4 Nations Roster Remix: 1990 Canada team

The top NHL players from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States will go head-to-head at the 4 Nations Face-Off, a best-on-best tournament that will be held from Feb. 12-20 in Montreal and Boston.

Though this is the first tournament of its kind to feature these four countries, NHL.com and NHL.com International have put together what the rosters and line combinations for each country would have looked like in the past, going backwards in five-year intervals. The rosters will follow the same format as the current 4 Nations teams: 13 forwards, seven defensemen and three goalies.

The stories will run each Friday and Sunday through Feb. 9.

Today, NHL.com staff writer Mike Zeisberger reveals what his Team Canada roster would've looked like in 1990.

Forwards (13)

Mario Lemieux -- Wayne Gretzky -- Mark Messier

Luc Robitaille -- Steve Yzerman -- Cam Neely

Steve Larmer -- Denis Savard -- Joe Sakic

Dale Hawerchuk -- Joe Nieuwendyk -- Rick Tocchet

Bernie Nicholls

When you have the No. 1, No. 3, and No. 8 scoring leaders of all time in Gretzky (2,857 points), Messier (1,887) and Lemieux (1,723), well, I couldn't resist putting them on the same line. Has there ever been a greater line in the history of the sport? Keep in mind that Gretzky and Messier saw a lot of power-play time together with the Edmonton Oilers. As for Lemieux, it was Gretzky who set him up for the tournament-winning goal in a 6-5 victory against the Soviet Union in the 1987 Canada Cup. Gretzky and Lemieux are in the conversation about the greatest to ever play. More than a decade after being matched on the same line here, Robitaille and Yzerman would win a Stanley Cup together in 2002 with the Detroit Red Wings. Prior to being traded to the Montreal Canadiens for defenseman Chris Chelios on June 29, 1990, Savard teamed with Larmer with the Chicago Blackhawks to form one of the most lethal duos in the NHL and was just two seasons removed from a 131-point season in 1987-88. How deep is this group? Ten of the 13 forwards here went on to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, the exceptions being Tocchet, Larmer and Nicholls. There certainly is an overflow of centers on this team, but we feel comfortable some can flourish on the wing. And if reinforcements are needed because of injury, any of four future Hall of Famers -- Doug Gilmour, Adam Oates, Ron Francis and Pierre Turgeon -- are ready to step in.

Defensemen (7)

Paul Coffey -- Ray Bourque

Doug Wilson -- Al MacInnis

Scott Stevens -- Larry Murphy

James Patrick

All but Patrick have been inducted into the Hall of Fame from this group. Bourque (1,579 points), Coffey (1,531) and MacInnis (1,274) are the top three scorers among defensemen in NHL history so there is plenty of offense on the back end here. Wilson and MacInnis were legendary for being two of the hardest shooters in NHL history, so imagine them on the same pair? Goalies certainly wouldn't want to. Stevens already had carved out a reputation for being one of the hardest hitters in hockey by this point of his career and was a unique blend of hustle and muscle. Patrick had 187 points (38 goals, 149 assists) in 227 games with the New York Rangers from 1989-92.

Goalies (3)

Patrick Roy

Mike Vernon

Bill Ranford

There is a legitimate argument to be made that Roy is the greatest goalie of all time, although you'll get pushback from Dominik Hasek and Martin Brodeur fans. Roy won the Stanley Cup four times (1996, 1993, 1996, 2001), was voted the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs three times (1986, 1993, 2001), won the Vezina Trophy as the League's top goalie three times (1989, 1990, 1992), and when he retired in 2003 he was the all-time NHL leader in games (1,029) and wins (551), and he's still first all-time in playoff wins (151). He and Vernon each would be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Vernon helped the Calgary Flames win the Cup in 1989, then did it again with the Red Wings in 1997. Ranford helped the Oilers win the Stanley Cup in 1990, the only one of Edmonton's five championships in which Gretzky was not on the roster.