by William Burns
Monday, Feb 10, 2025Replacing the All-Star Game in 2025, the NHL has agreed to let players take part in the 4 Nations Face-Off beginning this Wednesday. Although not all of the superstars will be playing in this event, most of them will be representing their country in this mini tournament. Some people may not like the format. But, many hold high expectations for it, including myself. It just gives us another chance for the top players of the NHL to compete against each other and hold not only bragging rights, but gives the whole country something to cheer for.
The Format:
- Each Country will play three "round-robin" against one another
- A team gains 3 points for a win in regulation; 2 points for a win in OT/SO; 1 point for a loss in OT/SO; & 0 points for a loss in regulation
- Overtime is 10 minutes of Sudden Death Hockey - then a 3-round shootout.
- No Semis, just one Final between the top two teams after "round-robin" play
- Overtime in Final is 20 minutes of Sudden Death Hockey & goes until one team scores. If no goals after the 1st, a 2nd OT will commence and so on. (No shootout)
The Teams (odds via. DraftKings Sportsbook:)
USA (+160 to Win:)
Entering this tournament as the Co-Favorites along with Canada to win, the United States of America is the team that most teams are going to fear the most (in my opinion.) Even without the likes of Quinn Hughes on defense, the States are absolutely stacked from top to bottom. They are led by Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk & Charlie McAvoy as the captains. Goaltending is another huge advantage that the Americans possess. They've got Connor Hellebuyck, Jake Oettinger & Jeremy Swayman between the pipes. Can't get much better than that.
Canada (+160 to Win:)
Canada also has a very strong team in the 4 Nations Face-Off. That is why the Canadians are also Co-Favorites to win this tournament. It's going to be a grind, as all four teams are excellent. But, not too many guys can keep up with Connor McDavid & Nathan MacKinnon in the hockey world and they are going to play huge parts to this team. The obvious choice for Team Canada's captaincy was Sydney Crosby. The alternates were given to Cale Makar as well as McDavid. This is also a stacked group. Goaltending will need to be on point, but Canada can most definitely win this.
Sweden (+400 to Win:)
Slightly below both the USA & Canada, Sweden comes along. Now, even though most of the talk is about the two North American teams, Sweden absolutely has a chance to make some noise and turn some heads. Sweden, with three players from the Minnesota Wild, is led by a Tampa Bay Lightning in Victor Hedman. He's a veteran presence who knows how to win. His assistant captains will be Mattias Ekholm, Erik Karlsson & William Nylander. Sweden's great everywhere, like all the teams in this tournament. But, defense is probably its biggest strength with defensemen who love to get involved in the attacking play.
Finland (+900 to Win:)
As the underdog in this tournament, Finland isn't getting much respect. Now, there's a reason why Finland is +900 to win this tournament and it's because the other three teams are some of the best teams we've ever seen before. Having said that, I'm not counting the Fins out. They are always a threat to do damage and captain Aleksander Barkov is excited to see what they can do. Finland will also have Sebastian Aho, Mikko Rantanen, & Mikael Granlund with the (A) alongside Barkov. Don't count out Finland until we've seen what it can do.
Burns' Selection to Win:
This is going to be a great tournament no matter who wins. Having said that, I'm going to go with Canada at +160 to Win the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off. Getting two out of three games at home in Quebec will be huge for them, including the game against the USA on Saturday. Even though the final will be in Boston, I'm expecting the top guys from Canada to be at their best here throughout this week. Canada drastically underperformed in the World Juniors and the top Canadian players from the NHL will be putting the whole country on their backs and win this great new event.
Final Prediction: 3-2 Canada vs. the USA.
