The season hasn’t gone the way the New York Rangers have hoped for, but it’s time for a little bit of a hiatus as the 4 Nations Face-Off gets underway starting Wednesday, Feb. 12. It will mark the NHL’s first participation in a tournament featuring players from different countries since the World Cup of Hockey when Canada was victorious. The four teams in this year’s event include Team Canada, Team USA, Team Finland, and Team Sweden.
The 4 Nations Face-Off will feature six Rangers – with Team USA heavily represented. Here’s what to expect from each player, but note that the coaching staff will dictate how everyone is used, and this is our best guess.
Urho Vaakanainen
Unfortunately for Team Finland, the depth and high-end talent on the blue line isn’t one of their strengths – and that got worse with the loss of Miro Heiskanen to injury. On a silver lining, that opened up a spot for Urho Vaakanainen, who the Rangers acquired in a trade for Jacob Trouba in December.
Since the 26-year-old’s arrival in New York, he’s been a steady third-pairing defenseman. With Team Finland, there is no guarantee that Vaakanainen will play. But it has to be a great feeling to be there after not expecting to even be on the roster to begin with.
Chris Kreider
If you had asked people around the league this time last year, Chris Kreider would have been all but a guarantee to make Team USA. Then, the 2024-25 season happened, which has been so far the worst one of his NHL career and there’s controversy that he made the roster to begin with, especially with the Dallas Stars’ Jason Robertson left off the team.
Kreider only has 20 points through 47 games this season, but he likely made it over others for two reasons: past contributions and his reputation around the league as an elite net-front presence. Both could be valuable to Team USA, but it’s hard to imagine Kreider earning anything more than a fourth-line role on the wing. He may only be the 13th forward, as he was rotating with Dylan Larkin on what appeared to be the fourth line at Monday’s practice, as reported by NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman.
Connor-Eichel-M. Tkachuk
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) February 10, 2025
Guentzel-Matthews-Hughes
B. Tkachuk-Miller-Boldy
Nelson-Trocheck-Larkin/Kreider rotating
The Tkachuk brothers (Matthew and Brady) are two of the NHL’s best at playing that pesty in-your-face style. Team USA has plenty of forward depth through the lineup, and Kreider isn’t as needed to play the net-front presence role.
Vincent Trocheck
If Kreider had made Team USA – then Vincent Trocheck certainly deserved to be on the roster. It’s been a tough season as well for the Blueshirts’ center – but he’s at least on pace for 55 points this season.
Likewise, Trocheck will be competing for the fourth-line center role with the New York Islanders’ Brock Nelson. It’s neck-and-neck in our view – but the 2011 third-round pick is one of the best faceoff men in the league. This season, he has won the third most draws, ranking only behind Sidney Crosby, and Nico Hischier. His 60.6 winning percentage is significantly better than Nelson’s 53.2 percent. That might give the edge to Trocheck. In fact, he was featured down the middle in Monday’s practice with Nelson on his left side.
Trocheck will likely be used in key defensive situations, which include the penalty kill and important defensive zone draws. He’s a player Team USA’s coaching staff might depend on late in games.
Mika Zibanejad
It’s not a surprise to see Mika Zibanejad make Team Sweden despite production being down this season. Behind Elias Pettersson, the country lacks high-end skill down the middle. Zibanejad is certainly talented enough to carve out a second or third-line role. Whether he plays more than Rickard Rakell and/or Elias Lindholm will be the question.
But Zibanejad is the type that could make a difference with his elite shooting ability. It wouldn’t be a shocker to see him on one of Team Sweden’s power play units with a prominent role in the triggerman’s spot. But will he do enough five-on-five to help lead his country to a championship? That part of his game has been in question for a long time in New York, and it won’t change on an international stage.
J.T. Miller
Age aside, it’s easy to see why Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury put a lot of stock into J.T. Miller and traded for him. The versatility (especially the ability to play center and wing) is a weapon for any team. Given Team USA’s depth at just about every position, it’s almost impossible to predict how exactly head coach Mike Sullivan utilizes him. That’s a good problem for the two-time Stanley Cup-winning bench boss to have.
But one thing is almost certain – Miller will play a big role. If I had to guess, Sullivan will use him mostly on the wing, given the supreme depth at center with Jack Hughes, Auston Matthews, and Jack Eichel. However, that doesn’t mean Miller won’t be used in certain situations. His 2024-25 faceoff winning percentage of 58.2 percent ranks near the top of the league. I can see Miller playing anywhere from the third or second line. That all said, Miller started practicing on what appeared to be the third line next to Brady Tkachuk and Matt Boldy. So we’ll have to see what’s in store for the newest Ranger once the games start. But it’s fair to assume he will play a major role for Team USA.
Adam Fox
There should be no controversy surrounding Adam Fox. He’s a lock at the very least to play inside the top four defenseman pairings (barring an injury) and probably will be given first-line minutes. And with Quinn Hughes now ruled out for the 4 Nations tournament, Fox should be a safe bet to quarterback at least one of the power play units.
Other than that, there’s not much else to say about the 2021 NHL Norris Trophy winner than what’s already known. He’s the Rangers’ best defenseman since fellow American Brian Leetch, and despite not being the most talented individual, he makes the game look easy thanks to his off-the-charts hockey IQ. Watching him dish the puck on the power play and break out the play for Team USA while letting stars like Matthews, Eichel and Tkachuk brothers go to work will be fun to witness. Fox was practicing Monday with Jaccob Slavin in what could very well be the best defensive pairing in the tournament.
Of course, lines and usage are subject to change with each player. Injuries can happen, or performance can alter the thinking of the coaching staff. But this is our best guess.
