4 Nations Face-Off top storylines debated by NHL.com writers

The 4 Nations Face-Off is less than a month away.

The tournament, with teams of NHL players from Finland, Sweden, Canada and the United States competing in a round-robin tournament, will be held from Feb. 12-20 in Montreal and Boston.

Each team will consist of 13 forwards, seven defensemen and three goalies.

This will be the first best-on-best tournament since the World Cup of Hockey 2016 in Toronto.

As such, excitement is starting to build. Captains still need to be named for each team, injuries are always a concern in the form of players named to the rosters.

Which players will play together for their country as NHL rivals turn into international brothers in arms? How will chemistry be forged so quickly?

These questions and more are on the minds of fans across the globe.

We asked a panel of NHL.com staffers what the most-pressing story lines heading into the final month of preparation for the tournament. Here are their answers.

Brothers united

As a mom of two, nothing makes me more joyful than to see my kids united, playing together, conspiring together, whatever it is. So I can only imagine the excitement and anticipation that’s been going around the Tkachuk and Hughes clans as the 4 Nations Face-Off approaches, in which Brady and Matthew Tkachuk and Jack and Quinn Hughes will get to play alongside each other for the United States in pursuit of a best-on-best championship. I’m thrilled for them, for their families, and equally thrilled for us, who get a chance to watch them play together on the international stage. I just think back to Brady helping Matthew get out of bed in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, after the Florida Panthers forward cracked his sternum, an injury that would limit him in Game 4 and keep him out of Game 5, and Brady’s support of his brother as Matthew won the Cup in 2024. This time, like Jack and Quinn, they’re fighting for the same side -- and will enjoy the heartbreak or the spoils together. -- Amalie Benjamin, senior writer

Everyone loves an underdog, right?

The tournament is in Montreal and Boston, so naturally a lot of the attention is on Canada and the United States. Can Canada continue its dominance in best-on-best tournaments? Can the United States win one for the first time since the 1996 World Cup? But this is the 4 Nations Face-Off, not the 2 Nations Face-Off. What about Sweden and Finland? I couldn’t help but notice Sunday that, quietly, Sweden coach Sam Hallam was in the press box at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit scouting the Seattle Kraken against the Detroit Red Wings. Hmmm. The last time Canada didn’t win a best-on-best tournament, Sweden won gold at the 2006 Turin Olympics -- by defeating Finland in the final. Keep an eye on the underdogs as the tournament approaches. They’re keeping an eye on everyone themselves. -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist

Laine thriving on the international stage

With big names like Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews and Sidney Crosby playing in the tournament, it’s easy to overlook forward Patrik Laine. Don’t. The 26-year-old Finland forward has shined since joining the Montreal Canadiens on Dec. 3 after missing the first two months of the season because of a knee injury. He has 11 points (nine goals, two assists) in 14 games and is tied for fourth in the NHL in power-play goals (nine). Laine has thrived in international competition. He led Finland to a gold medal at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship, scoring seven goals, which tied him with Auston Matthews of the United States for the tournament lead. He also was named MVP of the 2016 IIHF World Championship after he was the co-leader in goals (seven) with Gustav Nyquist of Sweden and tied for first in points (12) on second-place Finland with Mikael Granlund. The San Jose Sharks forward joins Laine on Finland’s 4 Nations roster. -- William Douglas, staff writer

Aho-Laine reunion with Finland

Carolina Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho and Laine worked magic as linemates to help Finland win the 2016 World Juniors. It will be fun to watch them try to do it again. Playing on a line with Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Jesse Puljujarvi (not selected for the 4 Nations Face-Off), Aho had 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in seven games and Laine had 13 (seven goals, six assists) and tied Auston Matthews of the United States for the tournament lead in goals. They played for Finland in the World Cup of Hockey 2016 when Laine was 18 and Aho was 19, but now they’ll be leaders for their country in a best-on-best tournament with a chance to make their mark. -- Tom Gulitti, senior writer

The dominant Devil?

The one intriguing storyline that has me excited just so happens to involve New Jersey Devils linemates and 2024 NHL All-Star invitees Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt. I'm curious which player will have the greater impact for his country: Hughes of the United States or Bratt of Sweden? Hughes and Bratt rank Nos. 1-2 in scoring for the Devils this season, respectively. Hughes, who could star on right wing alongside center Auston Matthews for the U.S., has 52 points (17 goals, 35 assists) in 45 games this season. He’s already said it would be pretty special to ride shotgun with Matthews. Bratt, who could thrive on a line with center Mika Zibanejad and right wing William Nylander, has 51 points (15 goals, 36 assists) in 45 games. They each bring dynamism, great playmaking ability and are threats short-handed because each is such a great skater. I'll give Hughes the slight edge; it’s close. -- Mike G. Morreale, senior draft writer

U.S. goalies coming with strength

I’m under no illusion about who will be starting the starting goalie for the United States. Of course it’ll be the Winnipeg Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner who’s once again been stellar (26-6-2, 2.02 goals-against average, .928 save percentage and a whopping six shutouts). Talk about coming from a position of strength, right? But just on the off chance that Hellebuyck has a rare off night, Jake Oettinger of the Dallas Stars (21-9-1, 2.35 GAA, .910 save percentage and one shutout) is waiting in the wings. Boston goalie Jeremy Swayman hasn’t had the season he wanted (14-15-3, 2.91 GAA, .895 save percentage and two shutouts) but there’s something about international competition that can bring out the best in players. We’ll see how the U.S. fares on offense but there’s no doubt that with their goaltending strength, the puck stops here. — Tracey Myers, staff writer

Rangers’ resurgence at the right time

When the calendar flipped to 2025 the New York Rangers were in a tailspin, enough to make fans of Team USA wonder what kind of contributions they would be getting from defenseman Adam Fox and forwards Chris Kreider and Vincent Trocheck when the 4 Nations Face-Off begins. But as the best-on-best tournament gets closer, the Rangers look to be finding their groove, with Fox and Trocheck stepping up during a current 4-1-1 stretch. Fox has five points (one goal, four assists) in his past four games, including his first goal against a goalie this season, and Trocheck has six points (four goals, two assists) in his past four games, so there’s the good news. The bad news is Kreider has missed the past four games with an upper-body injury. These three could play a big part in how Team USA fares, so I will be keeping a close eye on them for the next month. -- Bill Price, Editor-in-Chief

The graybeards on Sweden’s blue line

Team Sweden has a fantastic collection of defensemen, arguably the best among the four teams involved in this tournament. But the anchors -- Mattias Ekholm, Victor Hedman and Erik Karlsson -- are old, at least in hockey years. Each is 34. By no means am I suggesting any are over the hill, but each has a fair amount of mileage on their skates. Ekholm has played 861 regular season games and went to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final with the Edmonton Oilers last season. Hedman, the captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning, has played 1,091 regular-season games and went to the Stanley Cup Final for three straight seasons from 2020-22. Karlsson has 1,047 NHL regular-season games to his credit, most recently with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the past two seasons. Can they hold together for the tournament that will see them play three round-robin games in six days and, if they qualify, a championship three nights later? It says here they can, but it bears watching. -- Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial

All eyes on Canada's goalies

Jordan Binnington, Adin Hill and Sam Montembeault will be front and center as part of the discussion on Canada's chances in the tournament until they either win it or there's a discussion about their play and if they're at fault for why losing to the United States, Sweden or Finland. They will be watched, monitored and have their games broken down between now and the start of the tournament to determine who should be in net for Canada when it plays Sweden in the opener at Bell Centre on Feb. 12. Key games will be Jan. 20 and 23, when Binnington and the St. Louis Blues play Hill and the Vegas Golden Knights. They're likely going head-to-head in each game and whoever plays better could have an inside track to being in net against the Swedes. Hill has been the best of the three since the rosters were named on Dec. 4, going 7-3-0 with a 2.31 goals-against average and .909 save percentage in 10 games. Binnington has been scuffling a bit at 4-7-1 with a 2.81 GAA and .895 save percentage in 12 games. Montembeault is middling at 7-5-1 with a 2.75 GAA and .900 save percentage in 14 games. The next month will determine a lot. -- Dan Rosen, senior writer

Crosby and McDavid team up for Canada

It is always special to see generational players team up for their country and that will be the case when Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid play for Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Hockey fans of a certain vintage still remember the legendary Gretzky-to-Lemieux winning goal in Game 3 of the 1987 Canada Cup Final between Canada and the Soviet Union, and there is certain to be a McDavid-to-Crosby, or Crosby-to-McDavid moment coming up for today’s generation. The two superstars playing on the same side has been long overdue and something Canadian hockey fans are excited to see. The two on the same line will be a handful for any opponent and watching them throw the puck around on the same power-play unit will be a thing of beauty. If another iconic Canadian goal is to be scored at this tournament, it is very likely two of the best forwards to ever play the game will be involved. -- Derek Van Diest, staff writer

Nova Scotia mafia

I’m keeping my attention on the three Halifax-area guys on Team Canada, otherwise known as hockey’s Nova Scotia Mafia. It was a cool moment when half of the first six players named to the roster on June 28 -- forwards Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Brad Marchand -- all grew up in places on the east coast within a half-hour drive of each other. No longer do they have to play second fiddle to the players from the more populated cities and provinces to the west. “It’s a great feeling for us,” Crosby said. “I guess things have kind of come full circle. This is for all those years we’d go to those big tournaments in Toronto and Montreal, and sometimes we got waxed. Well, you know, now we'll do the waxing. We'll be the proud ones.” Keep in mind that all three players come home once the NHL season is finished and skate together all summer. It will be fascinating to see if that on-ice chemistry translates into instant success at the 4 Nations. -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer