Projecting Canada's 4 Nations Face-Off roster

Sweden 🇸🇪/Finland 🇫🇮
United States 🇺🇸
Canada 🇨🇦

We're still seven months away from the NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off, but we figured there's no better time than the dead of the offseason to project the rosters for each nation competing in the February 2025 event.

We finish our three-part series with Canada, which won each of the last three international best-on-best tournaments - the 2010 Olympics, 2014 Olympics, and 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Each team unveiled six players in late June; those names are bolded in the tables below. Teams will carry 23 total players - 20 skaters and three goalies.

Toughest omissions: Mark Stone, Nick Suzuki, Quinton Byfield, Mat Barzal, Steven Stamkos, Ryan O'Reilly, Anthony Cirelli, Robert Thomas

Canada is so deep up front that it would be completely justifiable to swap in four or five different forwards. Pesky, in-your-face speedsters like Hagel, Konecny, and Verhaeghe got the nod, partly because of how well their games would translate to bottom-six roles. Johnston, meanwhile, is poised beyond his years at 21 and proved he's a star in the making during the 2024 playoffs. Stone was an especially difficult cut, but the Golden Knights captain has battled so many injuries in recent years that it was hard to envision him on this roster.

The forward combinations are endless. The Nova Scotian trio of Marchand, Crosby, and MacKinnon could be one of the best of the tournament given the built-in chemistry they presumably have from training together every summer.

While Bedard could easily work his way up the lineup by the time the event approaches, we're tempering expectations for now. After all, he finished the 2024 World Championship as Canada's 13th forward on a far less talented squad. While we weren't about to omit such a transcendent talent, he'll need to improve his defensive game to gain the coaching staff's full trust.

Toughest omissions: Shea Theodore, Alex Pietrangelo, Morgan Rielly, Colton Parayko, Dougie Hamilton

General manager Doug Armstrong would be smart to import both members of Colorado's top pair and head coach Jon Cooper would be wise to keep them together. What a luxury it is for Canada to have Toews and superstar Makar.

Dobson has evolved into a poor man's Makar - but with a 6-foot-4 frame. Morrissey can be Mr. Versatility to complete the second pair. There's an abundance of quality defensemen from Canada, but those two selections are far from controversial. The same goes for national team veteran Doughty who, at 34, remains an extremely effective two-way righty.

Our Power pick may raise some eyebrows. We know he's young and not the flashiest player, but we're projecting the poised big man hits a new level early in 2024-25 and becomes an ideal partner for Doughty in a shutdown role.

As for Bouchard, his extreme offensive output outweighs occasional defensive lapses. He can quarterback a power-play unit and play sheltered minutes otherwise. We strongly considered picking Theodore over Power or Bouchard.

Toughest omissions: Sam Montembeault, Logan Thompson, Tristan Jarry

Roberto Luongo's long gone. Carey Price's unofficially retired. Marc-Andre Fleury's well past his prime. Canada's been lacking a star netminder for a while, and there's just no hiding it now. Amplifying the issue is the fact that the USA, Finland, and Sweden all have at least one wholly reliable option in net.

Binnington should have the inside track on the No. 1 job, despite a subpar performance at the 2024 World Championship. The fiery goalie had solid underlying numbers for a mediocre Blues team last season and, generally speaking, instills confidence to a far greater degree than Hill and Skinner.

As unsexy as this trio is, each guy has shown up for his club team in the playoffs. Binnington and Hill hoisted the Stanley Cup in 2019 and 2023, respectively, and Skinner came one win short of glory a few weeks ago.