4 Nations Roster Remix: 2020 Canada 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 staff writer Derek Van Diest reveals what his Team Canada roster would've looked like in 2020.

Forwards (13)

Brad Marchand -- Connor McDavid -- Nathan MacKinnon

Steven Stamkos -- Sidney Crosby -- Mitch Marner

Jonathan Toews -- Patrice Bergeron -- Claude Giroux

John Tavares -- Ryan O'Reilly -- Mark Stone

Taylor Hall

It would have been difficult for any team to match up with Canada's forwards with so many potential Hockey Hall of Famers available. Marchand, McDavid and MacKinnon combined for 277 points (97 goals, 180 assists) in the COVID-19 shortened 2019-20 season. There would not have been an opposition line to that type of production and Marchand likely would have had a big tournament playing with two of the most dynamic offensive players in the world. The second line would have been almost as formidable. Stamkos and Crosby were in their prime and Marner was a star in the making who had 94 points (26 goals, 68 assists) the previous season. Toews, Bergeron and Giroux were all Team Canada veterans, and the tournament would have likely been a swan song for who, between the three of them, won everything there was to win internationally. The fourth line would feature Tavares, O'Reilly and Stone, giving Canada some size and grit. Hall, a year-and-a-half removed from his Hart Trophy season, would be the 13th forward.

Defensemen (7)

Shea Theodore -- Drew Doughty

Duncan Keith -- Shea Weber

Brent Burns -- Alex Pietrangelo

Cale Makar

With an embarrassment of riches at right-shot defenseman, Canada would likely need a couple to play on the left side, but it's something they would have been more than capable of doing. Theodore and Doughty would likely have been the top pair with Keith and Weber making up a formidable second pair. Keith was 37 and in the twilight of his NHL career but was still averaging 24:23 of ice time with the Chicago Blackhawks. It likely would have been Keith's last international tournament after he represented Canada at the Under-17 level, IIHF World Junior Championship, two Olympics and the IIHF World Championship. The third pair would likely have Burns and Pietrangelo together. Makar, who was 22 at the time and on his way to being named the Calder Trophy winner voted as NHL rookie of the year, makes the team as the seventh defenseman.

Goalies (3)

Carey Price

Marc-Andre Fleury

Jordan Binnington

There is little question who would have started for Canada. Price was the undisputed top goalie in the country and was having another strong season for the Montreal Canadiens in 2019-20, finishing 27-25-6 with a 2.79 goals-against average, .909 save percentage and four shutouts in 58 games. Price was the main reason the Canadiens upset the Pittsburgh Penguins in the best-of-5 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers and pushed the Philadelphia Flyers to six games in the best-of-7 Stanley Cup First Round. Price's backup would have likely been Fleury, who was in his third season with the Vegas Golden Knights. He finished 27-16-5 with a 2.77 GAA, .905 save percentage and five shutouts in 49 games (48 starts). Binnington would have been the third goalie. He was 30-13-7 with a 2.56 GAA, .912 save percentage and three shutouts in 50 games playing for the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues.