It has been more than eight years since the best hockey players in the world met in a best-on-best tournament at the World Cup of Hockey in 2016.
That will change for four countries with the debut of the 4 Nations Face-Off, which begins February 12 in Montreal and will wrap up February 20 in Boston.
Canada, Finland, Sweden, and USA will meet in the event, which harkens back to World Cups and Canada Cups before that. It is not a comprehensive international tournament, with Russia most notably excluded, but it is a rare opportunity to see the very best players in the world playing for keeps.
Canada and USA are the favorites leading into the event, but it is a short tournament, so surprises could still happen.
Each team will play three tournament games in a traditional Round Robin format, under the following points system: 3 points for a win in regulation time; 2 points for a win in overtime/shootout; 1 point for a loss in overtime/shootout; and 0 points for a loss in regulation time. The two teams with the best tournament record will then advance to a one-game Final.
Here is a betting preview for the 4 Nations Face-Off.
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Canada (+157*)
Canada boasts elite forward talent, with Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby, Brayden Point, Mark Stone, and Mitch Marner among the most productive players in the game. Since the start of last season, Sam Reinhart has scored 88 goals, which is one behind Auston Matthews for the most in the NHL.
Canada has incredible talent leading the way, including Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Cale Makar, but will they have the depth and goaltending to win it all?
Canada clearly made a strategic choice to incorporate players who may not necessarily be the most skilled, but bring grit to the lineup. Sam Bennett, Anthony Cirelli, Brandon Hagel, Travis Konecny, and Brad Marchand all have reputations for being difficult to play against and 23-year-old winger Seth Jarvis adds speed to the attack.
On the blueline, Canada has the Colorado Avalanche pairing of Cale Makar and Devon Toews along with Josh Morrissey, Shea Theodore, Colton Parayko, and Travis Sanheim. Veteran blueliner Alex Pietrangelo has withdrawn from the competition, so Canada still has one spot left to fill. Drew Doughty, who has recently returned to action for the Los Angeles Kings after getting injured in the preseason, might get that last spot.
Canada has a good mix of defenders that can move the puck and those with size and ability to neutralize opposing forwards, but Pietrangelo’s absence is notable.
The biggest concern for Canada, by far, is goaltending. It has been a while since Canada had elite performers at the position. Martin Brodeur won his fourth and final Vezina Trophy in 2007-2008 and since then there have been three Canadians to be named as the top goaltender in the NHL – Carey Price, Braden Holtby, and Marc-Andre Fleury. The only active Canadian goaltender to win the Vezina, Fleury is 40 years old and in his final NHL campaign.
As a result, Canada did not have easy picks to make in goal and ended up with Jordan Binnington, Adin Hill, and Sam Montembeault, selecting that trio ahead of Logan Thompson and Darcy Kuemper, who are both enjoying strong seasons. For their sake, Canada can hope that the nature of a short tournament will allow them to get by without necessarily having an elite puck stopper.
Canada’s head coach for the event will be Jon Cooper, who has won two Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Cooper’s .636 points percentage ranks third among active coaches that have been behind an NHL bench for at least 500 games.
Talent is not necessarily in short supply for Canada, but if they run into scoring trouble, their decision to focus on gritty character players on the lower half of the depth chart could be a concern.
Finland (+652*)
Finland heads into the tournament with high-quality forwards including Aleksander Barkov, Mikko Rantanen, Sebastian Aho, and Roope Hintz. Supporting players Mikael Granlund, Anton Lundell, Teuvo Teräväinen, and Kaapo Kakko all have potential to contribute.
A team that typically overachieves in international play, Finland is in a tough spot after losing defenseman Miro Heiskanen to injury.
The Finnish forward group includes players that tend to play a relentless hard style like Artturi Lehkonen, Eetu Luostarinen, Erik Haula, and Joel Armia.
They also have a wild card in Patrik Laine, the winger who has rare shooting ability and has thrived on the power play for the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL this season.
Finland was already looking relatively thin on the blueline, but that situation has only become more dire since Miro Heiskanen suffered a knee injury that will cause him to miss the tournament. Jani Hakanpää is out, too, and Rasmus Ristolainen is currently battling injury, as well.
That leaves the Finns with Esa Lindell, Juuso Valimaki, Niko Mikkola, and Olli Määttä on defense. Henri Jokiharju and Urho Vaakanainen have been named to the squad as replacements, but the loss of Heiskanen could be devastating to Finland’s chances.
Given those defensive concerns, goaltending will need to come up big. Juuse Saros is an accomplished starter in the NHL who has finished in the top six in Vezina Trophy voting in each of the past four seasons. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Kevin Lankinen will back him up.
Antti Pennanen will coach Finland. He has coached in Liiga since 2016-2017 and was Finland’s coach at the World Junior Hockey Championships in 2021 and 2022.
Finland tends to punch above its weight class at international tournaments and they might do so again, though it would be easier to sell that angle with a healthy Heiskanen.
Sweden (+401*)
While Sweden has a solid group of forwards, they could use more explosive firepower. William Nylander, Filip Forsberg, Jesper Bratt, Lucas Raymond, and Adrian Kempe are all quality offensive players. The trouble for Sweden is that players like Elias Pettersson, Mika Zibanejad, and Elias Lindholm have all been underperforming in the NHL this season.
Sweden has lots of talent, though some of their top forwards have been underachieving in the NHL this season.
Joel Eriksson Ek is a terrific two-way center, and Leo Carlsson is an up-and-coming young center while veterans Viktor Arvidsson and Gustav Nyquist have versatility that should allow them to move around the lineup as needed. With William Karlsson injured, Sweden has added Rickard Rakell to its forward group.
Overall, Sweden has a skilled core of forwards but appears to be lacking elite talent compared to the other teams in the tournament.
Sweden does have an impressive group of defenders, headlined by Victor Hedman, Erik Karlsson, and Rasmus Dahlin. Combining them with reliable defensive defencemen Mattias Ekholm, Jonas Brodin, Gustav Forsling, and Rasmus Andersson practically ensures that Sweden will be a tough test for even the most talented teams.
Although veteran netminder Jacob Markstrom is injured, Sweden still has Linus Ullmark and Filip Gustavsson available. Ullmark has just returned from injury, but in tandem with Gustavsson, should give Sweden steady play between the pipes.
Sam Hallam will coach Sweden. He coached Växjö in the SHL starting in 2012-2013 and has coached Sweden at the past two World Championships.
USA (+174*)
Team USA has some of the very best forward talent, from Auston Matthews to Jack Eichel, Jack Hughes to Kyle Connor, so USA should not have trouble scoring goals.
Depth is a real strong suit for the Americans, up and down the lineup, but their difference-maker could be goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who has been the best in the world for the past two seasons.
Matthew Tkachuk and Brady Tkachuk are second generation stars who bring a rare combination of high-end skill combined with an ability to agitate the opposition.
Add in Jake Guentzel, Dylan Larkin, Matt Boldy, J.T. Miller, and Brock Nelson and the USA supporting cast is deep. New York Rangers veterans Vincent Trocheck and Chris Kreider are not having their best seasons in the NHL, but they have played a lot of high-intensity games in their careers.
On defense, USA has some of the premier talent in the world though reigning Norris Trophy winner Quinn Hughes is banged up and might be questionable for the tournament. Adam Fox, Charlie McAvoy and Zach Werenki are among the very best while Jaccob Slavin, Noah Hanifin, and Brock Faber all play big roles for strong NHL teams. This blueline is a decided area of strength relative to other teams, particularly if Hughes plays. If not, that is obviously a big injury, but this will be a strong unit regardless.
For all of the strength throughout the USA lineup, goaltending may well provide the biggest advantage. Connor Hellebuyck has been the best goaltender in the world for the past two seasons and if he plays for Team USA like he plays for the Winnipeg Jets, then USA will be awfully difficult to beat. Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman are strong alternatives, though Swayman has not lived up to expectations this season.
Mike Sullivan is the head coach for USA. While his Pittsburgh Penguins have slumped in recent seasons, Sullivan has two Stanley Cups to his credit and was an Assistant Coach on the 2016 World Cup team.
Considering that USA and Canada are considered the favorites in this tournament, USA’s apparent goaltending edge could prove to be the difference.
Best Bet: USA (+174*)
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