With a week to go until the start of the 4 Nations Face-Off (which runs from Feb. 12-20), the league’s attention has begun to shift towards the first best-on-best tournament since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Many in the industry see the event as a trial run for future World Cups and other NHL-led events, with the success of this iteration under heavy scrutiny in international circles.
The Colorado Avalanche will be one of the most well-represented clubs at the showcase despite a trying season by their standards (they sit seventh in the Western Conference by points percentage). Four of the team’s players are set to don the colors of Canada, the United States, Sweden, or Finland. The team would have had five players participating in the event if it were not for the recent ground-shaking trade which sent Finnish winger Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes for center Jack Drury and forward Martin Necas.
Without further ado, here are the four players currently set to represent the Avalanche at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off and play important roles for their respective countries.
Nathan MacKinnon, Canada
2024-25 Statistics: 55 Games Played (GP); 20 Goals (G); 60 Assists (A); 80 Points (PTS)
The highest profile name participating in the tournament under the Avalanche banner is center Nathan MacKinnon, who is looking to become the NHL’s first back-to-back winner of the Hart Memorial Trophy since Alexander Ovechkin accomplished the feat during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons. The 29-year-old currently leads the league in assists (60), points (80), and even-strength points (56), while leading all forwards in average ice time across all situations (23:04 per game).
When it comes to elevating his game in high-pressure situations, few do it better than MacKinnon. Since making his postseason debut in the 2014 NHL Playoffs, only Nikita Kucherov (164 points) and Connor McDavid (117) have accumulated more playoff points than the Avalanche pivot in that time. MacKinnon is tied for first in playoff goals (0.55), tied for eighth in assists (0.75), and third in points (1.30) among active players on a per-game basis. While he only has one Stanley Cup to show for his efforts, there is little debate that he is one of the best playoff performers in NHL history.
Canada may have the most depth at center of any country at the tournament, with head coach Jon Cooper potentially being able to run MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, and Sidney Crosby down the middle if he so desires. That likely won’t be the final configuration as MacKinnon and Crosby (both natives of Nova Scotia) have long expressed a desire to play together at an international tournament.
The absence of NHL players from the last two Winter Olympics (2018 and 2022) along with the creation of the memorable Team North America for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey has meant that this event marks the first time that two generations of Canadian superstars will play on the same team. It would be a shame to not see two (or more) of that vaunted trio share the ice in Montreal and Boston.
Cale Makar, Canada
2024-25 Statistics: 55 GP; 19 G; 39 A; 58 PTS
Only four active players who have won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP will be taking part in the 4 Nations Face-Off, and Canada has three of them in McDavid, Crosby, and 26-year-old defenseman Cale Makar. The triumvirate coincidentally makes up Canada’s official leadership group, with Crosby assuming the captaincy with McDavid and Makar serving as alternates.
Makar is once again near the top of the NHL’s scoring leaderboard for defensemen this season as he looks to add a second Norris Trophy to his awards cabinet. He leads all rearguards in goals (19) and ranks third in points-per-game (1.05 P/G) while playing 25:44 per game, the third-highest average usage in the NHL.
Like MacKinnon, Makar is one of the best postseason performers at his position. He led the playoffs in scoring with 29 points in 20 games during the Avalanche’s 2022 Stanley Cup run which earned him his Conn Smythe win, and ranks first among all defenders in goals, assists, and points since making his playoff debut in 2019. There should be no doubt that Makar can elevate his game for Canada, and he should find comfort in likely lining up beside his most common defensive partner.
Devon Toews, Canada
2024-25 Statistics: 51 GP; 6 G; 18 A; 24 PTS
Despite a slow start to the 2024-25 season (nine points in his first 25 games) 30-year-old defenseman Devon Toews was named to Canada’s roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off. Given his extensive experience playing beside Makar with the Avalanche, the pairing should be a simple transplant for Cooper as the two presumably form the team’s top defensive duo.
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Toews has never been flashy (his career-high is 57 points in 2021-22) nor is he a physical specimen on the blue line, but he possesses astute defensive awareness and understands the importance of angles, anticipation, and body positioning when defending.
Toews has a Stanley Cup to his name, 77 career playoff games, two trips to the conference final, and has experience shutting down the opposition’s best players. If Canada is to win the title, Toews and Makar will have to be at their best at both ends of the ice.
Artturi Lehkonen, Finland
2024-25 Statistics: 43 GP; 21 G; 9 A; 30 PTS
Not to be overshadowed by his more esteemed colleagues, winger Artturi Lehkonen should be an integral piece of Finland’s bid to engineer an upset of one or more of the pre-tournament favorites.
Lehkonen is one of two Finnish skaters scoring at a 40-goal pace this season (former teammate Rantanen is the other), and ranks third among his countrymen with 21 total goals in 43 games. Since Rantanen is no longer with the Avalanche, Lehkonen currently holds the team’s active lead in goal-scoring and is fourth in points.
Lehkonen has a knack for delivering in big games having scored 17 goals and 31 points in 38 career playoff games with the Avalanche, including the series-winning goals in both the 2022 Western Conference Final and 2022 Stanley Cup Final. He also scored the overtime goal which sent the Montreal Canadiens to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1993. In upsetting the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2021 Stanley Cup semifinal, he has etched himself into the lore of two of the league’s most storied franchises.
Since the start of the 2021 NHL Playoffs, Lehkonen is tied for eighth in goals (20) and tied for second in game-winning goals (six). He’s a pesky forechecker with a nose for the net, so opposing defenders will have their hands full as he likely flanks one of Finland’s star centers in Aleksander Barkov or Sebastian Aho.
Avalanche Stars Ready to Shine at 4 Nations Face-Off
While the aforementioned quartet were near-locks to represent their respective countries the moment the tournament was announced, the Avalanche have two other worthy candidates to serve as potential injury replacements.
Goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood is third in save percentage (.918) and second in goals saved above expected (GSAx) among qualified Canadian netminders (minimum 15 games played). Concerningly, the three goalies named to Canada’s roster (Jordan Binnington, Samuel Montembeault, and Adin Hill) do not appear to be the best the country can offer at the time of this writing.
Each member of the trio ranks fifth or lower among Canadian goalies in both SV% and GSAx and while recency bias is at play, one has to wonder if the management group would have appreciated an extra few weeks before the roster deadline.
Elsewhere, Finnish winger Joel Kiviranta (11 goals in 55 games) ranks seventh among his countrymen in five-on-five goals per-60-minutes this season and is also an effective penalty-killer. While Eeli Tolvanen (15 goals in 55 games) may be next in line as an injury replacement, Kiviranta brings versatility and a defensive conscience.
Whether the Avalanche’s final tally of representatives reads four, five, or six, the team will be well-represented at the event, with its key stars looking to repeat Canada’s 21st-century successes of the 2002, 2010, and 2014 Winter Olympics, as well as the 2004 and 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Data courtesy of Evolving Hockey, Natural Stat Trick and the NHL.
