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.