MONTREAL - A trio of Habs will be wearing different shades of bleu-blanc-rouge for the next two weeks.
For Joel Armia and Patrik Laine, it’ll be Finland’s navy on white. For Samuel Montembeault, the classic Canadian red—but together, they’ll be keeping it red, white, and blue at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
In Montreal, a city where hockey is more than a sport, and where the Bell Centre stands as a cathedral of the game, playing for the Canadiens often represents the pinnacle of a player’s career.
Montembeault, a homegrown talent, grew up immersed in the culture. Armia, a seven-year Hab, has learned to embrace it. And Laine, in his first season with the team, is beginning to understand life under the city’s bright lights.
But when it comes to hockey, there’s something uniquely special about representing your country on the international stage—especially this year.
For the first time in nearly a decade, the National Hockey League has paused its season for a best-on-best international tournament, featuring Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States in Montreal and Boston from February 12 to 20, 2025.
FINN IT TO WIN IT
Laine’s path to Team Finland was far from conventional. In fact, he was one of only three players in the tournament who had not played an NHL game this season before rosters were finalized on December 2—an undeniable show of confidence from Finland’s management in their 26-year-old star’s ability to deliver on hockey’s biggest stage.
Laine shares that belief.
“I knew if I'm on my game and if I've been playing, I could help the team, and I probably should be in. So, I was obviously happy to be named to the roster and it's really special."
If there were any lingering questions about Laine’s form after not playing for almost an entire year, the 2016 second-overall pick answered them immediately in his Canadiens debut.
Back in uniform on December 3 for the first time in 355 days, Laine sent a signature snipe past the Islanders’ netminder, then beat the Predators’ goalie with a near identical shot the next game. Days later, the Finnish forward added his third power play marker in his fourth game as a Hab, proving he hasn’t lost his touch. And on December 17, he electrified the Bell Centre with a hat trick.
Not bad for somebody who hadn’t picked up a hockey stick for, in his words, seven to eight months at the beginning of 2024 for injury and personal reasons.
“I took a pretty long break from touching my stick, but I guess it’s still there,” Laine said on December 14 of his trademark shot. “There are still a lot of things I need to work on right now, but at least one of the things I’m known for is still working.”
Laine’s 216 goals since entering the League in 2016 and his proven history of international success—including the MVP award as an 18-year-old at the 2016 IIHF World Championship—is invaluable in the Leijonet’s pursuit of gold next month.
The Canadiens’ Armia, on the other hand, isn’t the most marquee name on the Finns’ roster, but he too is set for an important role at the inaugural edition of the event. Finland, like the other three teams in the tournament, will be stocked with high-end threats at the top of their lineup, but Armia brings something different.
While capable of producing offensively, as reflected in his career-high 17 goals in 66 games last season, the 31-year-old will be called on for his defensive prowess at the 4 Nations. The native of Pori, FIN, has been a penalty-killing merchant for the Habs recently, and is accustomed to defending opponents’ best players night in and night out in the NHL.
In all likelihood, that’s the position Armia will be thrust into at the tournament—a role he says he’s ready for and excited to take on.
CANADIANS, MEET THE CANADIEN
When Canada calls, you answer… unless you’re on the team bus after a loss in Boston.
That’s where Montembeault found himself when Canada’s assistant general manager, Julien Brisebois, reached out to deliver the news. Needless to say, the 28-year-old was quick to return the call.
“I was very proud when I got the call,” Montembeault said.
“It’s a nice vote of confidence. There were multiple general managers around the League that worked together to construct the team. It’s fun to know that more than one have confidence in me to be part of the three goalies that will represent the country.”
Montembeault’s numbers this season—a 3.00 goals-against average and .897 save percentage—aren’t eye-popping, but his stats don’t tell the full story of his 2024-25 campaign.
“He’s keeping us together. He’s kept us in the game so many times,” said Laine. “That’s why they picked him for Team Canada, for that reason. He shows up in big moments.”
Montembeault has posted three shutouts for the Canadiens this season, and he knows he’ll need to be at that level if he hopes to earn playing time in the competition.
“They’re probably going to ride the hot hand. There isn’t a lot of time for practices before, so it’ll be the goalie who’s in a nice rhythm who will probably start.”
ME AND MINE VS. YOU AND YOURS
Team Finland enters the tournament as underdogs, or so the sportsbooks say, but don’t let the label fool you. With players like Aleksander Barkov, Sebastian Aho, Laine and Mikko Rantanen, any sort of dark horse title feels like a stretch.
“I feel like we’ve got a really good team. I didn’t like our television odds to win the tournament, so we’ll try to prove some people wrong,” Laine said of a Finnish team looking to defy expectations. “I think we should be really good, and I think we can surprise some teams.”
Meanwhile, Montembeault and a stacked Team Canada that features Sidney Crosby, Cale Makar, and Connor McDavid, look to live up to their own expectations.
Canada and Finland meet in the teams’ final round robin game at 1:00 p.m. ET on February 17 at TD Garden.
Bonne chance Samuel, and onnea Joel and Patrik!
