Canadian hockey fans finally get to see the likes of Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon suit up for the same squad at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off
Though it isn't a perfect setup by any means with only four countries involved and the powerhouse Russians not being invited, there's still plenty of buzz across Canada, parts of the USA, Sweden and Finland as the puck is set to drop on the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off -- the first taste of high-end international competition featuring NHL players in nearly 9 years.
Still about 1,000 times better than a boring, gimmicky All-Star Game, isn't it?
If you count the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, Canada has won each of the last three international "best on best" events, taking gold at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, again in 2014 in Sochi, and winning the World Cup of Hockey in 2016. This, however, will be the first chance (and maybe the last?) Canadians get to watch superstars up-and-down the age spectrum like Sidney Crosby, Drew Doughty, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Mitch Marner, Cale Makar and others suit up together on the same squad.
You can check out Canada's updated lines and defence pairings right here, and view the tournament schedule, format and rosters here.
Now let's dive in to what should be the juiciest storylines the 4 Nations Face-Off has to offer.
The internet was buzzing on Monday as teams gathered to practice for the first time ahead of the 4 Nations Face-Off, and a lot of that attention was directed toward Canada's top power-play unit -- which is absolutely loaded with talent and future Hall Of Famers.
I mean, come on:
Canada's top PP unit -- which features three all-world forwards and first ballot Hall-of-Fame locks in Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid, to go with a 57-goal scorer and net-front savage Sam Reinhart, and arguably the best offensive defenceman of the modern era in Cale Makar -- is built to score in bunches.
And it's not only the individual talents on the top unit that make it so formidable, but also how it's designed. One of the best in the world at scoring in tight, Reinhart, will be posting up in front of the opposing goalie in the high slot, while the uber-experienced Crosby will man the middle of the high-slot in the "bumper" spot -- with lots of set plays designed to run through the Canadian captain.
Two speed demons who possess elite small-area quickness and ridiculous releases in MacKinnon and McDavid will play the side boards on their respective off-wings, which should cause nightmares for teams trying to defend arguably the two moist deceptive shooters in the NHL. Then there's Makar, who possesses elite vision and passing skills to go with a lethal shot; he'll have free reign to roam the blue line and either set up one of his teammates or take it to the net himself, or whatever else the creative defenceman has in mind. The options are endless.
Asked Monday about the team's loaded top power-play unit and how opposing teams are going to defend against it, Canadian forward Brad Marchand had some solid advice:
Honestly, not a bad idea.
From the onset, it doesn't look good for the Canadians at the most important position: goaltending.
None of the three goaltenders Canada chose in Blues netminder Jordan Binnington, Golden Knights' Adin Hill and Canadiens stopper Sam Montembeault have had strong 2024-25 seasons in the NHL so far, with all three ranked in the bottom half among qualified goalies this season in save percentage, and neither goalie had a SV% over .900 when they were named to the team several weeks ago.
To make matters worse from an optics standpoint, three goalies Canada left off its roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off -- Capitals' Logan Thompson (.921), Kings' Darcy Kuemper (.918) and the Avs' Mackenzie Blackwood (.916) -- have been sensational and are three of the top five goaltenders by save percentage this season.
I say from an "optics standpoint" above, because although those numbers don't look great, save percentage isn't the be-all, end-all of goaltending metrics as it doesn't take into account things like the quality of defence playing in front of them, or the quality of shots and scoring chances they face.
In a short, 3-4 game tournament like this, and with the eliteness of Team Canada's defense, you just need one of these goaltenders to either get hot, or just be solid enough, for a very short period of time.
Both of Canada's potential starters -- Hill and Binnington -- have gone through stretches in their careers, and even this season, where they've been dominant. Both have led their respective NHL clubs to Stanley Cup wins in recent seasons, too. If either one can capture a little bit of magic during this tourney, the Canadians will be very tough to beat.
On the other hand, a bad goal or two against at the wrong moment could spell disaster for Canada. It'll be fascinating to see how this plays out.
Two staples amid Canada's run of three-straight golds in best-on-best competition (2010 Olympics, 2014 Olympics and 2016 World Cup of Hockey) have been Crosby and Drew Doughty, who were both critical cogs in team's engines in all of those triumphs.
Crosby has been the definitive symbol of Canadian success on the international hockey stage, scoring the famous "Golden Goal" to seal Canada's gold-medal win on home soil in Vancouver in 2010. In Sochi in 2014, Crosby captained Team Canada to its second consecutive Olympic gold medal, before again captaining Canada to a championship at the 2016 World Cup -- where he was also named tournament MVP.
The 37-year-old, who is also a member of the "Triple Gold Club" after winning gold at the World Junior Championships (2005) and the IIHF World Hockey Championship (2015) years ago, really has a chance to cement himself as maybe the best player ever to don a Canada jersey -- if he hasn't already -- with another strong showing at the 4 Nations.
Doughty, meanwhile, has had a hell of a run with the Canadian flag on his chest, too.
Like Crosby, the two-time Stanley Cup winner has been apart the last two Olympic gold-medal winning teams in 2010 and 2014 (he led the entire Canadian team in goals with four in Sochi), and was outstanding during Canada's World Cup triumph in 2016.
Doughty, now 35, appears to have rushed himself back from injury a little bit after missing the first five months of the season in hopes of getting some NHL games in before the 4 Nations. It was also in effort to make Team Canada, which he did -- showing just how much playing for his country means to him.
Doughty's commitment to the program paid off in a big way as he was named Alex Pietrangelo's injury replacement just days before the start of the tournament. Doughty spoke to reporters on Monday and said being named to the team late have yielded "probably the best days" he's had "in a lot of months."
A strong showing at the 4 Nations could cement Doughty as one of, if not the greatest defenceman to ever suit up for Canada in international competition, and can also set him up to be apart of Canada's 2026 Olympic squad, where he can further solidify his legacy.
Circle Saturday, Feb. 15 on your calendar, folks, as that's setting up to be the one day of this tournament you don't want to miss.
With only the top two teams points-wise advancing to the finals and every game being absolutely crucial in a short round-robin format like this, these games (Sweden vs. Finland during the day and Canada vs. USA in primetime) could make or break each team's championship bid.
The Finland-Sweden contest (1 p.m. ET) continues the longstanding Nordic rivalry between the Scandinavian powerhouses, with both squads looking to prove they shouldn't be overlooked as potential dark-horses in this event.
Both rosters are ripe with quality NHL talent, especially Sweden, who may boast the deepest goaltending in the tournament.
Finland has some bad dudes up and down its lineup, too.
Taking over primetime is the most anticipated game of the 4 Nations Face-Off and maybe the most anticipated international hockey game of the past decade-plus, when Canada goes up against Team USA at 8 p.m. ET.
The co-favourites to claim gold at the event are both absolutely loaded from top-to-bottom with NHL stars, and the winner of this contest will likely tee themselves up a guaranteed spot in the finals. With so much on the line and with how long it's been since we've got to witness a good ol' USA-Canada slugfest featuring this absurdly talented crop of players, this contest is shaping up to be one for the ages.
Based on how the points system works and depending how each of the four squads' first games go, respectively, on Wednesday and Thursday, the winner of each of these rivalry games could very well meet in next Thursday's final.
Whatever plans you have on Saturday, cancel them.
USA Hockey had made immense strides development-wise the past 5-8 years, and this will be the first time hockey fans on both sides of the border get to watch a stacked group of young American studs make their debut, together, on the international stage.
The team is especially loaded in net, with a goalie trio featuring three of the league's best in Connor Hellebuyck, Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman. Hellebuyck will start, but there's two perennial Vezina candidates ready to go if he happens to falter.
Elite, young blue-line talents like Zach Werenski, Adam Fox, Charlie McAvoy, Brock Faber and Jaccob Slavin headline the team's defence corps, while Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, Jack Hughes, Kyle Connor and Matthew and Brady Tkachuk will lead a mega-talented forward group.
Even without Vancouver Canucks stud Quinn Hughes -- who withdrew late from the tournament due to injury -- in the mix, there will be plenty of intrigue up north with Canadian connections aplenty up and down the American roster.
That includes Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs), Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa Senators), Jake Sanderson (Ottawa Senators), Connor (Winnipeg Jets), and Hellebuyck (Winnipeg Jets).
Seeing the Tkachuk brothers, in action, on the same team, should be a hell of a thing to watch, too. Both Brady and Matthew have revealed in recent days just how excited they are to finally play together.
Get ready for a show every time these two are on the ice together -- and even when they're not.
The main off-ice storyline poised to take over the 4 Nations face-off is how the mostly-American crowds in Boston and the mostly-Canadian crowds in Montreal react to their opposing teams and the pre-game anthems amid rising social and political tensions as tariff threats loom, especially north of the border.
Canadian fans in particular have reacted strongly, right or wrong, to Trump's threats and divisive rhetoric in recent days and weeks, with NHL and NBA crowds in Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver booing the U.S. anthem to varying degrees.
Here's hoping cooler heads and respect prevails, but it would not be shocking to see tense reactions from either or both sides of the aisle when these teams square off in Montreal during the round-robin, and potentially once again in the final in Boston.
If anything, the current social and political landscape should add plenty more intrigue to the event while providing the ruckus, electric atmosphere fans and players crave.