Nathan MacKinnon to play more hockey soon to get bad taste out of his mouth

Nathan MacKinnon isn't done playing hockey just yet, as he will head to Sweden to play for Team Canada in the 2025 IIHF World Championship with his good friend Sidney Crosby

BY TRENT FINNEGAN

May 5, 2025, 12:34 PM Updated: 1:03 pm

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Nathan Mackinnon’s 2024-25 NHL campaign came to a shocking end on Saturday night after the Colorado Avalanche blew a two goal lead in the third period of Game 7 against the Dallas Stars. While the forward was very frustrated and “shocked” by the outcome, his hockey season isn’t over yet.

Canada’s gold pursuit just got stronger with Crosby & MacKinnon. 👀🏆 #MensWorlds #IIHF @hockeycanada

Read more 🔗 https://t.co/j9HPLAxi7e pic.twitter.com/7O9xdOPdsW

— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) May 5, 2025

MacKinnon will be joining his good friend Sidney Crosby on Team Canada for the 2025 IIHF World Championship, which begins on Friday. Team Canada’s first game is on Saturday against Slovenia, with the puck scheduled to drop from Stockholm at 4:20 a.m. Denver time (12:20 p.m. local time).

This comes just three months after MacKinnon and Crosby teamed up for Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. Team Canada won the tournament after a thrilling overtime victory over Team USA in the final while Nathan MacKinnon brought home the MVP award.

This will be MacKinnon’s 10th time representing his country in international play, and the fourth time he’s played in the IIHF World Championship. He joined Canada for the event in 2017, 2015 and 2014, as Canada finished in second, first and fifth, respectively.

In his previous three appearances, Mackinnon has tallied 11 goals and 17 assists in 28 games. His best year came in 2017, when he had 15 points (6G, 9A) in 10 games.

In total, MacKinnon has averaged a point per game when repping his country with 35 points in 35 games. He will be the top Dogg on the ice when he gets to Sweden this week.

The 4 Nations Face-Off was the first time that MacKinnon and Crosby teamed up together for their country, despite Mackinnon being playing in a handful of international competitions over the years. Just three months later, they’ll team up again as they chase another first-place finish in an international tournament.

It’s been a tough week for the Avalanche superstar, as he was first snubbed from being a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy and then was sent home by his former teammate Mikko Rantanen in Game 7. He’s hoping for a change in fortune with his country in the coming weeks.