The 4 Nations Face-Off captivated the sports world over the last two weeks with an incredible display of passion and hockey. And the person in the sports media who looks set to capitalize most on that positive momentum is ESPN NHL analyst P.K. Subban.
Subban began working at ESPN during the 2022 postseason, the conclusion of the NHL’s first year of return to the network. He then signed a three-year deal with ESPN in Fall 2022 to become a full-time studio analyst. In the years since, Subban has been a central focus of the network’s hockey coverage, traditionally teaming with Steve Levy and Mark Messier to form their top studio crew.
But with the increased audience and exposure from the 4 Nations Face-Off at ESPN, P.K. Subban took hold of the expanded and brighter spotlight.
Subban continually promoted the tournament on ESPN airwaves and, maybe more importantly, the sport of hockey itself. It seemed that at any point you turned on ESPN, there was a 50/50 chance Subban would be on the air, which is the kind of exposure only reserved for Mike Greenberg and Stephen A. Smith.
And why was that? Nobody quite captured the zeitgeist of the moment like Subban, lifting up the players’ passion and buy-in and how special international hockey is compared to other more recent events on the sporting calendar that provided the exact opposite. Hello, NBA All-Star Game.
However, Subban also found crossover appeal with more than just hockey fans and defenders of the sport. These comments from First Take about looking up to players, while maybe a bit of some shaded criticism of NBA stars, went viral with over 1.7 million views and many replies and quote-tweets praising his comments.
After a thirteen-year playing career featuring three All-Star appearances and a Norris Trophy, Subban always seemed destined for a starring role in the media, given his outgoing personality and sense of style. But it wasn’t until these last couple of weeks that he showed the crossover appeal that can make him a household name at ESPN.
There’s something to be said for someone taking the torch from the legendary Barry Melrose in Bristol. For years, Melrose was the NHL presence on the network. Especially in the dark ages when ESPN did not have NHL rights, and the league was a distant afterthought, Barry Melrose was still there to speak to hockey fans and show that the network still had a presence covering the sport.
However, times have changed in 2025 in the sports media world, particularly at ESPN. It’s one thing to be “the hockey guy” and get called into action on a line change when it’s your turn to cover a niche sport and break up the monotony of Dallas Cowboys and LeBron James chatter. It’s another to be able to go outside your lane, go on First Take or Get Up, and help set the narrative for the day in sports.
One of the most popular questions in the wake of the 4 Nations’ success is how ESPN and the NHL might build upon the positive energy for the tournament in the second half of the regular season and postseason. And truthfully, one of the best ways it can happen is for P.K. Subban to continue regularly appearing on these daily shows to help lift the sport’s profile even further. Ironically, hockey’s moment in getting more daily coverage comes as ESPN opts out of its MLB deal amidst complaints that the network didn’t do enough to promote baseball.
Subban is the perfect person for this time, place, and opportunity. Although he is not without his critics, he has the hockey resume to be the face of the network when it comes to being the authoritative voice on the sport. He also has the passion and energy to be its spokesperson for casual fans. Finally, Subban has the crossover appeal and personality to be a regular on these shows and sit next to Mike Greenberg and Stephen A. Smith and talk about any subject. Maybe that makes him more of the NHL version of Dan Orlovsky rather than the modern-day Barry Melrose.
The 4 Nations may have come and gone, but P.K. Subban and hockey are hopefully sticking around on ESPN’s daily radar.