The NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off is here as a way for the league to get back to best-on-best tournaments. The league has not participated in a tournament with the top players going head-to-head since the 2016 World Cup, where Canada took the gold medal. With the Olympics and World Cup not in the NHL’s docket for the past nine years, fans and players were missing out. Now, as a way to get back into the swing of things before the 2026 Olympics and 2028 World Cup, there will be the 4 Nations Face-Off, involving Team Canada, Team USA, Team Sweden, and Team Finland.
Related: NHL Announces 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament Details
Two cities, Montreal and Boston, are set to host the tournament games. With each team playing three preliminary games, the top two teams after the round-robin will face off in a championship game. The first three days of the tournament will take place at the Bell Centre in Montreal, hosting four games. The last two days, including the championship game, will be at TD Garden in Boston, for a total of three games.
4 Nations Face-Off Rosters
4 Nations Face-Off Schedule
Date/Time/Location | Teams | Game Preview | Final Score | Game Recap |
Feb. 12, 2025 8:00 p.m. EST Bell Centre, Montreal |
Team Canada vs. Team Sweden |
|||
Feb. 13, 2025 8:00 p.m. EST Bell Centre, Montreal |
Team USA vs. Team Finland |
|||
Feb. 15, 2025 1:00 p.m. EST Bell Centre, Montreal |
Team Finland vs. Team Sweden |
|||
Feb. 15, 2025 8:00 p.m. EST Bell Centre, Montreal |
Team Canada vs. Team USA |
|||
Feb. 17, 2025 1:00 p.m. EST TD Garden, Boston |
Team Canada vs. Team Finland |
|||
Feb. 17, 2025 8:00 p.m. EST TD Garden, Boston |
Team USA vs. Team Sweden |
|||
Feb. 20, 2025 8:00 p.m. EST TD Garden, Boston |
Championship (TBD) |
Team Canada
Team Canada Names Sidney Crosby Captain for 4 Nations Face-Off
Team Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off Roster: What They Got Right & Wrong
Team Canada Adding Canadiens’ Montembeault to 4 Nations Face-Off Roster Isn’t Political
Who Could Replace Alex Pietrangelo at the 4 Nations Face-Off?
Oilers’ Players Failed to Prove They Deserve Spot on Team Canada
Alex Pietrangelo Withdrawing From 4 Nations Face-Off Could Set a Troubling Precedent
Oilers’ Darnell Nurse Deserves a Spot on Canadian 4-Nations Face-Off Roster
Has Oiler Zach Hyman Played Himself Off of Team Canada?
Lightning’s Cirelli Making a Case for Team Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off Roster
TSN Experts Say Oilers Duo Should Have Spots on Canada’s 4 Nations Roster
Parayko Snubbed From Team Canada Four Nations Projections
4 Oilers Not Named McDavid Who Could Play for Canada at 4 Nations Face-Off
Team Finland
Finland Names Aleksander Barkov Captain for 4 Nations Face-Off
Utah HC’s Olli Määttä & Juuso Välimäki Named to Team Finland
Canadiens’ Armia, Laine Justifiably Make Finland’s 4 Nations Cut
Team Sweden
Victor Hedman Named Team Sweden’s Captain for 4 Nations Face-Off
Sweden Picks Flyers’ Sam Ersson to Replace Jacob Markstrom at 4 Nations Face-Off
Maple Leafs’ Nylander & Devils’ Bratt Share Mutual Excitement for 4 Nations Face-Off
3 Team Sweden Options to Replace Linus Ullmark at the 4 Nations Face-Off
Senators’ Ullmark Should Play in 4 Nations Face-Off Despite Injury Risk
Team USA
Matthews Named USA Captain for 4 Nations Face-Off
Team USA’s 4 Nations Face-Off Roster: What They Got Right & Wrong
Devils’ Jack Hughes Makes Team USA’s 4 Nations Face-Off Roster
Wild’s GM Bill Guerin Right Choice for Team USA
Features
4 Nations Face-Off Roster Comparison & Power Ranking
4 Nations Face-Off All-Snubs Team
What Team Czechia Would Look Like at the 4 Nations Face-Off
Alex Pietrangelo Withdrawing From 4 Nations Face-Off Could Set a Troubling Precedent
With Latest 4 Nations Snafu, NHL Continues to Shoot Themselves in the Promotional Foot
Wild’s GM Bill Guerin Right Choice for Team USA
3 Players Whose Health Makes 4 Nations Face-Off Participation Worrisome
What Each NHL Team Brings to the 4 Nations Face-Off
NHL Teams
Boston Bruins
Calgary Flames
Carolina Hurricanes
Colorado Avalanche
Edmonton Oilers
Florida Panthers
Los Angeles Kings
Minnesota Wild
Montreal Canadiens
New Jersey Devils
Ottawa Senators
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
St. Louis Blues
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs
Utah Hockey Club
Vegas Golden Knights
Winnipeg Jets
Player Eligibility
Any player who is under contract for the 2024-25 NHL season, and on an NHL roster as of Dec. 2, 2024, is eligible to partake in the tournament. While teams have announced their rosters already, they have up until Feb, 12, the beginning of the tournament, to make any changes to their roster due to injury.
Participating Nations
As made clear in the title of the tournament, the 4 Nations Face-Off will consist of just four teams. Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the USA will all be represented at the tournament. As the expectation of Olympic participation and the return of the World Cup is coming soon, the NHL opted to have a smaller tournament with four of the most represented countries in their league.
While other well-represented teams are on the outside of the tournament, such as Russia, Germany, Czechia, and more, the majority of the NHL is represented by these four nations with roughly 85 percent of players in the NHL coming from one of these countries.