Zizing ‘Em Up: Fans have ‘appetite’ for 4 Nations Face-Off, Guerin says

NHL.com staff writer Mike Zeisberger has been covering the NHL regularly since 1999. Each Monday he will use his extensive networks of hockey contacts to write his weekly notes column, “Zizing 'Em Up.”

TORONTO -- For those thirsting for best-on-best hockey, Christmas is about to arrive three weeks early.

Indeed, Wednesday is the day on which the final rosters will be announced for the four teams in the 4 Nations Face-Off in Montreal and Boston Feb. 12-20.

The four participants -- the United States, Canada, Sweden, Finland -- named six players each at the end of June. In the five subsequent months there have been countless debates over who will fill the remaining spots on each team, who might surprise and who could be snubbed.

This week, speculation turns into confirmation.

On Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET, the remaining players representing Finland and Sweden will be announced during a live show produced by NHL Network and available globally. ESPN will also announce the remaining players representing Finland and Sweden during the 2 p.m. ET edition of SportsCenter.

At 6:30 p.m. ET, the balance of rosters for Canada and the United States will be announced during live pregame shows on Sportsnet and TNT leading into doubleheaders on each network.

“There’s an appetite from fans to see the top players in the world going up against each other,” United States general manager Bill Guerin (Minnesota Wild) said. “It’s going to be great. And it will be an appetizer for the 2026 Olympic tournament.”

That event in Italy, known as the Milano-Cortina Games, will mark the 30th anniversary of one of the landmark victories in USA Hockey history. In 1996 the United States, with Guerin a key member up front, defeated Canada in the best-of-3 Final to win the World Cup of Hockey.

“A lot of us in my generation were inspired by the 1980 U.S. ‘Miracle on Ice’ gold medal Olympic team,” Guerin said. “In that same way, I think our 1996 team inspired a new generation of American kids to play the game.

“Players and fans are looking forward to this tournament. It’s always great to see best-on-best like this.”

What has best-on-best hockey looked like in the three decades since Guerin and the Americans were victorious? With the topic of 4 Nations front and center in the coming days, here’s a rundown:

1996 World Cup of Hockey

Winner: United States
The Skinny: The most impressive part of the performance of the Americans is the stage upon which they rose to the occasion. The best-of-3 Final was decided when the United States scored four goals in the final 3:18 of regulation to win the third and deciding game 5-2 against the host Canadians. When the final horn sounded, they celebrated on the ice in front of the raucous-turned-silent pro-Canadian crowd at the newly-opened Bell Centre in Montreal. Goalie Mike Richter of the U.S. was deservedly named the tournament’s most valuable player after turning in a 2.43 goals-against average. Richter’s teammate, Brett Hull, finished atop the tournament with 11 points (seven goals, four assists).

1998 Nagano (Japan) Olympics

Winner: Czech Republic
The Skinny: With NHL players allowed to compete, Buffalo Sabres goalie Dominik Hasek Hasek was the star of the tournament, allowing just two goals in the three games of the medal round for the Czech Republic. The most controversial decision of the event came when Canada coach Marc Crawford opted not to use Wayne Gretzky in the semi-final shootout against Hasek, a game the Canadians lost 2-1. Teemu Selanne of Finland led all scorers with 10 points (four goals, six assists) in five games.

2002 Salt Lake City Olympics

Winner: Canada
The Skinny: Canada ended a 50-year Olympic gold medal drought by defeating the U.S. 5-2 in the championship game, causing fans to break out into a rendition of “O Canada” as the final seconds ticked off. But the tournament also will be remembered for the monumental 4-3 upset by 0-3-0 Belarus against 3-0-0 Sweden in the elimination round, thanks to a shot from the neutral zone by Vladimir Kopat from just over center ice that handcuffed Sweden goalie Tommy Salo and plopped into the net with just 2:24 left in regulation. When the final horn sounded, Sweden captain Mats Sundin, who finished as the tournament’s leading scorer with nine points (five goals, four assists) in four games, slumped to the ice and looked to the sky in disbelief. Belarus was so sure prior to the game it would lose, it already had travel arrangements in place to fly home the following day. Obviously, those were changed.

2004 World Cup of Hockey

Winner: Canada
The Skinny: Canada was dominant from start to finish, going a perfect 6-0-0 thanks in part to Martin Brodeur. Coming off a gold-medal performance in Salt Lake City two years earlier, Canada’s No. 1 goalie was dominant in allowing just five goals in five games. Their biggest scare in this event came in the title game when Canada squeezed out a 3-2 victory against Finland in Toronto. Unheralded forward Fredrid Modin was the leading scorer in the tournament with eight points (four goals, four assists) in four games for Sweden.

2006 Turin (Italy) Olympics

Winner: Sweden
The Skinny: In what generally is regarded as the pinnacle of Swedish hockey history, it defeated bitter rival Finland 3-2 in the championship game to win gold. This team should be one of the greatest the hockey world has ever seen when you consider it had seven eventual Hockey Hall of Famers on its roster: goalie Henrik Lundqvist; defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom; and forwards Sundin, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Daniel Alfredsson and Peter Forsberg. Selanne (six goals, five assists), himself a future Hall of Famer, and Saku Koivu (three goals, eight assists) led the tournament in scoring with 11 points each for Finland, but it was Sweden that would have the last laugh.

2010 Vancouver Olympics

Winner: Canada
The Skinny: Sidney Crosby’s overtime goal that gave Canada a 3-2 victory against the U.S. in the title game became one of the most iconic moments not only in Canadian sports history but Canadian history, period. Simply put, it is forever known north of the border by three words: The Golden Goal. Not that it was any consolation to the U.S. players in the end, but they deserve credit for eclipsing a 2-0 lead in front of a hostile crowd on goals by Ryan Kesler and Zach Parise, the latter coming with 25 seconds left in regulation. Then came overtime, the stage upon which Crosby would become a national hero for all-time.

2014 Sochi (Russia) Olympics

Winner: Canada
The Skinny: In football, the process of a team using the run game to grind down opponents and siphon time off the clock is known as “taking the air out of the ball.” In this instance, Canada displayed the hockey version of that by implementing what some broadcasters referred to as “taking the air out of the puck” with a suffocating defense-first game that gave the other teams very few quality scoring chances. Case in point: Goalie Carey Price allowed just one goal in three playoff-round games, including a 3-0 shutout against Finland in the gold medal game. U.S. forward Phil Kessel (five goals, three assists) and Sweden defenseman Erik Karlsson (four goals, four assists) tied for the lead in tournament scoring with eight points each.

2016 World Cup of Hockey

Winner: Canada
The Skinny: Do you remember Canada’s two-game sweep of Europe in the best-of-3 Final to claim the title? Probably not. What is memorable about this tournament, however, was the composition and exhilarating performance of North America, a team made up of North American-born players aged 23 and under. Some of the names on that team who have gone on to become stars in the NHL, if they weren’t already: goalie Connor Hellebuyck; defensemen Aaron Ekblad, Morgan Rielly, Seth Jones and Jacob Trouba; and forwards Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon, Jack Eichel, Dylan Larkin, J.T. Miller, Mark Scheifele, Vincent Trocheck, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and the late Johnny Gaudreau. One of the greatest cache of young hockey talent you’ll ever see, many of whom will be featured in the 4 Nations Face-Off in two months.

CALGARY’S HEAVY HEARTS

Monday marks 559 days since Craig Conroy was named Calgary Flames GM on May 23, 2023.

It has been a roller-coaster ride filled with loss and mourning, none of it having to do with anything on the ice.

“It’s the type of adversity that makes you grow as a general manager and a person,” Conroy told NHL.com. “But it’s certainly the type of things you don't expect when you sign up for the job.”

Who would have?

Just four months after being promoted to the position, Conroy and the entire hockey world mourned the death of Chris Snow, his close friend and assistant GM with the Flames who died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) on Sept. 30, 2023. He was 42.

Almost a year later, the organization once again said goodbye to a close friend when former Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau, a 31-year-old with the Columbus Blue Jackets 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. Gaudreau had played 602 games with Calgary, compiling 609 points (210 goals, 399 assists) from 2013-22.

As such, it was a day of emotions when the Flames visited the Blue Jackets on Friday for the first time since Gaudreau’s passing and witnessed the giant mural on the front of “Johnny Hockey” on the front of Nationwide Arena.

These are things Conroy has had to deal with, things that have nothing to do with contract demands, the salary cap or the Trade Deadline. Saying goodbye like that to two staples of Calgary hockey cuts much deeper.

“You never want things like these to happen to any organization,” Conroy said. “I mean, for us, to lose Chris and then to lose Johnny, it’s heartbreaking.

“You know, you’re excited for the season every year. And you’re looking forward to it, to the optimism. And then, to have those things happen, it puts everything into perspective.

“Like I said, it makes you grow because you have to deal with so much. You’re in charge of the team, but you also have these feelings and personal things and you’re trying to work through them and make sure that everyone else is OK. You’re trying to make sure the Snow family and the Gaudreaus and the guys that knew them, well, it was all a bit overwhelming at times.

“I know it’s part of the job, but I hope I never have to do it again. I really do. I hope no other organization in the League does either. Columbus is going through it, and they have more players that actually played with Johnny. So, I can relate what they're going through. I know how hard it was for our players and anyone that knew the Gaudreaus and, a year earlier, the Snows.”

On Tuesday, the Flames will honor Gaudreau when the Blue Jackets play in Calgary (9 p.m. ET; SN360, SNW, FDSNOH) for the first time since his death. Gaudreau’s parents, sisters, wife, kids, sister-in-law and extended family will be on hand for a video tribute and a reception that is sure to send shivers up the spines of those on hand at Scotiabank Saddledome.

Players on both teams will wear Gaudreau jerseys in warmups that subsequently will be auctioned off for MADD Canada and KidSport Calgary. Goalie Dan Vladar will be wearing his customized mask with images of both Gaudreaus on it, one that made its debut in the 5-2 loss in Columbus on Friday.

It will be a city’s chance to say thank you for all Gaudreau did.

Just like it will be for Conroy.

Again.

BLUE-CHIP BLUE

Jordan Binnington’s improbable journey to hockey success reached another milestone last week when the 31-year-old set the St. Louis Blues record for franchise wins with a 3-0 shutout of the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday.

Binnington earned his 152nd victory in his 298th NHL game, passing Mike Liut, who had 151 wins in 347 games. That’s the same Liut, by the way, who represents him.

Client eclipses his own agent’s record? There’s something you don’t see every day.

“I do feel part of it because of the symmetry and my connection with Jordan,” Liut said with a chuckle. “We’ve had a bit of fun with it. I’ve had to remind him that I had 50 ties too. Hey, they say records are to be broken, and mine lasted 39 years.

“He deserves it, especially with what he’s gone through to get here.”

Binnington helped the Blues win the Stanley Cup in 2019, his rookie season. Come Wednesday, he hopes his name will be announced when Canada’s remaining rosters will be revealed for the 4 Nations Face-Off.

He was honored by the Blues in a pregame ceremony Saturday for breaking Liut’s record, joined on the ice by his wife, Cristine Prosperi, and infant son Johnny for the special occasion.

Certainly, he’s come a long way from his stint with Owen Sound of the Ontario Hockey League from 2009-2013. It was at that time when he wore a mask with the words “Prove Them Wrong” on it, a shot at the detractors who’d told him he’d never make it.

Mission accomplished.

Binnington was selected in the third round (No. 88) by the Blues at the 2011 NHL Draft but would not make his first NHL start until almost eight years later. On Jan. 7, 2019, he got that chance and shut out the Philadelphia Flyers 3-0, sparking a run that saw him go 24-5-1 with a 1.89 GAA and .927 save percentage in 32 appearances (30 starts). He then started all 26 postseason games for the Blues en route to the Stanley Cup.

In the end, his never-say-die attitude was a symbol of perseverance. Consider that after finishing his junior career with Owen Sound in 2013, the Richmond Hill, Ontario, native spent the next four seasons in the minors, playing only one NHL game -- a 13-minute relief appearance on Jan. 14, 2016.

“Listen, for almost everybody, it’s like two steps forward, one step back,” Liut said. “But sometimes it can feel like one step forward, two steps back, and you can’t see the path ahead, right?

“At some point, you have to trust that the goal to success is still obtainable, put your head down, and keep moving forward, keep moving on the next game and the next game and the next game. And Jordan’s always been able to do that.”

He’s hoping one of those “next games” comes in a Canada jersey in two months.

QUOTE/UNQUOTE

“It was probably the toughest game, mentally, I’ve played in my life.”

-- Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson to Sportsnet’s Eric Francis after a 5-2 loss to the Blue Jackets on Friday. Andersson, a close friend of the late Johnny Gaudreau, spent part of Thursday at a Thanksgiving gathering at the Gaudreau home in Columbus with Johnny’s widow, Meredith, and other family members.

THE LAST WORD

One of the regular items in this column through the first two months of the season has been the 4 Nations Stock Watch, documenting which candidates to make the respective rosters of the four participating teams are hot and which are not.

We’ll get the answers Wednesday, but here’s what this Toronto native’s Canada roster would look like if he had a say in the selection.

Which, of course, I don’t.

FORWARDS: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins), Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers), Brad Marchand (Boston Bruins), Brayden Point (Tampa Bay Lightning), Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche), Mitch Marner (Toronto Maple Leafs), Sam Reinhart (Florida Panthers), Sam Bennett (Panthers), Mark Scheifele (Winnipeg Jets), Anthony Cirelli (Lightning), Alexis Lafreniere (New York Rangers), Mark Stone (Vegas Golden Knights), Travis Konecny (Philadelphia Flyers)

DEFENSEMEN: Cale Makar (Avalanche), Devon Toews (Avalanche), Alex Pietrangelo (Golden Knights), Shea Theodore (Golden Knights), Josh Morrissey (Jets), Noah Dobson (New York Islanders), Evan Bouchard (Oilers)

GOALIES: Jordan Binnington (Blues), Adin Hill (Golden Knights), Logan Thompson (Washington Capitals)

IN THE HUNT: Brandon Hagel, F (Lightning); Zach Hyman, F (Oilers); Steven Stamkos, F (Nashville Predators); Robert Thomas, F (Blues); Tom Wilson, F (Capitals); Nick Suzuki, F (Montreal Canadiens); Dylan Strome, F (Capitals); John Tavares, F (Toronto Maple Leafs); Connor Bedard, F (Chicago Blackhawks); Dougie Hamilton, D (New Jersey Devils); Drew Doughty, D (Los Angeles Kings); Colton Parayko, D (St. Louis Blues); Morgan Rielly, D (Toronto Maple Leafs); Joey Daccord, G (Seattle Kraken); Sam Montembeault, G (Canadiens); Cam Talbot, G (Detroit Red Wings).

By the time you read this, Canada’s roster would already have been set by the team brass behind closed doors.

And if you disagree with my picks, it won’t be the first time I’ve been accused of being wrong. Far from it.

Either way, enjoy the reveal Wednesday.