* Before the puck drops for the first round-robin game of the 4 Nations Face-Off (CAN vs. SWE; Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. ET on TNT, SN, TVAS, MAX, truTV), the players take to the podium for Media Day today at Bell Centre.
* Sidney Crosby (CAN), Auston Matthews (USA), Victor Hedman (SWE) and Aleksander Barkov (FIN) each own a trophy case full of accolades and will don the “C” for their respective countries – just as they do for their NHL franchises.
* Canada and USA eye to add another championship at an NHL International Tournament (CAN; last: 2016 WCH & USA; last: 1996 WCH), but an abundance of stars have their sights on leading Sweden and Finland to their first.
CAPTAINS LEAD THEIR TEAM INTO 4 NATIONS FACE-OFF MEDIA DAY
A busy Tuesday will see all four countries practice followed by the 4 Nations Face-Off Media Day – a media availability with the general managers, coaches and players of each nation prior to the tournament’s opening game Wednesday. The captain of each country will lead their team in practice, followed immediately by the availability: Auston Matthews and USA (Practice at 10 a.m. ET; Media approx. 10:45 a.m. ET); Victor Hedman and Sweden (Practice at 11:30 a.m. ET; Media approx. 12:15 p.m. ET), Sidney Crosby and Canada (Practice at 1 p.m. ET; Media approx. 1:45 p.m. ET) and Aleksander Barkov and Finland (Practice at 2:30 p.m. ET; Media approx. 3:15 p.m. ET).
* The four captains, who all wear the “C” for their respective NHL franchise, come with a trophy case full of accolades at the NHL and international level including the first-ever player from Finland to captain a Stanley Cup winner (Barkov), a Conn Smythe Trophy winner who is one of three defensemen in NHL history to score 10 goals in a playoff year (Hedman), one of two players in NHL history to win the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy three times (Matthews) and the only active player in the top-10 on the NHL’s all-time points list (Crosby).
* Crosby, who confirmed after Monday’s practice he will be ready to play for Canada in the opener, will captain his country for the fourth time after leading Canada to gold at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games and 2015 World Championships as well as a World Cup of Hockey title in 2016. Hedman will captain the Tre Kroner for the first time in 17 years (2008 Under-18 World Championship), while Barkov and Matthews wear the “C” on the international stage for the first time.
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* Brad Marchand’s go-ahead goal with 44 seconds left in the third period during Game 2 of the 2016 World Cup of Hockey final capped Canada’s 12th consecutive victory in NHL International Tournaments and stood as the latest championship-clinching goal in regulation through the history of those events. Canada also has six consecutive victories against Sweden in World Cups of Hockey and Canada Cups dating to the 1984 final (8-1 all time), and last went head-to-head at an NHL event in 1996 when Michael Nylander, father of Swedish forward William Nylander, scored a late tying goal to force overtime in the semifinals.
* Canada will vie for its seventh title at an NHL International Tournament with the help of the three highest-scoring players at 4 Nations Face-Off: Nathan MacKinnon (21-66–87; 1st), Connor McDavid (22-49–71; 4th) and Mitch Marner (16-55–71; 5th) all rank among the top five in the 2024-25 Art Ross Trophy race. During the last best-on-best international event, that trio had little or no NHL experience and 201 career points – less than their cumulative count so far this season.
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* After sending two teenagers (Patrik Laine and Sebastian Aho) and four players age 21 or younger (also Aleksander Barkov and Rasmus Ristolainen) to the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, Finland returns the most players from that event (8) as they look to build on recent success on the international stage. The past nine months have seen Barkov claim his second Frank J. Selke Trophy, become the first Finnish captain of a Stanley Cup champion and the first hockey player ever to win Finland’s Athlete of the Year award. Set to wear the “C” for the first time in a Suomi jersey, Barkov will look at add his first international championship to that resume.
* The nation has won four of 18 gold medals and participated in seven finals at the World Junior Championship, World Championship and Olympic Winter Games since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey – trailing only Canada in each category (CAN: 6 golds, 11 finals). Eleven of Finland’s 4 Nations players have been part of those winning rosters: Esa Lindell, Joel Armia and Mikael Granlund (2022 WC); Kevin Lankinen, Henri Jokiharju, Niko Mikkola, Kaapo Kakko and Eetu Luostarinen (2019 WC); Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen,Jokiharju, Urho Vaakanainen, Kakko and Anton Lundell (2019 WJC).
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* Sweden enters the 4 Nations Face-Off with the highest representation of NHL Clubs of any roster, with 19 teams represented and only four sets of teammates (3 from MIN, 2 from EDM, 2 from NSH and 2 from PIT). The Tre Kronor will need NHL foes to quickly become 4 Nations friends as captain Victor Hedman will lead the most experienced blueline in the tournament (5,320 GP) into the tournament opener against Canada. Sweden has won three straight tournament openers dating to the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and is 5-3 all-time in its first game of NHL International Tournaments.
* Sweden has reached the playoff round in six consecutive NHL International Tournaments dating to the 1984 Canada Cup, alongside Canada as the only teams to do so during that stretch, but look to return to the final for the first time since that stretch began 41 years ago. Sweden has the most international medals of any 4 Nations roster (61), but the country is looking for its first men’s title since the 2018 World Championship when nine members of its current roster won gold (Viktor Arvidsson, Mattias Ekholm, Filip Forsberg, Filip Gustavsson, Adrian Kempe, Gustav Nyquist, Elias Pettersson, Rickard Rakell and Mika Zibanejad).
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* Seeking their first win at an NHL International Tournament since the 2004 World Cup of Hockey quarterfinals, USA will bring the youngest roster to the 4 Nations Face-Off (average age: 28 years) and enters as the only team without any returnees from the last event. However, it does carry the largest contingent of Team North America representatives, in goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, captain Auston Matthews, along with fellow forwards Jack Eichel, Dylan Larkin, J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck.
* USA accounts for the most recent instance of a team other than Canada winning an NHL International Tournament (and one of two such occurrences all-time), with the MVP efforts of a goaltender serving as a key contributor to that title run. The goaltending trio of Hellebuyck, Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman compliments the previous efforts of Mike Richter, who in 1996, helped the country win its first title at a major senior international tournament since the 1980 Olympics – one of his nine victories at an NHL International Tournament, the most among all goaltenders and two more than the next closest.
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4 NATIONS FACE-OFF STATS RESOURCES
* Wes McCauley, Chris Rooney, Gord Dwyer and Jean Hebert have been named Referees for the 4 Nations Face-Off; Kiel Murchison, Jonny Murray, Ryan Daisy and Scott Cherrey will join them as Linespersons.
* #NHLStats Pack: 4 Nations Face-Off
* 4 Nations Face-Off Interactive Information Guide
* #NHLStats Pack: United States
* Records.NHL.com – NHL International Tournament, Skater Records
* Records.NHL.com – NHL International Tournament, Goaltender Records
* Records.NHL.com – NHL International Tournament, Team Records
* Records.NHL.com – NHL International Tournament, Tournament-By-Tournament Recaps
* Records.NHL.com – NHL International Tournament, Tournament Overview
NHL READY TO CELEBRATE HOCKEY DAY IN FINLAND
The NHL will celebrate the third annual Hockey Day in Finland with two days of hockey-filled fun on Friday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, March 1. Designed to bring communities together around the sport of hockey and its many forms, the free event at Raksila Sports Park in Oulu will feature the NHL Global Fan Tour, a matchup of Finnish ice hockey legends including former NHL players, and a public viewing party of Viaplay’s NHL Saturday presented by Fastenal game. For more information, visit nhl.com/hdif. 
QUICK CLICKS
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* National pride on the line at 4 Nations Face-Off with little margin for error
* Canada teammates eager to play with Sidney Crosby at 4 Nations Face-Off
*Drew Doughty pumped to do ‘whatever role they need’ for Canada at 4 Nations
