On Saturday (June 8), just before the start of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers, the NHL and NHLPA shared new details for the 4 Nations Face-Off.
TD Garden in Boston and the Bell Centre in Montreal were announced as host venues for the inaugural international tournament, which will take place Feb. 12-20, 2025, featuring teams of NHL players representing Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States.
On June 28, the first six players from each team will be unveiled, and Oilers captain Connor McDavid is a lock to be named to Canada’s roster. The best player on the planet, McDavid hasn’t had the opportunity to represent his country in international competition since the 2018 IIHF World Championship.
There’s also a very good chance McDavid will have some friends along for the ride next February. While they won’t be among the initial players announced later this month, these Oilers should receive serious consideration for selection to Canada’s final roster, thanks to their stellar play during the 2023-24 NHL season and now in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Evan Bouchard
Going into the 2023-24 season, Evan Bouchard wasn’t even ranked among the top 20 defencemen in the league by the NHL Network, but over the course of the last several months, he has emerged as one the best offensive defencemen in hockey.
Among Canadian defencemen in the 2023-24 regular season, Bouchard had the third most goals (18), second most assists (64), most power-play goals (eight), second most power-play assists (27), and second most shots (220). His plus/minus rating of plus-34 was also tied for the second-highest for blueliners from Canada.
Bouchard’s 82 points were the most by an Oilers defenceman since 1985-86, when current Edmonton assistant coach Paul Coffey recorded a franchise record 48 goals and 90 assists. He had an incredible seven game-winning goals, tied for the second most ever by a blueliner in an NHL season.
The 24-year-old has continued his history-making ways this spring, setting the record for most points by a defenceman (20) in the first two rounds of a single postseason. Going into Game 3 against Florida, he has 22 assists and 28 points in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which, respectively, are the fourth and fifth most by a blueliner in a single NHL playoff.
Bouchard’s defensive game is still a work in progress, as exhibited by his horrendous giveaway that led to the game-winning goal for Florida in Game 2, but his offensive ability is already all-world. The defenceman’s presence on Team Canada’s power play could be lethal for the opposition.
Zach Hyman
Speaking about being unranked, Zach Hyman’s name didn’t appear among NHL Network’s pre-season list of the top 20 wingers in the league. But that was before he went out and scored 54 times in 80 regular season games, finishing with the third-most goals in the league for 2023-24.
Hyman, 32, scores in the tough spots that few of his peers dare enter. His play in the paint has earned him the now-famous nickname of “Shaq Hyman”.
But while he has turned into an offensive force, scoring 90 times over the last two regular seasons, the veteran winger hasn’t abandoned the defensive aspects of his game. He remains a strong two-way player, whose plus/minus of plus-36 was the best among all Canadian forwards in the 2023-24 regular season.
Though he’s cooled off a bit recently, with one goal in Edmonton’s last five games, Hyman leads the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs with 14 goals, four more than anyone else. He had seven goals in just five games in Round 1 against the Los Angeles Kings, and in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars, he scored the series-winning goal that punched Edmonton’s ticket to the championship round.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Of the players mentioned here, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is the longest shot to be a part of Canada’s 4 Nations squad, but the versatile forward possesses a complete skillset that proves valuable in a bottom-six role on a team of all-stars.
Nugent-Hopkins was one of only five Canadian forwards in the NHL this season to log at least 140 minutes of short-handed ice time and more than 260 minutes of time on the power play. His takeaway (61) to giveaway (34) ratio was among the best in the NHL.
In 80 regular season contests, Nugent-Hopkins chipped in 18 goals with 49 assists. He has six goals and 14 assists through Edmonton’s first 20 games of the 2024 postseason.
The 31-year-old is also rich with international hockey experience, having represented his country at the 2012 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament (2010), World Juniors 2013, and the World Championship in both 2012 and 2018. Nugent-Hopkins was also part of Team North America, along with McDavid, at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Stuart Skinner
Like Bouchard, Skinner is just starting to come into his own, and there are growing pains to be endured along the way. Case in point, the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which have included the lows (his being benched for two games after a run of subpar outings) and highs (standing on his head with a 34-save performance in Edmonton’s monumental Game 6 victory against Dallas).
The fact is, the 25-year-old Skinner hasn’t even been a starting netminder in the NHL for two years, and he’s already a one-time All-Star, a Calder Trophy finalist, and has now backstopped his team to a Stanley Cup Final appearance.
Skinner posted a 2.62 goals-against average (GAA) and .905 save percentage (SV%) during the regular season. He tied Winnipeg Jets superstar Connor Hellebuyck for most wins over the last six months of the 2023-24 schedule, getting all 36 of his victories this season over that span. Skinner is 11-7 with a 2.51 GAA and .896 SV% thus far in the 2024 Playoffs.
While Skinner is not yet in the upper echelon of NHL goalies, he doesn’t exactly face stiff competition for a spot on Team Canada. Over the last two regular seasons combined, Skinner has the most wins (65) and second most games played (108) among all Canadian goalies; Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues, who has gone through some rough patches the last couple years, ranks second and first, respectively, in those two categories.
Beginning Feb. 12, the 4 Nations Face-Off will see each team play three tournament games in a round-robin format, receiving three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime/shootout win, one point for an overtime/shootout loss, and zero points for a regulation loss. The two teams with the best tournament record will then advance to the championship game at TD Garden on Feb. 20.
Edmonton’s players could have an opportunity to win the Stanley Cup and the 4 Nations Face-Off within eight months. But for that to happen, the Oilers need to rally from their 2-0 series deficit against the Panthers. Game 3 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final goes tonight (June 13) at Rogers Place.
