Who makes it? Projecting the roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off
Best-on-best International hockey is back.
For the first time since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, NHL players will take part in a best-on-best international tournament when Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States square off in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
Official rosters will be announced on Dec. 4.
With roughly two weeks until the big reveal, Sean Shapiro and Cam Robinson project who will be on each team.
CANADA
Centre:
Connor McDavid - Edmonton Oilers
Nathan Mackinnon - Colorado Avalanche
Sidney Crosby - Pittsburgh Penguins
Brayden Point - Tampa Bay Lightning
Wings:
Sam Reinhart - Florida Panthers
Mitchell Marner - Toronto Maple Leafs
Mark Stone - Vegas Golden Knights
Mark Scheifele - Winnipeg Jets
Mathew Barzal - New York Islanders
Brad Marchand - Boston Bruins
Anthony Cirelli - Tampa Bay Lightning
Zach Hyman - Edmonton Oilers
Extra Forward:
Robert Thomas, C/RW - St. Louis Blues
Rationale:
There isn’t a country on earth that can compete with Canada’s centre depth. It’s quite likely we’ll see someone like Nathan MacKinnon slide over to the wing to load up a line (with Crosby?) in the top six. This group doesn’t even include players like Mark Scheifele, Mat Barzal, or Nick Suzuki, who could all play down the middle on this team.
On the Outside Looking In:
Nick Suzuki - Montreal Canadiens
Alexis Lafrenière - New York Rangers
Rationale: This is the most difficult forward group to crack. Unfortunately for Nick Suzuki, Alexis Lafrenière, Connor Bedard, and every other player with a maple leaf on their passport, they just couldn’t wedge their way in.
Defence:
Cale Makar - Colorado Avalanche
Devon Toews - Colorado Avalanche
Josh Morrissey - Winnipeg Jets
Noah Dobson - New York Islanders
Shea Theodore - Vegas Golden Knights
Alex Pietrangelo - Vegas Golden Knights
Extra:
Evan Bouchard - Edmonton Oilers
Rationale: Canada has to choose from a ridiculous set of blueliners. In the end, the team elects to bring in two sets of teammates in Makar/Toews and Pietrangelo/Theodore. Having that built-in chemistry should prove highly effective in a short tournament.
Goaltenders:
Jordan Binnington - St. Louis Blues
Adin Hill - Vegas Golden Knights
Samuel Montembeault - Montreal Canadiens
Rationale: Insert viral horse drawing here. Things went from amazing to… ugly in a hurry. On paper, Canada is the favourite to win this event — right up until you look at their crease, where they’re giving up a ton of ground to all three competitors. All the team needs is average stopping power to get by, but even that may be too much to ask from this group.
FINLAND
Centre:
Aleksander Barkov - Florida Panthers
Sebastian Aho - Carolina Hurricanes
Roope Hintz - Dallas Stars
Anton Lundell - Florida Panthers
Wings:
Teuvo Teräväinen - Chicago Blackhawks
Mikko Rantanen - Colorado Avalanche
Mikael Granlund - San Jose Sharks
Matias Maccelli - Utah Hockey Club
Artturi Lehkonen - Colorado Avalanche
Kaapo Kakko - New York Rangers
Erik Haula - New Jersey Devils
Patrik Laine - Montreal Canadiens
Extra Forward:
Eetu Luostarinen - Florida Panthers
On the Outside Looking In:
Eeli Tolvanen - Seattle Kraken
Jesse Puljujärvi - Pittsburgh Penguins
Rationale: The Finns are deep and dynamic down the middle, led by Barkov, with a mix that attacks with speed and plays smart, responsible hockey in their own end. The biggest question is how the Finns fill out the wings, where shooters and play-drivers like Rantanen and Teräväinen fit in well. Maccelli has played his way onto this list recently, while the Finns would be wise to give Laine a spot and see how he recovers from injury. Luostarinen is a capable replacement as the extra forward.
Defence:
Miro Heiskanen - Dallas Stars
Esa Lindell - Dallas Stars
Henri Jokiharju - Buffalo Sabres
Niko Mikkola - Florida Panthers
Rasmus Ristolainen - Philadelphia Flyers
Olli Määttä - Utah Hockey Club
Extra Defender:
Juuso Välimäki - Utah Hockey Club
Outside Looking In:
Jani Hakanpää - Toronto Maple Leafs
Rationale:
The Finnish defence will lean heavily on Heiskanen, already the best defenceman to come from the country. Heiskanen has played well historically with his Dallas teammate Lindell. This group is built with players who move the puck effectively while minimizing risk.
Goaltenders:
Juuse Saros - Nashville Predators
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen - Buffalo Sabres
Kevin Lankinen - Vancouver Canucks
Outside Looking In:
Joonas Korpisalo - Boston Bruins
Rationale:
It’s Saros’ net, and the only remaining question is whether it’s Lankinen or Korpisalo who gets the No. 3 spot behind Luukkonen. Lankinen was a dark horse before the season, but his play with Vancouver has been deserving of national recognition.
SWEDEN
Centres
Elias Pettersson - Vancouver Canucks
Mika Zibanejad - New York Rangers
Joel Eriksson Ek - Minnesota Wild
Elias Lindholm - Boston Bruins
Wingers
Filip Forsberg - Nashville Predators
Jesper Bratt - New Jersey Devils
William Eklund - San Jose Sharks
Rickard Rakell - Pittsburgh Penguins
William Nylander - Toronto Maple Leafs
Adrian Kempe - LA Kings
Lucas Raymond - Detroit Red Wings
Leo Carlsson - Anaheim Ducks
Extra: Mikael Backlund - Calgary Flames
On the outside looking in: Fabian Zetterlund, Gustav Nyquist
Rationale: The Swedes come into this event with a top-tier group of pivots. It blends a strong mix of high-octane offence and smothering defensive habits. On the wings, it’s a tidy mix of legitimate top-line candidates, a youthful skilled player in Eklund, and the veteran Rakell.
Defence
Rasmus Dahlin - Buffalo Sabres
Victor Hedman - Tampa Bay Lightning
Gustav Forsling - Florida Panthers
Erik Karlsson - Pittsburgh Penguins
Mattias Ekholm - Edmonton Oilers
Rasmus Andersson - Calgary Flames
Extra: Jonas Brodin - Minnesota Wild
On the outside looking in: Philip Broberg
Rationale: Between Karlsson and Hedman, this blueline group houses four combined Norris Trophies. But they’ll have to rely on the younger players to shore things up defensively.
Goaltenders
Jacob Markström - New Jersey Devils
Filip Gustavsson - Minnesota Wild
Linus Ullmark - Ottawa Senators
On the outside looking in: Jesper Wallstedt
Rationale: There is no clear starter from this group of three. Ullmark has the Vezina Trophy in his back pocket but has also struggled the most this season. Whoever plays best early on will likely own the crease.
UNITED STATES
Centres
Auston Matthews - Toronto Maple Leafs
Jack Eichel - Vegas Golden Knights
Jack Hughes - New Jersey Devils
Dylan Larkin - Detroit Red Wings
Wingers
Jake Guentzel - Carolina Hurricanes
Matthew Tkachuk - Florida Panthers
Brady Tkachuk - Ottawa Senators
Kyle Connor - Winnipeg Jets
Jason Robertson - Dallas Stars
J.T. Miller - Vancouver Canucks
Matt Boldy - Minnesota Wild
Extra forward: Tage Thompson - Buffalo Sabres
Outside looking in: Vincent Trocheck - New York Rangers
Rationale: It’s exciting building out this American roster, which is one of the best we’ve seen in a long time. While there are naturally some questions right now about Matthews’ health, that’s something that should be shored up by February (hopefully). One of the keys with this group will be figuring out depth roles, which is why Trocheck is intriguing and could potentially jump over Thompson for that last spot.
Defence
Quinn Hughes - Vancouver Canucks
Charlie McAvoy - Boston Bruins
Adam Fox - New York Rangers
Jaccob Slavin - Carolina Hurricanes
Zach Werenski - Columbus Blue Jackets
Brock Faber - Minnesota Wild
Extra defender: Noah Hanifin - Vegas Golden Knights
Outside looking in: Seth Jones - Chicago Blackhawks
Rationale: Before this season, it was likely that Jones would be on this list because of his profile and how well he’s liked by USA Hockey. But if the Americans are going to bring their best roster, they’ll reward Werenski for his showing this season in Columbus.
Goaltenders
Connor Hellebuyck - Winnipeg Jets
Jake Oettinger - Dallas Stars
Jeremy Swayman - Boston Bruins
Outside looking in: Thatcher Demko - Vancouver Canucks
Rationale: Demko’s injury turned this into a non-story this season, with the top-three American goalies effectively locked in. It’s Hellebuyck’s net, and it’s up to Oettinger and Swayman to play their way over the next two months into the backup role and possibly get a spot start in one of the group games.
