Los Angeles Kings and Team Canada star Drew Doughty sent a bold message to Team USA ahead of the 4 Nations Faceoff final, telling the Americans he would be more than ready to drop the gloves if challenged.
“I’ll do anything for my country,” the 35-year-old London, Ontario-born defenseman told NHL on TNT after he and his fellow Canadians advanced to the final on February 17. “If the time is right and I gotta go, then I guess so.”
Doughty was asked by TNT analyst Paul Bissonette if he would square off with American Matthew Tkachuk. The first matchup between Team Canada and Team USA on February 15 began with three fights in nine seconds, with Matthew Tkachuk facing off against Canada’s Brandon Hagel, his brother, Brady Tkachuk fighting Sam Bennett and J.T. Miller battling Colton Parayko.
The fights came after Canadian fans at the Bell Center in Montreal booed “The Star Spangled Banner,” which has become a common occurrence at NHL arenas in Canada after U.S. President Donald Trump targeted the country with tariffs while also often saying that Canada should become the 51st American state.
Drew Doughty & Matthew Tkachuk Have History
Bissonette note that Doughty and Matthew Tkachuk have history dating back to 2017, according to SportsNet. During a March 2017 game between the Kings and the Calgary Flames, Tkachuk, then a member of the Flames squad, sent Doughty to the ice with an elbow to the face.
Doughty responded by telling reporters, “He’s a pretty dirty player, that kid. To be a rookie and play like that is a little surprising. I don’t know exactly what happened because I got hit in the head, but I thought he elbowed me. I can’t tell you for sure, so I’m not going to really say if I think anything should happen, but whatever it was, it hurt pretty bad.”
He added, “It’s just that every game I’ve played against him basically me and him get after it a little bit. Obviously, partially that’s my fault too, because I like to get under peoples’ skin.”
In 2018 he told SportsNet when asked if Tkachuk was the most-hated player in the NHL, “I’m pretty sure he might be. I have lots of friends on other teams and they don’t love him either. But whatever, that’s how he plays. All it does is fire guys up and guys take over games when that happens. Like tonight.”
In 2019, he said about Tkachuk, “No respect for him, none. I respect everyone else. I’ll never talk to him off the ice.”
Doughty’s Team Canada Teammate Said They Are ‘Playing for a Flag, Not the Cameras
The Tampa Bay Lightning’s Hagel, who threw down with Matthew Tkachuk, responded to reports that the Americans planned the fights in a group chat ahead of the first 4 Nations matchup.
“We’re out there playing for a flag, not the cameras,” Hagel told NHL.com on February 18. “We don’t need to initiate anything. We don’t need any group chats going on. We’re going out there playing our game, giving it everything and, like I said, doing it for our country. We’re just going to play as hard as we can and do it for the flag.”
Matthew Tkachuk shot back on February 19, according to Boston.com, “Maybe their team doesn’t like each other then if they don’t have group chats. That’s just a player enjoying his opportunity. I think that our team does not care about anything that they say.”
He added, “There’s been a lot of chatter and talk from individuals, but we care about one thing in this room, and we have millions of people that are watching us and supporting us around this country, and we’re very prideful in playing for them and the guys in the room. So it’s an opportunity of a lifetime for us.”
Hagel told NHL.com, “It’s funny. Before the tournament, everyone thought these might be, I don’t know, all-star games in this sense. But I mean, I remember thinking to myself [lying] in bed before the game, if this is an all-star type of thing I’m going to be so out of place because I’m putting my head through a wall tomorrow. That was my mentality going into the game. And everyone did the same.”
The 4 Nations Face Off championship game between Team USA and Team Canada is set for 8 p.m. Eastern on February 20 on ESPN and ESPN+. The game is being held at the TD Garden in Boston.
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