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4 Nations Face-Off
The 4 Nations Face-Off (French: Confrontation des 4 nations) was an international ice hockey tournament held from February 12 to 20, 2025. The games were played in Montreal at Bell Centre and in Boston at TD Garden. Hosted by the National Hockey League (NHL) and featuring only NHL players, the 4 Nations Face-Off temporarily replaced the NHL's annual All-Star Game for 2025. In the tournament, teams representing Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States played each other in a round-robin format, followed by a one-game final between the two top-placed teams. Although each team's respective national ice hockey governing body selected the rosters, the tournament was an NHL-only event, not affiliated with the International Ice Hockey Federation.
Canada won the tournament after defeating the United States 3–2 in overtime of the final. Reactions to the tournament from sports journalists were positive and the tournament was viewed as a welcome change from the All-Star Game format.
The 4 Nations Face-Off was announced at a press conference at the 2024 NHL All-Star Game on February 2, 2024, by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. Also present at the press conference were NHL Players' Association (NHLPA) executive director Marty Walsh and four NHL players: Connor McDavid (Canada), Sebastian Aho (Finland), Elias Pettersson (Sweden), and Auston Matthews (United States).
At the press conference, Bettman announced plans for NHL participation in international best-on-best tournaments in coming years. In 2025, players participated in the 4 Nations Face-Off, a tournament between NHL players representing Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States. The NHL 4 Nations Face-off took place in lieu of the 2025 NHL All-Star Game. Bettman stated that NHL players would play in the 2026 and 2030 Winter Olympics, after they had not been released for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments. Bettman also stated the league would host the next World Cups of Hockey in 2028 and 2032; the most recent edition was held in 2016.
At the time of the tournament's announcement, all participating teams were ranked in the top six by ice hockey's worldwide governing body, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF): Canada (1), Finland (2), United States (4), and Sweden (6). Germany, while ranked fifth, did not have enough NHL players to create a roster. Though they had enough NHL players to create a roster, Russia and Czechia—ranked third and eighth, respectively—were not included in the tournament, with Russia specifically excluded due to the ban imposed on it by the IIHF for the ongoing war in Ukraine. Czech forward David Pastrnak called the omission of Czechia a "huge disappointment", though he said he understood there was limited time to organize the tournament. In early reporting on the tournament's format, journalist Greg Wyshynski wrote that the competition could not be considered best-on-best due to the omission of players from other ice hockey powers.
The tournament took place among heightened political tensions between Canada and the United States due to American president Donald Trump's call for annexing Canada and plan to impose tariffs on the country. Before the final, Trump posted on Truth Social stating he would be calling the United States team and that "[Canada] will someday, maybe soon, become our cherished, and very important, Fifty First State". After Canada beat the United States in the final, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted "You can't take our country – and you can't take our game". Before Canada's round-robin game against the United States in Montreal, fans booed the American anthem, which was responded to with fans booing the Canadian anthem in the final in Boston. Anthem singer Chantal Kreviazuk changed one of the lines of the Canadian anthem to sing "that only us command" instead of "in all of us command" in response to Trump's annexation rhetoric. Following the game, tournament MVP Nathan MacKinnon stated "A lot of stuff going on with Canada and the USA right now, and us playing against each other was kind of a perfect storm for our sport. It was much more popular than even we would have imagined. It was getting so much attention from our whole continent." Canada's coach Jon Cooper stated "and yeah, did we need a win, not only [...] our team, but Canada needed a win. The players beared that on their shoulders and they took it seriously. This one was different, this wasn't a win for themselves, this was a win for 40+ million people and the guys knew it and they delivered." The political tension in the tournament between the United States and Canada was compared to the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union.
The league did not initially announce the tournament venues, but stated that there would be two: one in Canada and one in the United States. The league confirmed on June 8, 2024, that the venues would be Bell Centre in Montreal and TD Garden in Boston, after months of reports by various media sources.
Two practice days, February 10 and 11, were held prior to the tournament. From February 12–20, seven total games were played. The tournament was held in a round-robin format. Each team played three games, and the two teams with the most points advanced to a one-game final.
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4 Nations Face-Off
The 4 Nations Face-Off (French: Confrontation des 4 nations) was an international ice hockey tournament held from February 12 to 20, 2025. The games were played in Montreal at Bell Centre and in Boston at TD Garden. Hosted by the National Hockey League (NHL) and featuring only NHL players, the 4 Nations Face-Off temporarily replaced the NHL's annual All-Star Game for 2025. In the tournament, teams representing Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States played each other in a round-robin format, followed by a one-game final between the two top-placed teams. Although each team's respective national ice hockey governing body selected the rosters, the tournament was an NHL-only event, not affiliated with the International Ice Hockey Federation.
Canada won the tournament after defeating the United States 3–2 in overtime of the final. Reactions to the tournament from sports journalists were positive and the tournament was viewed as a welcome change from the All-Star Game format.
The 4 Nations Face-Off was announced at a press conference at the 2024 NHL All-Star Game on February 2, 2024, by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. Also present at the press conference were NHL Players' Association (NHLPA) executive director Marty Walsh and four NHL players: Connor McDavid (Canada), Sebastian Aho (Finland), Elias Pettersson (Sweden), and Auston Matthews (United States).
At the press conference, Bettman announced plans for NHL participation in international best-on-best tournaments in coming years. In 2025, players participated in the 4 Nations Face-Off, a tournament between NHL players representing Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States. The NHL 4 Nations Face-off took place in lieu of the 2025 NHL All-Star Game. Bettman stated that NHL players would play in the 2026 and 2030 Winter Olympics, after they had not been released for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments. Bettman also stated the league would host the next World Cups of Hockey in 2028 and 2032; the most recent edition was held in 2016.
At the time of the tournament's announcement, all participating teams were ranked in the top six by ice hockey's worldwide governing body, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF): Canada (1), Finland (2), United States (4), and Sweden (6). Germany, while ranked fifth, did not have enough NHL players to create a roster. Though they had enough NHL players to create a roster, Russia and Czechia—ranked third and eighth, respectively—were not included in the tournament, with Russia specifically excluded due to the ban imposed on it by the IIHF for the ongoing war in Ukraine. Czech forward David Pastrnak called the omission of Czechia a "huge disappointment", though he said he understood there was limited time to organize the tournament. In early reporting on the tournament's format, journalist Greg Wyshynski wrote that the competition could not be considered best-on-best due to the omission of players from other ice hockey powers.
The tournament took place among heightened political tensions between Canada and the United States due to American president Donald Trump's call for annexing Canada and plan to impose tariffs on the country. Before the final, Trump posted on Truth Social stating he would be calling the United States team and that "[Canada] will someday, maybe soon, become our cherished, and very important, Fifty First State". After Canada beat the United States in the final, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted "You can't take our country – and you can't take our game". Before Canada's round-robin game against the United States in Montreal, fans booed the American anthem, which was responded to with fans booing the Canadian anthem in the final in Boston. Anthem singer Chantal Kreviazuk changed one of the lines of the Canadian anthem to sing "that only us command" instead of "in all of us command" in response to Trump's annexation rhetoric. Following the game, tournament MVP Nathan MacKinnon stated "A lot of stuff going on with Canada and the USA right now, and us playing against each other was kind of a perfect storm for our sport. It was much more popular than even we would have imagined. It was getting so much attention from our whole continent." Canada's coach Jon Cooper stated "and yeah, did we need a win, not only [...] our team, but Canada needed a win. The players beared that on their shoulders and they took it seriously. This one was different, this wasn't a win for themselves, this was a win for 40+ million people and the guys knew it and they delivered." The political tension in the tournament between the United States and Canada was compared to the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union.
The league did not initially announce the tournament venues, but stated that there would be two: one in Canada and one in the United States. The league confirmed on June 8, 2024, that the venues would be Bell Centre in Montreal and TD Garden in Boston, after months of reports by various media sources.
Two practice days, February 10 and 11, were held prior to the tournament. From February 12–20, seven total games were played. The tournament was held in a round-robin format. Each team played three games, and the two teams with the most points advanced to a one-game final.