The NHL has removed the well known and loved All-Star Game and weekend and is temporarily replacing it with the 4 Nations Face-Off. Fans are not sure what to think or make of the change. So here is what the Face-Off will contain and the rules, So let’s see what you think.
Details- The 4 Nations Face-Off is an international tournament that will take place from Feb. 12-20, 2025. It will take place in three different locations: Belle Centre in Montreal and TD Garden in Boston. The tournament teams will represent: Canada, USA, Finland and Sweden. (Rosters shown below.)
A total of seven games will be played. The games will be held in round robin format, with teams winning three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime or shootout win, one point for an overtime or shootout loss. Each team will play three games and the two teams with the most points will head onto a one game final.
Overtime will be held in a 10-minute, 3-on-3 sudden death period, followed by a three round shootout. In the final, overtime will be held in consecutive 20-minute, 2-on-2 sudden death periods.
Background- The 2025 4 Nations Face-off was announced at a press conference held with Commissioner Gary Bettmen, NHL Player Association (NHLPA) Executive Director Marty Walsh, and four of the top NHL players; Connor McDavid (representing Canada), Sebastian Aho (representing Finland), Elias Pettersson (representing Sweden) and Auston Matthews (representing USA.)
At the conference Bettman announced plans for NHL participation in international best-on-best tournaments in the coming years. He also stated NHL players will play in the 2026 and 2030 Olympic games. The league will host the next World Cups of Hockey in 2028 and 2032, with the most recent being in 2016.
Schedule-
Feb. 12 8 p.m. EST- Canada vs Sweden
Feb. 13 8 p.m. EST- USA vs Finland
Feb. 15 1 p.m. EST- Finland vs Sweden
Feb. 15 8 p.m. EST- USA vs Canada
Feb. 17 1 p.m. EST- Canada vs Finland
Feb. 17 8 p.m. EST- Sweden vs USA
Feb. 20 8 p.m. EST- FINAL
4 NATIONS FACE-OFF ROSTERS
Canada
Forwards- Sam Bennett, Florida Panthers; Anthony Cirelli, Tampa Bay Lightning; Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins; Brandon Hagel, Tampa Bay Lightning; Seth Jarvis, Carolina Hurricanes; Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers; Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche; Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins; Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs; Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers; Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning; Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers; Mark Stone, Vegas Golden Knights.
Defensemen- Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche; Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg Jets; Colton Parayko, St. Louis Blues; Alex Pietrangelo, Vegas Golden Knights; Travis Sanheim, Philadelphia Flyers; Shea Theodore, Vegas Golden Knights; Devon Toews, Colorado Avalanche.
Goalies- Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues; Adin Hill, Vegas Golden Knights; Sam Montembeault, Montreal Canadiens
Finland
Forwards- Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes; Joel Armia, Montreal Canadiens; Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers; Mikael Granlund, San Jose Sharks; Erik Haula, New Jersey Devils; Roope Hintz, Dallas Stars; Kaapo Kakko, Seattle Kraken; Patrik Laine, Montreal Canadiens; Artturi Lehkonen, Colorado Avalanche; Anton Lundell, Florida Panthers; Eetu Luostarinen, Florida Panthers; Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche; Teuvo Teravainen, Chicago Blackhawks.
Defensemen- Jani Hakanpaa, Toronto Maple Leafs; Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars; Esa Lindell, Dallas Stars; Olli Maatta, Utah Hockey Club; Niko Mikkola, Florida Panthers; Rasmus Ristolainen, Philadelphia Flyers; Juuso Valimaki, Utah Hockey Club.
Goalies- Kevin Lankinen, Vancouver Canucks; Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Buffalo Sabres; Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators
Sweden
Forwards- Viktor Arvidsson, Edmonton Oilers; Jesper Bratt, New Jersey Devils; Leo Carlsson, Anaheim Ducks; Joel Eriksson Ek, Minnesota Wild; Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators; William Karlsson, Vegas Golden Knights; Adrian Kempe, Los Angeles Kings; Elias Lindholm, Boston Bruins; William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs; Gustav Nyquist, Nashville Predators; Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks; Lucas Raymond, Detroit Red Wings; Mika Zibanejad, New York Rangers.
Defensemen- Rasmus Andersson, Calgary Flames; Jonas Brodin, Minnesota Wild; Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres; Mattias Ekholm, Edmonton Oilers; Gustav Forsling, Florida Panthers; Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning; Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh Penguins.
Goalies- Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota Wild; Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey Devils; Linus Ullmark, Ottawa Senators
United States
Forwards- Matt Boldy, Minnesota Wild; Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets; Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights; Jake Guentzel, Tampa Bay Lightning; Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils; Chris Kreider, New York Rangers; Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings; Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs; J.T. Miller, Vancouver Canucks; Brock Nelson, New York Islanders; Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators; Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers; Vincent Trocheck, New York Rangers.
Defenseman- Brock Faber, Minnesota Wild; Adam Fox, New York Rangers; Noah Hanifin, Vegas Golden Knights; Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks; Charlie McAvoy, Boston Bruins; Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes; Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets
Goalies- Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets; Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars; Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins
All stats from NHL as of Feb. 5.
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