OK, this is really the best.
One year ago, best-on-best, big-boy hockey came back into our lives with the 4 Nations Face-Off. As the name suggested, though, this wasn’t a full representation of what the hockey world has to offer because only Canada, the United States, Finland and Sweden were involved.
Now, at last, it’s full go time.
On Thursday, the NHL will hit pause so the brightest stars in the game can travel to Italy for the Olympic Games. It’s the first time NHLers have participated in the Olympics since 2014, and even when we had a World Cup of Hockey in 2016, the likes of Slovakia, Switzerland and Germany were rolled into Team Europe.
Finally, everybody is set to don the most meaningful crest on their chest again.
To understand the degree to which the composition of the NHL has changed since ’14, look no further than how some international megastars from countries other than the Big 4 are performing right now.
Roman Josi recorded a 1-1-2 during the Nashville Predators’ 4-3 win over the New York Islanders on Saturday. The Swiss D-man — who was just recently celebrated for playing his 1,000th career NHL contest — has a whopping 15 points in his past 10 outings to remind everyone he’s one of the most lethal blue-liners in the game. In 2020, Josi became just the second defenceman from a country other than Canada, the U.S. or Sweden to win the Norris Trophy. (Slovakian Zdeno Chara is the other, having claimed the award in 2009).
On Sunday, David Pastrnak participated in a positively wild outdoor game at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium that saw his Boston Bruins gag up a 5-1 lead and fall 6-5 in a shootout to the Lightning. Pastrnak — who was understandably irritated that his native Czechia was not invited to participate in 2025’s 4 Nations Face-Off — still recorded an assist in the game, one day after he was named the second star of January by the league for his 25 points in 14 games during that month. While Czechia obviously has a rich hockey heritage, Pastrnak is a guiding light for a country that went through some dark times for a large portion of this century. When the Bruins stole Pastrnak at 25th overall in the 2014 draft, it marked just the fourth time in seven years a Czech player had been taken in the first round. And when Pastrnak won the 2020 Rocket Richard, he became the first Czech player to win a major award since Jaromir Jagr and Dominik Hasek — co-founders of the generation that won gold for the Czechs at the first Olympics to feature NHLers in 1998 — were both winning major hardware in the late 1990s.
Of course, we should note that the first star of January, Nikita Kucherov — who had four points during Tampa’s huge comeback win under the lights on Sunday — won’t be at the Olympics because Russia is banned from competition by the IIHF due to the war in Ukraine.
Slovakia, meanwhile, will most definitely be there four years after winning a bronze in China — the country’s first-ever hockey medal — that touched off celebrations around the country. About four months after that happened, Juraj Slafkovsky became the first Slovakian selected first overall in the NHL draft, one spot ahead of countryman Simon Nemec of the Devils in what was a monumental event for the country.
Slafkovsky scored for the Montreal Canadiens in a crucial 4-2 win in Buffalo on Saturday and — with 35 points in his past 35 contests — is becoming every bit the player Montreal envisioned when he headlined the 2022 class.
The Canadiens’ archrivals in Ottawa are sparked offensively by German Tim Stutzle, who had a goal and a helper in the Sens’ vital 4-1 win over New Jersey on Saturday. Stutzle went third overall in 2020, one year after fellow German Moritz Seider — who’s going to win a Norris Trophy sometime soon in Detroit — went sixth overall. Before Leon Draisaitl — the only Hart Trophy winner born and raised outside a country that is not Canada, America, Sweden, Czechia or Russia — was taken third overall by Edmonton in 2014, Marco Sturm was the only German-trained player to be selected in the first round of the modern NHL draft.
We’re talking about league-defining stars taking their incredible talent to an international tournament where one-game elimination scenarios bring a lot of upset potential into play. You can bet every one of them is dying to put forth a performance that provides a concrete reminder that this sport truly has game-breakers from all over the map now.
Weekend Takeaways
• No NHL team has been streakier than the Seattle Kraken this year. The Kraken topped Vegas 3-2 in Nevada on Saturday night for their fourth straight win. Seattle’s season since Nov. 23 is as follows: 1-9-1 crash followed by an 8-0-1 surge leading to a 2-5-2 hiccup that preceded the current four-game winning streak. This run right now represents the Kraken’s third four-game winning streak of the campaign, while the club has also put together two four-game losing streaks and one run of dropping six straight.
However they got here, the Kraken sit third in the Pacific Division.
• Artemi Panarin may be a regular “roster management” scratch by the Rangers until he’s traded, but another Blueshirt in the middle of rumours — centre Vincent Trocheck — is on the ice performing. Trocheck, who’ll head to Italy as part of Team USA this week, had a goal and three points in New York’s 6-5 loss in Pittsburgh on Saturday. Will he finish this month as a member of the Rangers?
• How bad could things get in Jersey if the Devils completely fall apart? New Jersey lost 4-1 in Ottawa on Saturday for its third setback in four games, as the playoffs drift further and further away. Tuesday’s home game versus the Blue Jackets — who beat St. Louis 5-3 on Saturday for their ninth win in 10 tries as they attempt to surge back into the post-season picture under new coach Rick Bowness — is an absolute must-have for the Devils.
Red and White Power Rankings
1. Montreal Canadiens (31-17-7) What a run for Cole Caufield, who had two more goals in Montreal’s 4-2 victory in Buffalo on Saturday. The winger has 15 tallies in his past 19 outings, tied with Nikita Kucherov for most in the NHL since Dec. 23.
2. Edmonton Oilers (28-20-8) Four goalies have played at least 10 games for the Oilers this season, and the best save percentage among them is Connor Ingram’s .901. Tristan Jarry started Saturday’s 7-3 loss to Minnesota and was chased after five goals.
3. Ottawa Senators (26-21-7) The Sens are eight points out of the playoffs, but with Linus Ullmark back — he made a triumphant return in Saturday’s 4-1 win at home versus New Jersey — you sure wonder if Ottawa can get hot and wedge itself right back in the thick of things.
4. Toronto Maple Leafs (25-21-9) Early in the year, it seemed like Nick Robertson might be moved out to return immediate help. With the Leafs positioned as sellers now, though, could he finally get the opportunity he’s been after in Toronto if some bodies go out the door? Robertson picked up an assist in Saturday’s 3-2 shootout win over Vancouver, giving him a goal and a helper in his past two outings.
5. Winnipeg Jets (22-25-7) What a season for Mark Scheifele, who bagged the third-period GWG in Winnipeg’s come-from-behind 2-1 victory in Florida on Saturday. The Jets’ top-line centre is on pace for a career-best 99 points, though all he likely cares about is his team’s disappointing performance and the fact he somehow couldn’t squeeze onto Team Canada for the Olympics.
6. Calgary Flames (22-26-6) The Flames will host two all-Canadian matchups before the Olympic break, with the Leafs stopping by Monday night and Edmonton in town for a Battle of Alberta on Wednesday. Zach Whitecould has been a very busy Flame so far, as the guy who was seeing less than 19 minutes per night in Vegas is averaging 23:18 since joining his new team six games ago. The only player on Calgary skating more during that stretch is Kevin Bahl (24:35)
7. Vancouver Canucks (18-31-6) With a future-focussed team, fans can at least enjoy nights like Saturday where Vancouver’s goal-scorers were two recent first-round picks in winger Jonathan Lekkerimaki and defenceman Tom Willander. The latter, who turns 21 on Feb. 9, has two goals and a couple more assists for four points in his past five contests.
The Week Ahead
• The NHL is sending us into the Olympic break with some fantastic head-to-head matchups involving the brightest stars in the league. On Monday, Macklin Celebrini and the Sharks will be in Chicago to battle Connor Beddard and the Blackhawks; Auston Matthews leads the Leafs into Edmonton to visit Connor McDavid’s Oilers on Tuesday and Celebrini will see his Team Canada teammates Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar of the Avalanche in Denver on Wednesday.
• The NHL Olympic trade freeze will kick in on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET.
• Thursday marks the final night of NHL action for 19 days. The Penguins are in Buffalo for a tilt with Eastern Conference playoff implications, while Ondrej Palat visits the Devils team that recently traded him when the Islanders make the short trip to the Prudential Center. There’s also a battle of Florida between the Bolts and Cats in Sunrise, while the Kings and Golden Knights will close out the night with a showdown in Vegas.
• The women’s Olympic tournament kicks off on Thursday in Italy, with the defending champions from Canada facing Finland at 3:10 p.m. ET. Team USA, meanwhile, will kick off its tournament that same day at 10:40 a.m. ET versus Czechia. Morning sports!
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