Ahead of its return to the Olympic Winter Games in 2026 and 2030, the league is getting ready to serve up an appetizer in the form of the 4 Nations Face-Off.

The tournament, which is being put on by the NHL and NHLPA, will feature the league’s best players from the United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland. It will be the NHL’s first best-on-best event since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey in Toronto.

Here’s a look at what to expect:

How 4 Nations Face-Off Works

The 4 Nations Face-Off will run from Feb. 12-20—with two designated practice days beforehand—and includes four games in Montreal and three in Boston. Similar to past Olympic years, the NHL schedule includes a two-week break for the tournament, beginning after games on Feb. 9.

Each team will play one head-to-head game against the three opponents during round-robin play, with the top two teams matching up in a one-game championship. The standings will be determined using a modified points system: three points for a regulation win; two for a win and one for a loss in overtime/shootout; and zero for a regulation loss. 

The entire tournament will be played by NHL rules, with the exception of round-robin overtime periods being 10 minutes in length instead of the typical five in NHL regular-season games. Overtime in the final would be 20 minutes, mirroring the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

4 Nations Face-Off Captains, Roster Rundown

The four 23-player rosters (13 forwards, seven defensemen and three goaltenders) were announced by their national associations in December, with an initial six from each country designated last June. 

Players from 30 of the 32 NHL teams will participate in the tournament, excluding only the Seattle Kraken and Washington Capitals. No team has more than the Florida Panthers’ eight.  

Last Thursday, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews (United States), Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby (Canada), Tampa Bay Lightning’s Victor Hedman (Sweden), and Florida’s Aleksander Barkov (Finland) were named captains of their respective teams. Crosby is a five-time gold medalist on the international stage, including two at the Olympics.

The United States and Canada will be coached by active NHL bench bosses in Pittsburgh’s Mike Sullivan and Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper, respectively. Both have won multiple Stanley Cups. 

More players to watch

The rosters read like an NHL who’s who, highlighted by six former No. 1 overall picks. This is by no means a complete list, but it is safe to say that the return of best-on-best play will be something special to watch based on this group alone:

The Canadian roster boasts Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid—who could play alongside Crosby for the first time internationally—and league-leading point scorer Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche up front, while MacKinnon’s teammate Cale Makar anchors the defense. There is plenty of Cup-winning talent, too, with Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart representing the Panthers. 

Reigning Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets, the Dallas Stars’ Jake Oettinger, and Boston Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman give the U.S. an elite goaltending trio. Vancouver Canuck Quinn Hughes claimed the Norris last season and joins brother Jack of the New Jersey Devils on the American roster, along with another brotherly duo in the Ottawa Senators’ Brady and Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk.

Finland’s roster included the only goalie among all four teams’ “original six” picks in Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators. The group also includes recent Carolina Hurricanes acquisition Mikko Rantanen up front and a duo of Dallas Stars on defense in Esa Lindell and Miro Heiskanen. 

Nashville’s Filip Forsberg and Toronto’s William Nylander are two of the top offensive weapons for Sweden, which has Norris winners Hedman and Pittsburgh’s Erik Karlsson on defense. Ottawa’s Linus Ullmark and New Jersey’s Jacob Markstrom are both experienced netminders.