as teams play out their remaining 20 games apiece before the playoffs start.
”The drop off back to the season isn’t as substantial as I would’ve expected,” says Richter. “You take a given game and it is extraordinarily hard to make it to the playoffs right now. There’s a lot of teams, a lot of talent, a lot of parity, so every game matters.”
Richter details why the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament resonated with the casual sports fan.
”You saw it on the ice, every shift was contested,” says Richter. “That is a recipe for a lot of fun to be part of and a great thing to watch as a fan. It just kept getting better, which is great because hockey fans watch hockey. But a lot of people were drawn in and said, ‘The speed and the intensity and the physicality of our sport, is I think the best place it’s ever been.’
“It seems just like the NHL’s in a really healthy spot,” Richter continues to say. “The leadership’s been amazing and the product on the ice shows that.”
Mike Richter Gives Major Compliments to Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk
Matthew Tkachuk was already known by hockey fans for helping lead the Florida Panthers to a Stanley Cup win last season.
However, he became a mainstream name during the tournament for his grit, vocal display of being on Team USA and his game-opening fight against Team Canada’s Brandon Hagel.
Matthew is the son of Keith Tkachuk, who is one of the best American skaters of all time. The elder Tkachuk was a five-time All-Star who became the first American-born player to lead the NHL in goals (52) during the 1996-97 season.
Richter — who played from 1989 until 2003 — went up against Tkachuk on multiple occasions during their playing careers. He details how Matthew reminds him a lot of his father — guys that you hate playing against, but guys that you would love to have as your teammate in the locker room.
”I played with his dad, who was an incredible player and a great guy,” says Richter. “A terribly difficult guy to play against. They’re the type of players that you hate playing against, but you love in your locker room. I think it’s awesome. He plays with a ton of courage and intensity.
“That’s what our sport is all about,” Richter continues to say of Tkachuk. “I’m sure there’s more than a few people out there that would love to feed him his lunch if they could. They respect him too. He’s a great player and a great personality and just seems like a tremendous person in the locker room.”
The best American-born goaltender of all time won a Stanley Cup in 1994 with the Rangers. His pick to win the Stanley Cup this season is Tkachuk’s Panthers, who currently lead the Atlantic Division with 77 points.
”My pick to win the Stanley Cup, honest to God, it’s hard to vote against the incumbent,” says Richter. “The Panthers won for a reason. They’re big, strong, and mature. They can beat you a number of ways and that heaviness really showed itself in those long, tough playoffs.”
While Richter believes it’ll be the Panthers who are the favorites to win the Stanley Cup, he doesn’t rule out the Edmonton Oilers or the Colorado Avalanche.
The Oilers fell to the Panthers in seven games in the Stanley Cup Finals and the Avalanche are currently competing for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
“I don’t wanna say it’s theirs to lose,” says Richter of the Panthers. “You gotta think Edmonton has so much motivation. They have a guy like Connor (McDavid) who is just such a professional and he is not simply a fast skater or a good goal scorer. He seems to be the total package and, and is going to will his team to places that it needs to go. I don’t think we can count that type of talent and that type of willpower out.
“Colorado’s a team that you can’t sleep on, right? They just have too much talent,” Richter continues to say about potential teams that can win the Stanley Cup.
Mike Richter Partnering Up With Fanatics and Rangers Star Will Cuylle for NHL Collection
The Rangers legend is speaking on behalf of his partnership with Fanatics. The digital sports platform is partnering with fashion designer Todd Snyder for a limited edition NHL clothing line release. The collaboration features 12 NHL teams, including Richter’s Rangers, Tkachuk’s Panthers, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Connor McDavid’s Oilers.
The campaign features Richter filming a commercial with the 6-foot-4 Cuylle.
”Will’s young and tall, and I am short and old,” says Richter while laughing. “It was a great combo for us to be together. The odd combo, right? It’s fun. They make these shoots really cool and that’s what this is supposed to be. You can have a bit of a casual atmosphere, but look good doing it. For me, it’s a thrill to be part of it.”
Cuylle, who ranks sixth in points and fourth on the Rangers in goals, is one of their top young stars. The 22-year-old left winger has earned the respect of Richter, with the former goaltender saying Cuylle has tremendous “upside.”
“You have a player that is that young and good defensively, has a physicality, but also has hands, skates great,” says Richter of Cuylle. “Smart, knows when to go to the net. Those players are so hard to play against because they can beat you in many ways, and so they don’t always have to be scoring in order to contribute.”
Richter details how the 6-foot-4 left winger brings more to the table than just scoring goals and that you need those types of pieces in order to compete.
”That’s how championships are born,” says Richter. “That’s how they’re built. I don’t want to load too much on Will, but he seems to have those components that you really do look for where an all-around player knows the game and is a really respectful, great young guy. I feel like there’s nothing but upside to a player like that.”
The Stanley Cup champion continues to detail the value of the young winger, who is in the midst of his second full season.
“When an organization can land those guys — you look at some of the young talent, the Connor Bernards and the Macklin Celebrinis that are coming in at that young age and scoring the goals and the offensive abilities they have – you have to populate since hockey’s such a team-oriented sport,” says Richter. “You have to have all the puzzle pieces and guys like Will are just so valuable to an organization. His trajectory is really about to take off. I think you’re in a pretty good place when the young guys coming in are like Will.”
