4 Nations Face-Off championship drew record ratings for NHL

The 4 Nations Face-Off turned out to be a massive success for the NHL, and the television ratings for Thursday's championship game between the United States and Canada continued to show that.

Canada's 3-2 overtime win drew 16.1 million viewers across North America, including 9.3 million in the United States.

The total viewership across North America makes it the second-most watched NHL game in more than a decade, trailing only the 16.3 million total viewers for last year's Stanley Cup Final Game 7 between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers.

The 9.3 million viewers in the United States made it the most watched hockey broadcast to ever appear on ESPN.

16.1 million viewers across North America (9.3M in , 6.8 M in ) watched Thursdays Canada vs.

USA #4Nations Face-Off championship overtime thriller.

pic.twitter.com/3Xlu8uZNxP Those are huge numbers for a hockey game, and they show that the NHL had the right idea with this tournament.

The biggest takeaway here is that hockey fans were craving a best-on-best tournament after not having one for more than a decade.

The good news is they are set to have a bunch of them in the coming seasons with the league's return to the Olympics in 2026 and the World Cup of Hockey.

If this tournament is any indicator, the hockey events will not only be amazing, but they will also be highly anticipated.

The question is whether or not these ratings will mean anything for the NHL.

It is going to be difficult to hook fans who tuned in for an international game when the stakes are not as high and the talent on the ice is not as elite.

There was also a huge political backdrop to these games that no doubt brought in viewers who might not have otherwise given these games an ounce of thought.

There is no guarantee you bring those viewers back, either.

The NHL does not have a great track record of sustaining viewership success after these events.

However, those are issues for another day for the NHL.

In the short term, the NHL is going to enjoy one of the few marketing wins it has had over the past few decades.

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh.

He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA.

Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark.

Catch him on Twitter @AGretz.

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