David Pastrnak plans to boycott NHL's next major event and he's likely not the only one

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Cooper Godin
February 6, 2024 (8:22)

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In February 2025, the National Hockey League's players will be participating in a best-on-best international tournament for the first time since 2016 and while it's an exciting time for fans, some players feel left out.

Because the tournament is being held mid-season and time is limited, only four teams will be participating in the Four Nations Face-off - Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States. This means some of the league's biggest stars won't be involved including Germany's Leon Draisaitl and Czechia's David Pastrnak.

In a recent interview, Pastrnak said that he plans to boycott the NHL/NHLPA event and won't be watching any of the tournament.

"It's a huge disappointment. Definitely not happy about it," Pastrnak said. "I understand that it's a quick turnaround. It's next year. They probably didn't have much time to make it a bigger tournament."

He added, "But Czech isn't there. So it's always a lot of players left out, so I'm not gonna watch the tournament, to be honest. So just happy that the Olympics got accepted. Yeah, (it) definitely stings a little bit."

Pastrnak hasn't played for his nation, Czechia, since the 2022 IIHF World Hockey Championship and missing out on another best-on-best tournament is disappointing for him, but he's pretty happy that the NHL will be returning to the Olympics in 2026 and 2030.

There's no doubt that Pastrnak will play a huge role for Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy as they'll look to win their first Olympic hockey medal since 2006.