Under Further Review – Douglas Smith with Editor Bill Morphy. Special thanks to our regular contributors including Jordan Moss, Ian MacPhee, Dave Kittle, Ted Tait, Frank Sullivan, Peter Hucul, Glen and Bill Myles, Howard Steiss, Rob Wagner and Iqbal Grewall.

Spanning the digital ether to bring you the constant variety of sport… the thrill of victory… and the agony of defeat… the human drama of athletic competition… This is Under Further Review.

Our Game Indeed – Boy, we needed this! For our collective psyche, which was feeling as battered and bruised as the players on the ice. As a nation, winning the Four Nations Face-Off was the only way to send the U.S. a message and the message was emphatic. It is a moment that will remain etched in time.

When asked to put into words the magnitude of Canada’s victory, Team Canada coach Jon Cooper was almost brought to tears. “I just hope Canada is proud because every player in that room is proud to be Canadian,” said Cooper. “Did we need a win? Not only our team, but Canada needed a win. The players (bore) that on their shoulders and they took it seriously. This one was different. This wasn’t a win for themselves. This was a win for 40-plus million people, and the guys knew it, and they delivered.”

From the American perspective, the brash U.S. team kept saying “it’s our time.” Well, sorry, but we have news for you. It’s not “your time” until you clutch up and take it from us. Making that statement before you have earned anything is reflective of the entitled American attitude.

With Donald Trump trolling Canada almost daily, the Four Nations tournament was much more than a meaningless NHL All-Star break get together. When the competition was announced a year ago, no one could have predicted how much it would mean. The politically-charged atmosphere put the Canadian players under tremendous pressure.

Half of TD Garden was filled with Canadians, many who drove through the snow to get there. How sweet it is to go into Boston and make a statement on U.S. soil. To witness the post-game celebration, the medal ceremony, the Canadian players belting out the national anthem in unison with the Canadian flag being raised – this was a spectacle we will cherish forever. It showed Americans that Canada is indeed different. We are our own unique country. As Brandon Hagel said, “Everything is for the flag.’’

From a wider lens, what an advertisement for the sport of hockey? The NHL underestimated how badly the players wanted a return to best-on-best. The skill and the passion were off the charts. It’s only whetted our appetite for more.

Four Nations Final Takeaways – There are so many critical points to unpack. Here are a few of our takeaways in reflecting back on a memorable tournament.

• It was incredibly ironic that the epic final was played at TD Garden in Boston in an arena where the naming rights are held by a Canadian bank. Talk about having the last laugh. Who’s taking over who?
• The centre ice position is the spine of any good hockey club. It seems like Canada always has a major advantage down the middle. It’s been Gretzky and Lemieux, Sakic and Yzerman and Crosby and now McDavid and MacKinnon. Both delivered goals in the final. There’s no question they outplayed Matthews and Eichel when it counted most. Canada will always have the upper hand if we continue to dominate down the middle.
• Cooper was masterful in making in-game adjustments throughout the tournament. Flipping Mitch Marner back onto the McDavid line in the final proved decisive. U.S. head coach Mike Sullivan was caught napping on the final line change before the winning goal in overtime. He had Matthews on the ice along with Jack Hughes and Brock Nelson with the third pairing of Adam Fox and Noah Hanifan on defence. That’s not a lineup you want on the ice to take a faceoff in your own zone in overtime. Matthews loses the draw and fails to track McDavid. The rest is history. You must have the right combinations on the ice for those draws. Sullivan was asleep.
• Matthews failed to score in the tournament and had only three assists. Once again, he proved he’s not a player you can rely on in big moments.
• The goal by Sam Bennett to get Canada back on even terms before the end of the second period was massive. Canada did not want to go into the third period down 2-1.
• Any player who’s played competitive hockey can attest to the pace of the game. Watching Thursday night, there was no room out there. You had little time and space to make a play. Every player on the ice had to know where they were going with the puck before they got it. Hockey at its best.
• Gretzky was named Canada’s honorary captain for the game. The response from Canadian fans in attendance was tepid at best. Clearly, the Grape One is no longer a national hero in this country. People are paying attention and he’s become a lightning rod for discontent. Giving the American team a thumbs up when he walked past their bench did not go unnoticed. Not sticking around to congratulate Team Canada was unforgiveable.
• NHL VP Bill Daly made the post-game presentations. Do you think maybe Gary Bettman would have somehow emerged to do the honours had the U.S. won the game?
• Contributor Bill Myles suggests Team Canada members from visiting NHL teams should be honoured when they return home to play in Canadian markets. Show them how much we appreciate their effort.
• The television numbers for the final game were off the charts. The game drew more than 16 million viewers in North America. ESPN reports 9.3 million watched in the U.S. which is the highest viewership since the NHL returned to the U.S. airwaves in 1995. In Canada, Sportsnet averaged 5.7 million, peaking at 7.3 when McDavid scored in overtime. Another 1.18 million viewed the game in Quebec on TVA.
• Big game experience proved to be a big factor. 14 players on Team Canada have won a Stanley Cup. 19 Cups in total. Only three U.S. players have won a Cup. Seven Canadian players have played in a game seven of a Stanley Cup final. Only one U.S. player, Matthew Tkachuk, has played in a Cup final game seven.
• Brad Marchand has won a gold medal every time in his career when representing Canada in an international competition. Sidney Crosby hasn’t lost a gold medal game wearing a Canadian jersey since the 2004 World Junior final.
• No player on the entire Team Canada roster has ever lost a best-on-best competition involving the top professional players.
• Canada has now claimed gold in the last four best-on-best competitions including the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, 2014 Olympics in Sochi, 2016 World Cup and the 2025 Four Nations Face-Off.

National Pastime – Let’s face it. Second-guessing Team Canada roster selections is a national pastime. The TSN panel joked that hockey fans across Canada will likely start making their Olympic selections on Monday. Fans were always going to question some of the picks. Goaltending in particular. No position is more scrutinized. Admittedly, we called for a goalie change after the defeat to the U.S. in Montreal. Jon Cooper stuck with Jordan Binnington and the whole country is glad he did. His embrace with Binnington after the game winner said it all.

There’s no doubt the Team Canada management group has learned a lot from this competition and it will serve them well as they build the 2026 Olympic team. It’s hard to criticize the selections for the Four Nations Face-Off when they were working against a deadline. When the picks were made, Zach Hyman and Tom Wilson were not playing particularly well. There’s no real explanation for passing on Mark Scheifele, other than to say they didn’t see a fit in the bottom six. Logan Thompson had not established himself although there were still many who saw him as a better choice than Sam Montembault.

Looking ahead, Sid will probably return as long as he’s still playing at a high level. It might be smart for Sid to pass the torch to McDavid as captain. Marchand will likely be replaced. Stone, Cirelli, Jarvis and Konecny will be question marks next time around. We like to slam Marner but he delivered twice in overtime so his stock went up. Expect Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini to start next season with their hair on fire wanting to earn a spot on the team. Canadian players around the NHL will be itching to participate. On the blueline, Canada can be very encouraged by the performance of Colton Parayko, Thomas Harley and Travis Sanheim. Parayko was a monster. The back end appears to be in great shape.

No doubt the U.S. learned a lot about their team as well. Brady Tkachuk, Jaccob Slavin and Zach Werenski were absolute studs. Dylan Larkin was solid. J.T. Miller, Brock Nelson, Jack Hughes, Chris Kreider, Adam Fox and Noah Hanifan could easily be replaced by players with more two-way utility.

One thing is for sure. Competitions like the Four Nations Face-Off bring out the best in some players. Others get exposed. You seize the moment or you don’t. Some players adjust to a more limited role. The margins are so thin it can make the difference in determining the outcome.

Canucks Notebook – With the resumption of NHL play on Saturday night, we are just a couple of weeks away from the March 7 trade deadline. Canucks brass have some tough decisions to make starting with the status of pending UFA Brock Boeser. If they can’t find common ground on a contract extension, a trade is likely, rather than risk losing Boeser on July 1 with nothing in return. Boeser trade rumours are already starting to surface.

Since the start of the break, the Canucks have reached contract agreements with newly-acquired Drew O’Connor and goaltender Kevin Lankinen. The Lankinen deal is a hedge against contract negotiations with Thatcher Demko who will be eligible for an extension in July. It’s also a hedge against Demko’s durability issues. Demko will not be with the team for the upcoming five-game road trip which starts in Vegas on Saturday night. Any new deal for Demko will be expensive so the Canucks need to gauge the risks. If the latest injury lingers, the Canucks may look to deal Demko this summer. If kept together, the duo will cost a combined $9.5 million next season.

After producing zeroes across the board at the Four Nations Face-Off, Elias Pettersson returns to the Canucks with bigger questions than ever. His value has flatlined. You wonder if there’s any market for the Swedish softie. At $11.6 million, do you really think there’s any interest? And please, can we stop talking about how he’s contributing defensively? At that price, you need more than a third-line checker. The way things are going, Pettersson is going to make Jesperi Kotkaniemi look like a bargain.

NHL Notebook – Need we remind Leaf fans? It’s only been 58 years. Forget about winning a Cup. Getting out of the first round would be an accomplishment. If the window isn’t closed, it’s almost shut. Tanev is 35. Tavaras is 34. OEL is 33. McCabe and Reilly are 31. Nylander 29, Marner 28 and Matthews 27.

The time is now for the Leafs with the Eastern Conference lacking a truly dominant team. The problem is they have so little ammunition heading into the trade deadline and some pretty big holes to fill. The Leafs went into the playoffs last year with Pontus Holmberg as their third-line centre. We know how that worked out. Holmberg appeared in all seven games against the Bruins and failed to register a point. At last year’s deadline, the Leafs parted with five draft picks to acquire Ilya Lyubushkin, Joel Edmundson and Connor Dewar and they barely moved the needle. The Leafs have swung and missed at the deadline repeatedly to the point where the cupboard is almost empty. Unless Brad Treliving pulls a rabbit out of the hat, their playoff fate this season is almost already sealed.

Despite the geographical proximity, we don’t talk about the Seattle Kraken enough. Probably because the team is so non-descript. Four seasons in and the Kraken still lack any name-brand talent. Players acquired through the expansion draft and via free agency have really not moved the needle. The team has already reached a crossroads with few foundational pieces to build around. Matty Beniers is a nice player but not a number one centre. Shane Wright is not a difference-maker. You wonder if the team is going to have to bottom out and start the process all over again. As it stands now, the Kraken are nowhere close to being a playoff team, let alone contending. The scouting staff has failed to hit despite extra draft capital. We would give general manager Ron Francis a C-minus for his work to date and that’s being flattering.

The Chicago Blackhawks are reportedly trying to find a new home for Seth Jones. The 30-year-old defenceman has five more years left on a deal that pays $9.5 million per season. Whether the Hawks can find a taker remains to be seem. If the Hawks move Jones, they may have an issue just getting to the cap floor next season. As things stand now, the Hawks will have $36 million in cap space this summer and that’s with Jones.

Michael Misa of the Saginaw Spirit is making a case to be the number one overall pick in this year’s NHL draft. He’s scored 53 goals in 52 games and is trying to become just the fourth draft-eligible player to score at a goal-a-game pace in an OHL season. Eric Lindros scored 71 goals in 57 games in the 1990-91 season. Patrick Kane tallied 62 goals in 58 games in 2006-07 while playing with the London Knights. John Tavaras fired in 58 goals in 56 games in 2008-09. Misa was overlooked for Team Canada at this year’s World Juniors. It’s looking like a mistake now.

Hull of a Lie – The medical community has long established the link between head trauma and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Even the National Football League finally recognized the connection. Do you think Gary Bettman would do the same? Not a chance. In an interview with National Public Radio, Bettman stated, “We listen to the medical opinions on CTE, and I don’t believe there has been any documented study that suggests that elements of our game result in CTE. “There have been isolated cases of players who have played the game [who] have had CTE. But it doesn’t mean that it necessarily came from playing in the NHL.”

Under what log is this A-hole sleeping? Apparently, the NHL commissioner is paid to make bold-face lies.

This week, we learned Bobby Hull had CTE when he died two years ago. His wife released the finding, adding he struggled with short-term memory loss and impaired judgement over the final decade of his life. Hull chose to donate his brain for analysis after learning his Blackhawk teammate Stan Mikita suffered from the highest stage of CTE. Hull played professional hockey for 18 years, many of them without a helmet.

A study published by Boston University showed that 18 of 19 NHL players examined showed signs of CTE. The list of players diagnosed keeps growing. It now includes Hull, Mikita, Ralph Backstrom, Bob Probert, Derek Boogaard, Jeff Parker, Wade Belak, Larry Zeidel, Reggie Fleming, Rick Martin, Steve Montador, Zarley Zalapski, Todd Ewen and Dan Maloney. According to a report from TSN’s Rick Westhead, four former junior players, who committed suicide before the age of 30, also tested positive for CTE. Still, Bettman refuses to recognize the issue. Shameful!

The Vladdy Saga – As the Blue Jays open training camp in Dunedin, the calls for change in the front office are getting louder. The failure to sign Vladdy Guerrero Jr. only turned up the volume on social media. The fans want Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins fired. The buttoned-down twins have been running the team for ten years and have yet to produce one division title or a single playoff win. The Jays have the 24th ranked farm system and have failed to extend any homegrown talent. On the field, the team has regressed each of the past three seasons.

Fans develop an emotional connection to homegrown players. Blue Jay fans feel differently when it comes to Vladdy and Bo. Losing both players would be a massive blow to the organization. The mistake was not getting Vladdy signed to an extension years ago. Forget the excuses. Kansas City extended Bobby Witt Jr. The Mariners got Julio Rodriguez under contract. Same with Atlanta and Ronald Acuna. San Diego inked Fernando Tatis Jr. The Jays failed to get a handle on the shifting financial dynamics in the baseball marketplace and they are now paying the price. Mistake number two came last fall when the Jays chased Juan Soto instead of focusing on an extension for Guerrero. The Soto contract only widened the gap in negotiations. It also sent the wrong message to Vladdy.

The Jays are now at a crossroads facing a season of uncertainty. If the Jays are out of contention at the trade deadline, both Vladdy and Bo could be gone. The blame is squarely directed at the Cleveland Clowns. The refusal to fire both in the off-season was the biggest mistake of all.

Spring Training Notebook – Duck Dynasty is coming to the Bronx. The New York Yankees have finally relented. The team has decided to modify its long-standing facial hair policy and will now allow what they call “well-groomed” beards. The policy banning facial hair was instituted back in 1976 by George Steinbrenner and was a source of organizational pride. The Yanks now claim the policy is outdated and concluded “the current generation believes their facial hair to be part of their individuality,” noting that even Vice President JD Vance and members of Congress sport beards. Several free agents turned down the Yankees because of the facial hair policy so don’t think for a minute that this has anything else to do other than attracting players to New York.

No player in major league baseball has made off with more money for doing less than California Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon. The season hasn’t even started and Rendon is already on the season-ending injury list following hip surgery. He’s appeared in only 25 percent of the Angels’ games over the past five seasons since signing a blockbuster seven-year, $245 million dollar contract. Worse yet, the Angels owe him $38.6 million in 2025 and another $38.6 million in ‘26.

It’s hard to feel sorry for Angels owner Arte Moreno. He refused to incur any additional costs by insuring the contract which would reportedly have provided the team with an estimated net saving of $50 million. Rendon is so broken down it’s doubtful he will ever play another inning.

PGA Tour Notebook – It’s been an encouraging start to the PGA Tour season for the Canadian contingent. Through the first seven weeks of the schedule, a Canadian has finished inside the top-12 in every event. The results include a win by Nick Taylor at the Sony Open, the fifth of his career. Taylor has also had a T-9 finish at the Genesis and a T-12 at the American Express. TSN’s Bob Weeks noted Taylor has jumped from 152nd in Greens in Regulation last year to sixth so far this year. Hopefully, he can keep it going.

Taylor Pendrith continues to play consistent golf. He’s had three top-13 finishes so far this season. Statistically, Pendrith sits second in Greens in Regulation and fourth in Total Driving. Problem is his putter has not been cooperating. Pendrith is 152nd in Strokes Gained: Putting. It’s not as though he’s a bad putter. Pendrith finished last season in fifth spot in that category.

It’s been a decent but not great start for the other five Canadians on the Tour. Corey Conners is yet to get hot. Connors is way down the list in both Putting (134th) and Scrambling (176th). Mac Hughes has recorded only two finishes inside the top 20. Hughes is normally an outstanding putter but so far this season, he is sitting at 136th in Strokes Gained: Putting. As Weeks pointed out, a lot of the Ontario boys don’t seem to putt very well on the west coast swing. Adam Hadwin had a top-10 at the WM Phoenix Open but has not done much else. Ben Silverman and Adam Svensson have both largely struggled. They are the only two Canadians playing this weekend at the Mexico Open at Vidanta Vallarta.

Random Leftovers – It’s been a rough year for the San Antonio Spurs. First, coach Greg Popovich suffered a stroke that’s sidelined him all season. Now, star centre Victor Wembanyama has been diagnosed with a serious condition in his shoulder called deep vein thrombosis and he’s been shut down for the rest of the year. The 7-3 centre just returned from playing in his first NBA All-Star game. The condition, which is treated with blood-thinning medication, has become more common in recent years. Former Raptor Chris Bosh has issues with blood clotting. Current Raptor Brandon Ingram suffered from DVT when he played with the Lakers.

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