Pressure on U.S., Laine impact for Finland among top 4 Nations Face-Off storylines

There may be more questions than answers in the wake of the roster announcements for the teams taking part in the 4 Nations Face-Off.

The full 23-man rosters for Team Canada, Team Finland, Team Sweden and Team United States were announced Wednesday for the tournament that will be held Feb. 12-20 in Montreal and Boston, the first best-on-best tournament since the World Cup of Hockey in 2016 in Toronto.

Each country announced the first six players to its roster in June. The final 17 players for each roster were revealed Wednesday amidst much anticipation and speculation.

Here are some of the major storylines coming out of the naming of the final 68 players to take part in the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Who has the best roster?

Each roster is loaded. There’s no two ways about it.

The Swedes have three No. 1 goalies. The Canadians have champions in almost every spot. The Americans have a bevy of brash scorers so goals shouldn’t be an issue. The Finns, they have the build and mindset of a team before the tournament starts with two practice days in a little more than two months.

Not many would be overly confident in looking across these rosters and picking a winner. The margins are razor thin, strengths negated by weakness in other areas.

The Canadians can score, likely at will. Can their goalies make a big save? The Swedes know the big saves will come, but can they score? The Finns wonder who their breakout player is, and could it be someone who has barely played in the NHL this season? More on that later. Can the Americans defend against game-breakers on every other roster?

“I just think you look at all the rosters and it's going to just be, 'How do you pick who wins?'” retired American forward Matt Cullen said on Wednesday, hours before being inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame “There's so much talent. The U.S. has so much talent. So yeah, it's anybody's tournament, in my opinion. It's going to be fun to see it. It's going to be so fun to watch.”

Canada’s goalie

Each team except for Canada has at least one clear-cut No. 1 goalie.

The Americans have Connor Hellebuyck, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, among the three goalies on its roster. The Swedes could go with Jacob Markstrom, who played for them in 2016 or Linus Ullmark, who won the Vezina Trophy two years ago while with the Boston Bruins. The Finns have Juuse Saros, who has won more than 30 games in each of the past three seasons.

Canada, not so much.

They have Adin Hill of the Vegas Golden Knights, Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues and Sam Montembeault of the Montreal Canadiens, not exactly a murderer’s row.

Binnington won the Stanley Cup in 2019 but has only won 30 games once and has been past the first round of the playoffs just once (in 2022) since winning the Cup. Montembeault has never played more than 41 games in an NHL season and has yet to appear in an NHL postseason game. Hill played an NHL career-high 35 games and had a career-best 19 wins last season.

Finnish wild card

Team Finland has a loaded roster, but their most important player could be the one who played one NHL game this season.

Yes, that player is forward Patrik Laine.

Laine joined the Montreal Canadiens in a trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets during the offseason, but he sustained a knee injury during the preseason and was sidelined until playing Tuesday, scoring in a 2-1 win against the New York Islanders. Laine has played only 19 games in the past two seasons.

But Finland general manager Jere Lehtinen did not hesitate to pick Laine as one of the team’s 13 forwards.

“We know Laine, what he’s able to do, special teams, power play, what he can do there and of course, short tournament, the special teams are going to be a big part of that,” Lehtinen said. “We’ve been talking with him and knowing where he’s at and it’s great for him and the Canadiens. He’s back early and he played last night, [it] was a great thing. But overall, there are two months before the tournament starts so there are a lot of games before then and I think it’s enough time to get him in good game shape and playing well there. Last night he showed he has those skills.”

Pressure cooker

The United States expects to win in a best-on-best tournament involving NHL players.

In the past 20 years, the Americans have won regularly at the junior level, but rarely at the World Championships or the Olympics.

But, that ends now, says Team USA general manager Bill Guerin during an appearance on “NHL on TNT” on Wednesday.

“The thing we have to do now is win,” said Guerin, who played on the American team that upset Canada in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

Guerin said he believes this American team, with a mix of veterans and young players, is built for winning and handling the pressure that goes with it.

“How deep our player pool is now, how many superstars we have, the growth of hockey in the country, the following we have,” Guerin said when asked for reasons why. “Hey look, Canada has always had that pressure and been No. 1 up there, but with the players we have, the team that we can put together comes pressure to win. It’s not something we hope to do, it is something we expect now. The expectations are much higher.”

Miller’s status

J.T. Miller of the Vancouver Canucks was one of the 13 forwards named to the American roster, but the veteran forward is on a leave of absence from his NHL club for unspecified reasons. He hasn’t played since Nov. 17 and there has been no word when he will back.

He had 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 17 games before his absence.

Guerin said Wednesday that he is hopeful Miller will be back for the start of the tournament.

“I have spoken to J.T., J.T. is a wonderful guy, a high-end competitor, a high-end player,” Guerin said. “I don’t know the specifics of what he is going through, but I do know when you are going through something like that and you need a leave of absence, what you need is support, people behind you and people in your corner and that’s what we are. We are behind J.T. Miller, and we are there for him and he’s going to be a part of this team and a big part.”

Frenemies

NHL teammates are going to be pitted against one another while wearing the sweaters of their national team.

Forward Brad Marchand and defenseman Charlie McAvoy are teammates with the Boston Bruins. Come 4 Nations, they will be clawing for the puck as part of the Canada (Marchand) and USA (McAvoy) rivalry.

Will any quarter be given in that battle?

Unlikely.

“Once the tournament hits, we have to do what is best for our countries,” Marchand said.

It’ll be the same for every NHL teammate going against a good friend during those two weeks.

Nation will trump club in each case.

Super Nova

There are three players on the Canada roster from Nova Scotia -- Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche and Marchand.

Each is a forward.

Will they play together and, if so, who will be in the middle?

Let’s put it this way: Bet on it.

The players have been vocal about their desire to play together, Running a campaign while working out together during the offseason. And Team Canada coach Jon Cooper has no issue with loading up his lines and embraces star power.

Enjoy the ride.

Defense rests

Could the Swedes have the best defense in the tournament?

Don’t dismiss it. Yes, the Canadians are anchored by perennial Norris Trophy candidate Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche and the Americans have his rival Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks.

But the Swedes may be the best one through seven.

Don’t believe it?

Listen to Team Sweden defenseman Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who raves about a group that includes Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres, Mattias Ekholm of the Edmonton Oilers, Rasmus Andersson of the Calgary Flames, Jonas Brodin of the Minnesota Wild, Gustav Forsling of the Florida Panthers and Erik Karlsson of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

"Some of the names that are unfortunately going to be left off are still world-class defenders, Hedman said. “To have the D corps that we have is pretty impressive. For a small country, we've produced some really good hockey talent, so yeah we've just got to make sure we gel right away and figure out what pairings work in the first days of practice and just go out there and rock it in the game."