NHL.com staff writer Mike Zeisberger has been covering the NHL regularly since 1999. Each Monday he will use his extensive network of hockey contacts for his weekly notes column, "Zizing 'Em Up.”
TORONTO -- The 2025 4 Nations Face-Off is 100 days away, with the official start on Feb. 12.
For the management teams of the United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland, the task at hand is obvious -- whittle down the candidates to fill out their respective rosters, which will be announced in early December. Keep in mind six players for each country were named June 27.
Obviously, the staffs from the respective countries will be fretting as next month’s deadline approaches. Right, Bill Guerin?
“Actually, we’ve been laughing a bit during our meetings,” the United States general manager told NHL.com.
Joviality? At what should be such a stressful time?
Here’s why.
As a player, Guerin represented the U.S. at the 1998, 2002 and 2006 Olympics and helped the country take home the silver medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City games. He was also a member of the championship team at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, where he was teammates with future Hall of Famers Brian Leetch, Mike Modano, Brett Hull, Pat LaFontaine and Phil Housley.
Even with that, the 53-year-old, now the GM of the Minnesota Wild, said he’s never seen such a deep talent pool of American-born players like there is right now.
On June 27, the U.S. named its first six players: forwards Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs), Jack Eichel (Vegas Golden Knights), Matthew Tkachuk (Florida Panthers), and defensemen Quinn Hughes (Vancouver Canucks), Adam Fox (New York Rangers) and Charlie McAvoy (Boston Bruins).
With a list of players to choose from like forwards Kyle Connor (Winnipeg Jets), Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa Senators), Jack Hughes (New Jersey Devils), Cole Caufield (Montreal Canadiens), Jake Guentzel (Tampa Bay Lightning), J.T. Miller (Canucks), Brock Boeser (Canucks), Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings), Alex DeBrincat (Red Wings), Patrick Kane (Red Wings), Nicholas Robertson (Dallas Stars); defensemen Jaccob Slavin (Carolina Hurricanes), Zach Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets), Brock Faber (Wild), Seth Jones (Chicago Blackhawks); and goalies Connor Hellebuyck (Jets), Jake Oettinger (Stars) and Jeremy Swayman (Bruins), just to name a few, Guerin and his staff look to have an embarrassment of riches to sift through.
“It’s never been like this,” Guerin said in a 1-on-1 interview this past weekend. “Never. It’s just crazy.
“We find ourselves laughing sometimes because we’ve been nitpicking over players we’d all kill to have on our NHL rosters. I mean, we’ll be looking over guys saying, ‘He does this, he does this’ while, in reality, we’d kill to have that guy on our [NHL] teams, you know what I mean?
“The depth is incredible. And this is something we’ve been talking about the whole time about Canada, that they can put two teams out. Well, we’re kind of at that stage ourselves where we could put out multiple teams that are really good. It’s unbelievable.”
Guerin acknowledges that goaltending will be a strength of the team. At the same time, he admits it’s an unfortunate turn of events when a candidate such as Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko, who has yet to play this season, is sidelined due to injury.
“I think he's been out with, what is it, a hip?” Guerin said. “Look at the position he plays. He’s not going to have the number of games the other guys have. And we have the depth.
“Why would we chance it?”
Through all the tough decisions that lie ahead, Guerin says he is blown away that USA Hockey approached him about running the national teams for both the 4 Nations and the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics. He felt that way when he represented the U.S. as a player, and he still does now as a part of management.
“It’s an incredible honor,” he said. “I don’t take this for granted. It’s a dream come true. It really is.”
One that will be even further enhanced should he be able to help lead the U.S. to victory in either or both of those tournaments.
NET PAINS
There’s a car commercial running here in Canada these days in which members of a beer league team are fidgeting in its dressing room waiting for its goalie to arrive while its opponents already are on the ice waiting for the game to start.
When the goalie finally shows up, he gets a massive cheer from his teammates.
The goalie?
None other than Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur, the NHL’s all-time leader in wins (691) and shutouts (125).
Here’s a thought: Even at 52-years-old, since he’s still strapping on the pads every now and then, would he be interested in making a comeback for the 4 Nations Face-Off, since Canada’s goaltending situation is concerning, to say the least?
“No way,” he said with a laugh. “Those days are long over!”
Joking aside, remember “those days” when Brodeur was a key member of Canada’s international teams? His resume included Olympic gold medals in 2002 and 2010, and helping Canada win the World Cup of Hockey championship in 2004.
Those were the “days” of goaltending royalty in Canada, a two-decade run from the mid-1990s to mid-2010s that featured names like Brodeur, Patrick Roy, Carey Price, Roberto Luongo and Curtis Joseph.
Fast forward to 2024, when the position appears to be Canada’s biggest weakness. Will Jordan Binnington (St. Louis Blues), Adin Hill (Vegas Golden Knights) or Stuart Skinner (Edmonton Oilers) be the answer? Or is there another candidate ready to emerge?
It’s a dilemma that leads to a question even Brodeur can’t answer.
“It’s an open job, and I think the guys out there know it’s an open job,” the Montreal-area native said. “A guy like Binnington, he’s won a Stanley Cup and knows what it takes to play at a high level. There’s others too.
“You know, we came from a period where a bunch of us were around -- myself, Patrick, Roberto Luongo, Carey. Now there definitely isn’t as much certainty, and I can’t tell you why.
“Right now, in the NHL, the Americans, with guys like Hellebuyck, Swayman, Oettinger, and the Russians, with the (Sergei) Bobrovskys and (Andrei) Vasilevskiys, they’re the ones who seem to be dominating the position. We just, for some reason, aren’t producing goalies like we once did.”
Having said that, Brodeur wasn’t all gloom and doom when it comes to Canada’s fortunes in the crease.
“It’s a tournament where you play each country once,” he said. “So, it’s short in duration. As a result, it’s as much about who has the hot hand in those two weeks as it is about who’s had the best body of work in their respective careers.”
Points taken. Because when it comes to the ins and outs of goaltending, Brodeur would know.
The exception to that -- the reason why Canada isn’t producing top-end goalies right now. He can’t explain that. And, right now, who can?
4 NATIONS STOCK MARKET
Each Monday, we’ll take a look at two candidates vying to make one of the teams (United States, Canada, Sweden, Finland) participating in the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off -- one who’s hot, one who’s not.
Who’s hot: Anton Lundell, Finland
Once you get past Finland’s big three forwards of Sebastian Aho, Mikko Rantanen and Aleksander Barkov, secondary scoring looks to be an issue.
Enter Lundell, the Florida Panthers center who is averaging a point per game through the first month of the season. The 23-year-old celebrated his homecoming to his native Finland by scoring in Florida’s 6-4 win against the Dallas Stars in Tampere on Friday, the opening leg of the two-game 2024 NHL Global Series Finland presented by Fastenal this past weekend. Lundell has 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 13 games and has given Finland GM Jere Lehtinen something to think about when debating his final roster.
Who's not: Mathew Barzal, Canada
The New York Islanders forward can produce “wow” moments with his elite speed, which made him an intriguing bottom-six candidate for Canada’s braintrust. Unfortunately, an upper-body injury sustained during a 2-0 loss at Columbus on Wednesday may have derailed his chances. The 27-year-old was placed on long-term injured reserve Saturday, meaning Barzal will be required to miss at least 10 games and 24 calendar days. With Dec. 2 being the deadline for teams to name the remainder of their rosters, will Barzal be able to play before that? If not, will Canadian officials be confident enough in his career body of work to name Barzal to the team despite the fact he’ll be sidelined for most of November, if not longer?
Stay tuned.
BLUE JACKETS OVERCOMING ADVERSITY
It can’t be said enough -- kudos to the Blue Jackets for the way they have been carrying themselves on and off the ice in the wake of heartbreaking adversity through the first month of the season.
At first blush, their 5-5-1 record doesn’t seem to be anything special. At the same time, looks can be deceiving.
Consider that Columbus already have posted wins against the upper echelon Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers by a combined score of 18-7. All this from a rebuilding team that most pundits considered would be a bottom feeder and, as such, a candidate to be in the hunt for the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
More importantly, the entire organization has managed to do this with the utmost class while dealing with the lingering pain from the tragic death of Johnny Gaudreau. The 31-year-old forward and his 29-year-old brother, Matthew, were killed when struck by a vehicle while bicycling in New Jersey on Aug. 29, just one day before they were to attend their sister’s wedding.
Part of the credit for the way the team has handled itself should go to Don Waddell, who was hired as president of hockey operations and GM on May 28, and, unfortunately, is no stranger to dealing with the sudden death of one of his players.
“Remember, this isn’t the first situation like this I’ve faced,” Waddell said in a phone interview. “There’s no ideal way to handle this. You just do the best you can and hope it’s enough.”
Waddell was referring to the incident of Sept. 29, 2003, when Atlanta Thrashers forward Dan Snyder was critically injured after the sports car he was a passenger in, being driven by his friend and teammate Dany Heatley, crashed. Waddell was Thrashers GM at the time.
Now, 21 years later, he’s been part of the healing process the Blue Jackets are dealing with.
“Nobody’s going to feel sorry for us and we’re not going to feel sorry for ourselves,” Waddell said. “We’re not the most talented team, but we can work hard, which they’ve done. And what’s nice about it, the coaching staff has made sure the players are prepared. And we’ve played that way. At some point we’ll probably hit a wall, but that doesn’t take away how competitive we’ve played.
“These are proud players. Obviously, Johnny is always on their minds, but they want to also show people that we have some good players here. More importantly, it’s all about the team and it’s something we’ve stressed here, including team-building activities.”
One of those was a par-3 golf tournament between players and coaches/management, followed by a trip to a Ohio State football game.
“It was a lot of fun,” Waddell said. “Although the players weren’t too thrilled that management won the golf tournament.”
In the process, Waddell said the community and the team have helped each other heal, much like the Golden Knights and the city of Las Vegas after the mass shooting at the Mandalay Bay hotel on the Las Vegas Strip that killed 60 people and injured at least 413 others on Oct. 1, 2017.
“One hundred percent,” Waddell said. “I see that every day around town here. People are constantly telling me how appreciative they are about the hard work from our guys, not just wins and losses.
“The support from this community has been amazing. It’s a great market with great ownership, and we’re going to deal with an adversity head on.”
Waddell, 66, was especially complimentary to the leadership qualities shown by forward Sean Monahan, Gaudreau’s close pal and longtime teammate who had the initials J.G. put on all his sticks, something he plans to do for the remainder of his career. The 30-year-old center, who signed a five-year, $27.5 million contract ($5.5 million average annual value) with Columbus on July 1, is second on the team with 11 points (six goals, five assists) in 11 games. Kirill Marchenko leads with 12 (four goals, eight assists).
“On the ice, he’s off to a great start,” Waddell said of Monahan. “Off the ice, the guys look up to him so much. He’s a quiet guy, but he’s been great with the guys asking him questions and leaning on him.”
Just like Waddell and the entire Blue Jackets organization have been.
QUOTE/UNQUOTE
“I don’t want our egos, our heads, to get too big. I want us to stay humble, stay grounded. Just keep playing hockey. Let’s not get too full of ourselves.”
-- Wild GM Bill Guerin on his team’s hot 8-1-2 start
THE LAST WORD
On the same night the Red Wings and Maple Leafs will play against each other in the annual Hockey Hall of Fame game at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Sidney Crosby and his Pittsburgh Penguins visit Alex Ovechkin and his Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena in Washington.
How fitting that Crosby and Ovechkin will be going head-to-head Friday on such a special night in the hockey world. Because when it comes to shoo-ins to make the Hall among active players, these two easily top the list.
This will be the 70th career regular-season matchup between the two. Crosby holds the upper hand with 90 points (31 goals, 59 assists), compared to Ovechkin and his 67 (37 goals, 30 assists). The Capitals captain holds the upper hand in their 25 Stanley Cup Playoff meetings with Crosby, however, with 33 points (15 goals, 18 assists) compared to the 30 (13 goals, 17 assists) produced by the Penguins captain.
More importantly, the most remarkable aspect of their longtime rivalry is how they continue to produce at high levels despite closing in on the twilight of their respective careers.
Ovechkin, 39, has eight points (four goals, four assists) in the past three games and has 859 goals for his career, just 36 shy of passing Wayne Gretzky (894) for the most in NHL history.
The 37-year-old Crosby, meanwhile, has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games and is just three goals shy of 600 for his career.
Together, they have been the faces of the National Hockey League for much of the past two decades.
In summation, hockey fans should savor each and every chance to see these two generational talents do battle against each other while they are still playing. After all, who knows how many of these matchups are left?
What we do know is there will come a time where both of these players will be honored at a Hall of Fame game themselves, because their inevitable inductions are about as much a slam dunk as you’ll find in hockey.
