4 Nations Roster Remix: 2000 Sweden team

The top NHL players from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States will go head-to-head at the 4 Nations Face-Off, a best-on-best tournament that will be held from Feb. 12-20 in Montreal and Boston.

Though this is the first tournament of its kind to feature these four countries, NHL.com and NHL.com International have put together what the rosters and line combinations for each country would have looked like in the past, going backwards in five-year intervals. The rosters will follow the same format as the current 4 Nations teams: 13 forwards, seven defensemen and three goalies.

The stories will run each Friday and Sunday through Feb. 9.

Today, NHL.com/sv senior writer Janne Bengtsson, reveals what his Sweden roster would've looked like in 2000.

Forwards (13)

Mats Sundin -- Peter Forsberg -- Daniel Alfredsson

Markus Naslund -- Michael Nylander -- Mikael Renberg

Jonas Hoglund -- P.J. Axelsson -- Tomas Holmstrom

Fredrik Modin -- Jorgen Jonsson -- Ulf Dahlen

Niklas Sundstrom

Sweden would have three future Hockey Hall of Famers on the first line in Forsberg of the Colorado Avalanche playing center between Sundin of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Alfredsson of the Ottawa Senators. They accounted for 183 points (67 goals, 116 assists) during the 1999-2000 season. The second line also is designed to do damage: Vancouver Canucks sniper Naslund and power forward Renberg, a member of the Philadelphia Flyers’ “Legion of Doom” line, flanking playmaker Nylander, who divides his time between the Chicago Blackhawks and being a dad to then 4-year-old William Nylander. Hoglund had his best NHL season in 1999-2000, scoring an NHL career-best 29 goals with the Maple Leafs. He could join penalty-killing specialist Axelsson from the Boston Bruins and another power forward in Holmstrom, already a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Detroit Red Wings. The fourth line features more high-producing players: Modin from the Tampa Bay Lightning, Jonsson from the New York Islanders and the Washington Capitals’ Dahlen. The San Jose Sharks’ Sundstrom would be the 13th forward.

Defensemen (7)

Nicklas Lidstrom -- Mattias Norstrom

Marcus Ragnarsson -- Kenny Jonsson

Fredrik Olausson -- Mattias Ohlund

Calle Johansson

Lidstrom is a given choice on the first defense pair. The Red Wings star had 73 points (20 goals, 53 assists) in 81 regular-season games in 1999-2000. He is joined by Norstrom, a physical presence for the Los Angeles Kings. Ragnarsson, a skilled passer, would join the Islanders’ Jonsson on the second pair, while the third pair would feature Ohlund, a stay-at-home defenseman for the Canucks, and Olausson, a solid veteran presence for the Anaheim Ducks playing his 14th NHL season. Washington’s Johansson, in his 13th NHL season, would round out the defense corps.

Goalies (3)

Tommy Salo

Tommy Soderstrom

Johan Holmqvist

Salo was the only Sweden-born goalie in the NHL in 1999-2000, playing 70 games with the Edmonton Oilers. Looking to the Sweden pro league, the best options would be Soderstrom and Holmqvist. Soderstrom had five seasons of NHL experience (1992-97) with the Flyers and Islanders and was playing for Djurgarden in the Swedish Elite League at the time. Holmqvist, selected by the New York Rangers in the seventh round (No. 175) of the 1997 NHL Draft, was playing for Brynas in the Swedish Elite League and would play the first of his 99 NHL games in 2000-01.