The NHL 4 Nations Face-Off kicks off Wednesday night when Canada plays host to Sweden at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
The tournament will also feature teams representing the U.S. and Finland with games happening in Montreal and Boston.
About the 4 Nations Face-Off
At the 2024 All-Star Game, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced that the tournament would be held instead of the traditional All-Star Game in 2025.
The All-Star Game has been held since 1947 but the league has been tinkering with the format for years to try and make it more appealing to fans.
Back when there were six teams, the reigning champions would square off against the best from the other five clubs in the all-star game.
As the league expanded it became conference vs. conference, but more recently a number of formats have been tried including a fantasy draft, a three-on-three format as well as having all-stars from each division square off.
While this year’s tourney might be more interesting than others, don’t expect a repeat in 2026 when NHL players are expected to play in the Olympics.
Where’s Russia?
Back when Alan Eagleson was in charge of the NHLPA and Russian players were still behind the iron curtain, Canada and the U.S.S.R. would square off for hockey supremacy.
Superstars from Russia emerged like Vladislav Tretiak and Valeri Kharlamov, who became terrifying foes for Canadian fans but they were not included in the tournament as there is currently an international ban on Russia participating in events like these due to the invasion of Ukraine.
While Russia was the world’s third-ranked team in May 2023, Germany was ranked fifth but a lack of players in the NHL forced them to be left out.
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With Germany and Russia out of the contest, this means that the NHL’s second and third leading scorers, Leon Draisaitl and Nikita Kucherov, will not be featured.
Cross-border rivals
Canada will square off against an uber-talented squad of Americans on Saturday night in Montreal.
Given the current political hostilities between the two countries, one would expect a feisty affair, especially if Canadian fans choose to boo the U.S. anthem at the Bell Centre.
If all the tariff talks were not enough to get Canadian or Canadiens fans riled up, perhaps the presence of Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews as the captain of the U.S. squad will.
On Tuesday afternoon, one could get a seat for the opening game between Canada and Sweden for $167 but a seat to the border battle between Canada and the U.S. would cost you $435.
Sid The Kid
Canadian legend Sidney Crosby will lead the charge for his country as he will serve as captain once again.
It is a role that the 37-year-old has held before, as he helped Canada win gold at the 2010 and 2014 Olympics before captaining the country’s victory at the 2016 World Cup.
The NHL has skipped the last two Olympics, first for financial reasons in 2018 and then due to COVID in 2022, so this will be the first time we will have seen him suit up for Canada in close to 10 years.
Crosby was almost unable to dress for the tourney as he missed a couple of games last week due to an upper-body ailment.
Ones to watch
While many eyes will be focused on Crosby, there are a couple of other Canadians who are expected to lead the front line.
Halifax native Nathan McKinnon is currently the NHL’s top scorer as he has recorded 87 points this season, but the Colorado Avalanche centre will get some help.
Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid and Toronto Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner will are also among the NHL’s top five scorers, so Canada has a potent attack.
For the U.S. to be effective in the tournament, they will need big games from Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel and Winnipeg Jets star Kyle Connor.
In goal for Canada
Canada coach Jon Cooper had a tough call to make when deciding who would be between the pipes.
On Tuesday, it was announced that St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington will be starting for Canada ahead of Vegas Golden Knights netminder Adin Hill and Montreal Canadiens ‘keeper Sam Montembeault.
It has not been Binnington’s best season as he sports a 15-19-4 record with an .897 save percentage and a 2.89 goals-against average.
Meanwhile, Hill has a 20-10-4 record with an .900 save percentage and a 2.64 goals-against average.
Both Binnington (2019) and Hill (2023) have led their teams to NHL titles over the past few seasons.
The Favourite
As of Tuesday afternoon, Canada was listed as the favouite to win the 4 Nations Face-Off on Fanduel at +145 while the U.S. is right behind them at +155.
Interestingly, though, when the two sides square off in Montreal, the moneyline odds for Canada are at -126 while a U.S. win is +194.
Canada is a much heavier favourite for their contests against Sweden and Finland
Both Sweden and Finland are considered longshots to win the tournament as they are +400 and +1000 respectively which means if one were to put $10 on the Finns, they would win $100.
–with files from The Canadian Press