4 Nations, facing off.
That is what will happen when the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off kicks off in mid-February, replacing the NHL All-Star Game. The tournament will serve as a preview for the league’s participation in the 2026 Winter Olympics and will see NHL players representing Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States across seven games from Feb. 12 to 20, 2025.
The Vancouver Canucks have four players representing their Nations for this tournament. Goaltender Kevin Lankinen will play for Team Finland, Elias Pettersson will play for Team Sweden and JT Miller, and Quinn Hughes will play for the United States.
The NHL will announce each team’s captains tomorrow (January 30). So we’re here wondering if the Canuck captain, Quinn Hughes, will be given the captaincy for the United States.
In all likelihood, it will be between him or the Toronto Maple Leafs captain, Auston Matthews. However, there are two other captains on the USA roster: Dylan Larkin of the Detroit Red Wings and Brady Tkachuk of the Ottawa Senators.
Hughes has 14 goals and 42 assists for 56 points, with a plus-13 rating through 45 games this season. This is Hughes’ second year as captain of the Canucks, earning the first Norris Trophy in the organization’s history in his first year as the team’s leader. The offensive defenceman has been noticed around the league for his contributions to a struggling Canucks team, with many talking about him in the Hart Trophy conversation for the league MVP.
Matthews has 20 goals and 18 assists for 38 points with a minus-2 rating through 35 games this season. This is Matthews’ first season repping the ‘C’ for the Toronto Maple Leafs after the team made the switch this offseason from John Tavares to Matthews.
We’ll have to wait until tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. PST to see which of these two will be honoured by wearing the ‘C’ for the United States.