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“I’ve got nothing better to do”: Nathan MacKinnon looks miserable at Worlds
Félix Forget
“I’ve got nothing better to do”: Nathan MacKinnon looks miserable at Worlds
Credit: The World Hockey Championships have been underway in Europe for ten days now. For Canada, seeing Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Marc-André Fleury take part in the competition adds a little something extra. It’s rare to see such names in action for the Canadiens in this tournament… and it’s paying off: Canada has won its […]
The World Hockey Championships have been underway in Europe for ten days now. For Canada, seeing Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Marc-André Fleury take part in the competition adds a little something extra.

It’s rare to see such names in action for the Canadiens in this tournament… and it’s paying off: Canada has won its first five games of the tournament.

For Crosby and Fleury, it’s a great way to enjoy the end of their careers. They’ve both smashed it in the NHL over the last 20 years, and now they can have a bit of fun in tournaments like this… but for MacKinnon, the story is a little different.

Mack is at the Worlds for one simple reason: the Avalanche haven’t even made it past the first round of the NHL playoffs. In fact, since winning the Stanley Cup in 2022, the club has won just one series in three years.

And clearly, this seems to be increasingly irritating MacKinnon, who would clearly rather be playing on the Bettman circuit than at the Worlds. And when Josh Yohe (The Athletic) asked him why he decided to take part in the tournament, he gave an answer that spoke volumes:

I’ve got nothing better to do. – Nathan MacKinnon

The Avalanche’s playoff failures are beginning to weigh heavily on MacKinnon’s shoulders. The club was on top of the world in 2022… but for the past three years, it hasn’t even managed to get past the first round on a regular basis.

Losing to the Stars in seven games is hardly a catastrophe considering Dallas is a hockey machine. That said, for a team with Stanley Cup aspirations (and for a Nathan MacKinnon who wants to cement his place among the all-time greats), it’s not enough.

And when you consider how much the Mikko Rantanen trade seems to have hurt him, you have to wonder just how happy MacKinnon is in Colorado right now. No one sees him being traded, of course… but perhaps more and more, his frustration could be turning into a lack of confidence in the organization.

MacKinnon wants to add Stanley Cup wins to his roster, but instead finds himself playing Worlds with two guys nearing the end of their careers who have won it multiple times.

We’ll see how it all shakes out, but we have to wonder if the man who’ll be 30 at the start of next season is starting to feel that opportunities to win the big trophy once again are slipping through his fingers.

Because if that’s the case, maybe eventually, he’ll really get fed up with the Avalanche…


Overtime

– News from CF Montreal.

– The curse of the Presidents’ Trophy persists.

– Connor McMichael wants to sign long-term in Washington.

– Reinforcement arrives in Atlanta.

– Carlos Alcaraz is champion in Rome.

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