The NHL has halted its regular season for 13 days in order to stage what it’s billing as the first best-on-best tournament since the World Cup of Hockey in 2016. The inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off matches the best NHL players from the United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland in a round-robin format that begins Wednesday in Montreal, with the top two finishers meeting for the championship on Feb. 20 at TD Garden in Boston.
The United States is regarded as the favorite, but Canada can ice one of the great collections of offensive talent in hockey history, and the Swedes and Finns can never be taken lightly.
The result should be some terrific hockey. Here are five things to watch.
Related: 4 Nations Face-Off: Schedule, rosters, format, TV schedule
Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid are teammates at last
The NHL hasn’t taken part in the Winter Olympics since 2014, two years before the last World Cup of Hockey – meaning that three of the biggest names in hockey have yet to suit up together.
That will end at the 4 Nations event, when Crosby, MacKinnon and McDavid will wear the maple leaf for Canada – something Crosby hasn’t done in more than eight years and McDavid in nearly seven. MacKinnon played for Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Crosby, who’s in his 20th season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and NHL scoring leader MacKinnon, now in his 12th season with the Colorado Avalanche, know each other well as Nova Scotia natives, so it’s no surprise they were on the same line at practice on Monday (MacKinnon moved from center to right wing) with Mark Stone of the Vegas Golden Knights on the left.
McDavid, the Edmonton Oilers’ star center, joined them on what figures to be a frightening No. 1 power-play unit, along with Sam Reinhart of the Florida Panthers and Colorado defenseman Cale Makar. His regular linemates will be Reinhart and Mitch Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
It’s a trio that figures to cause opponents a lot of headaches.
Is Auston Matthews ready for prime time?
Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews has scored 388 goals since entering the NHL in the fall of 2016. That’s more than anyone else – Leon Draisaitl of the Oilers is second with 366, with Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals third at 354. The 27-year-old has piled up all those goals in just 602 regular-season games. His 69 goals last season were the most by any player since Mario Lemieux scored 69 in 1995-96.
But Matthews has yet to step up when the spotlight shines brightest. He has just 23 goals in 55 Stanley Cup Playoff games, a big reason the Maple Leafs haven’t gotten past the second round in more than two decades.
Matthews, named captain of Team USA, will get a chance to shine in the international spotlight – and break out of a personal slump — at the 4 Nations event. He hasn’t scored in his past six games, the longest stretch he’s gone without a goal since the 2018-19 season, though he does have seven assists during that stretch.
However, Matthews will be the second-line center when the USA faces Finland in its tournament opener on Thursday. He’ll be playing between Jake Guentzel of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils on what shapes up as an offense-focused trio. The No. 1 line at practice Monday was Vegas’ Jack Eichel between Kyle Connor of the Winnipeg Jets and Matthew Tkachuk of the Panthers.
Team USA needs Matthews to be at his best as it tries to win a best-on-best tournament with NHL players for the first time since the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.
Team USA has a big edge in goal
Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck is the No. 1 goalie for Team USA, as well he should be. Hellebuyck is on track to win the Vezina Trophy as the top NHL goaltender for the third time in his career and second in as many seasons.
Hellebuyck leads the NHL in wins (34), goals-against average (15 or more games; 2.06) and shutouts (6). His .925 save percentage is the best among goalies who’ve played more than 18 games. He’s arguably the biggest reason the Jets have the League’sbest record (39-14-3), have allowed the fewest goals in the League (134) and are No. 1 in goal differential (plus-69).
His presence gives the United States a major advantage in goal.
None of Canada’s three goalies (Vegas’ Adin Hill, Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues and Sam Montembeault of the Montreal Canadiens) has a save percentage above .900. Binnington will start in the opener against Sweden on Wednesday.
Sweden’s goalie picture is muddled because of a knee injury that has sidelined likely starter Jacob Markstrom of the Devils. Linus Ullmark of the Ottawa Senators just returned last week from a six-week absence due to a back injury. Filip Gustavsson of the Minnesota Wild has struggled a bit since the calendar flipped to 2025, and Samuel Ersson of the Philadelphia Flyers figures to be No. 3.
Finland also has questions in goal. Do the Finns go with Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators, whose 23 losses are the most in the NHL? Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen of the Buffalo Sabres? Kevin Lankinen of the Vancouver Canucks? Lankinen has had the best season of the three (19-8-7, 2.53 GAA, .905 save percentage, four shutouts).
No matter who the other three nations use, having Hellebuyck in goal gives the U.S. a big edge.
Sweden’s offense needs spark; Finland’s defense depleted
Many of Sweden’s top offensive players hope the 4 Nations offers them a chance to reset their seasons. Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson, Boston’s Elias Lindholm and Mika Zibanejad have had sub-par seasons thus far. Pettersson and Zibanejad have been mentioned in trade rumors, and Lindholm has been a dud after the Bruins signed him to be their first-line center.
One potential spark could be forward Lucas Raymond of the Detroit Red Wings. The 22-year-old is the second-highest scorer among Sweden-born players and has been one of the hottest players in the NHL since Todd McLellan took over as coach in late December.
You can never count out Finland in an international tournament. But the Finns’ chances would be a lot better if Dallas Stars’ defenseman Miro Heiskanen were healthy, rather than sidelined with a knee injury. To make things worse, Philadelphia defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen also had to pull out due to injury.
The group that’s left has no go-to offensive option. It’s arguably the weakest positional group of any team in the tournament.
Future of best-on-best international hockey?
Will the 4 Nations be the first in a consistent schedule of international best-on-best tournaments? The NHL will return to the Winter Olympics next year in Milan, but the League wants to have its own tournaments as well.
An NHL-run competition every two or four years would be welcome — and the success of the 4 Nations event is likely to determine what that future holds. Fan interest, player withdrawals and injuries are among the factors that will determine the overall success.
Early reports indicate that interest in Canada is high. Whether that carries over to hockey fans in the United States is another question – although winning the event would help.
Another issue: Is this really best-on-best hockey? Russia has been kept out of international events since the war against Ukraine began. Czechia is also not represented. Nor is Germany, an up-and-coming hockey nation whose roster would include the League’s top goal-scorer this season (Draisaitl).
This tournament should begin to answer some questions.