Auston Matthews will serve as captain for the United States in the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off, and his team is the only one involved without a glaring injury question to answer.
Canada, which will have Sidney Crosby as captain for yet another international tournament, must choose a replacement for two-time Stanley Cup champion and 2014 Olympic gold medalist Alex Pietrangelo.
Victor Hedman will captain Sweden, which already selected an injury replacement in goal and might need two more for skaters.
And Aleksander Barkov will wear the “C” for Finland, which will not have top defenseman Miro Heiskanen after he was injured earlier this week.
U.S.
Matthews as captain felt automatic, especially after he was given that role with the Toronto Maple Leafs prior to this season.
Matthew Tkachuk, who won the Cup with Barkov and the Florida Panthers last year, and Boston’s Charlie McAvoy are the alternates.
U.S. general manager Bill Guerin said, “They all bring leadership skills in different ways and together represent the drive, desire and passion we need in not only representing our country but in helping achieve our ultimate goal.”
The previous time the U.S. won an international competition featuring the best players in the world was the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.
Canada
Crosby was captain when Canada won Olympic gold in 2010 and ’14 and then the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Even Connor McDavid, who has surpassed the Pittsburgh Penguins center as the best player in the league, has said that job should still belong to Crosby.
McDavid, Edmonton’s captain, and Colorado’s Cale Makar, will be the alternate captains.
“Sidney, Connor and Cale all possess exceptional leadership qualities, a determination to be the best and a burning desire to win,” coach Jon Cooper said. “We are fortunate to have incredible leadership on our team. These players will lead Canada with pride as we set out to accomplish our goal of winning.”
That took a shot when Pietrangelo withdrew “to tend to an ailment and prepare for the remainder of the regular season with Vegas,” the Golden Knights said.
Among the options to replace him is Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, who on Wednesday made his season debut after breaking his left ankle during an exhibition game in September. Doughty was teammates with Crosby in ‘10, ’14 and ’16.
Sweden
Like Matthews, Hedman is new being a captain in the NHL, succeeding Steven Stamkos in the role with the Tampa Bay Lightning for this season. This is a different kind of challenge for the 2021 playoff MVP, who was somewhat mystifying left of Sweden’s roster for the Sochi Olympics 11 years ago.
“This is obviously a short tournament, so you’ve got to hit the ground running from the start and it’s not just going to be the guys wearing the letters,” Hedman said. “It’s going to be on the whole team to get together right way and try and find our identity as a team. We’re just fortunate to have a lot of great leaders and great hockey players, and we are super excited to get together and get this thing going.”
Sweden on Wednesday selected Philadelphia’s Sam Ersson as the replacement for injured New Jersey goaltender Jacob Markstrom. General manager Josef Boumedienne and coach Sam Hallam might also need to get another forward if Vegas’ William Karlsson can’t play and another defenseman if Minnesota’s Jonas Brodin is unavailable.
A night after scouting Ersson during a Flyers game earlier this month, they were in Washington and spoke with Capitals defenseman Rasmus Sandin afterward. It’s unclear how far down the list of possibilities Sandin might be.
Finland
The Finnish Ice Hockey Association announced Heiskanen is out after getting injured in Dallas’ game against Vegas earlier this week. That decision was made after GM Jere Lehtinen spoke with Stars management and Heiskanen.
“This is really sad news, first and foremost for Miro himself, but of course also for the Finnish 4 Nations Face-Off team and Dallas,” Finland coach Antti Pennanen said. “We don’t know the details of the injury yet, but we hope that Miro will be back in playing condition as soon as possible.”
Lehtinen said a replacement for Heiskanen, one of the sport’s top all-around players at the position, will be announced before the team gathers in Montreal and practices for the first time on Feb. 10.
“He’s that type of player that any team in the world would love to have,” Barkov said. “He is a leader defensively and really good offensively, so he’s a huge part of Team Finland’s success. … All the best and try and get back as soon as possible and as healthy as possible. Health is the most important thing.”
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