Instead of having an All-Star Game this season in the NHL, the league and the NHLPA will be staging the Four Nations Faceoff, which will run from February 12th to February 20th. This is a round robin tournament featuring the national teams of Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States, with the rosters composed of NHL players from all four of those countries.
Each team will play three games, with the top two teams playing in a winner-take-all final. Teams will receive three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime or shootout win, one point for an overtime or shootout loss, and no points for a regulation loss. The overtime period for the round robin games will be a 10-minute, 3-on-3 sudden death period. If the game is not decided in overtime, there will be a three-round shootout. In the championship game, overtime is held in the more traditional playoff format: Continuous 5-on-5 play in consecutive 20-minute periods until there is a winner.
The first four games of this tournament will be held at the Bell Centre in Montreal, while the final three games, including the championship, will be held at TD Garden in Boston.
Each day, I will break down each team and getting an in-depth look at the rosters, position cores (forwards, defensemen and goaltending), surprises and snubs. Updates to each article may occur to account for potential roster replacements in the case of injuries or withdrawals.
Table of Contents
Background on Finland
Jere Lehtinen is Finland’s general manager, with Mikko Koivu and Jarmo Kekäläinen being his assistants. They have hired Antti Pennanen as their head coach for the tournament, with Tuomo Ruutu as the assistant coach.
Aleksander Barkov is named as Finland’s captain, with Sebastian Aho, Mikael Granlund and Mikko Rantanen named as alternate captains.
Forwards
| Player | Shoots | Birthplace | Team |
| Sebastian Aho | Left | Rauma, Satakunta | Carolina Hurricanes |
| Joel Armia | Right | Pori, Satakunta | Montreal Canadiens |
| Aleksander Barkov | Left | Tampere, Pirkanmaa | Florida Panthers |
| Mikael Granlund | Left | Oulunsalo, North Ostrobothnia | Dallas Stars |
| Erik Haula | Left | Pori, Satakunta | New Jersey Devils |
| Roope Hintz | Left | Nokia, Pirkanmaa | Dallas Stars |
| Kaapo Kakko | Left | Turku, Southwest Finland | Seattle Kraken |
| Patrik Laine | Right | Tampere, Pirkanmaa | Montreal Canadiens |
| Artturi Lehkonen | Left | Piikkiö, Southwest Finland | Colorado Avalanche |
| Anton Lundell | Left | Espoo, Uusimaa | Florida Panthers |
| Eetu Luostarinen | Left | Sillinjärvi, North Savo | Florida Panthers |
| Mikko Rantanen | Left | Nousiainen, Southwest Finland | Carolina Hurricanes |
| Teuvo Teräväinen | Left | Helsinki, Uusimaa | Chicago Blackhawks |
Having both Aleksander Barkov and Mikko Rantanen is a great starting point for Finland on the forward core. Barkov is the best all-around player in the NHL, and his play during the Panthers’ run to the Stanley Cup showed that he is a game-changer, especially when opponents are challenging him. He is also a force to be reckoned with at the offensive zone. Rantanen, meanwhile, can score and create goals, whether it be at even strength or on the power play, and do it at an elite level. Since the 2021 season, only three players have more points in the league than Rantanen: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Nathan MacKinnon.
Sebastian Aho and Patrik Laine can also chime in offensively in bunches. Aho’s goal-scoring pace has taken a hit this season, but he is still dangerous with the puck and can create plays for others, and kill penalties too. Patrik Laine is one of the better pure goal-scorers on Finland and a very compelling player from a personal standpoint, given his journeys with his mental health and the honesty in which he has discussed it.
Barkov and Aho are joined by Roope Hintz and Anton Lundell to form a center quartet that can dominate on both sides of the puck. All four of them are dependable two way threats along with winger Teuvo Teräväinen, with Hintz consistently being the best center on the Stars and Lundell being tabbed as essentially a middle six edition of Barkov on the Panthers. Eetu Luostarinen also played a big role on Lundell’s line during the Panthers’ run to the Stanley Cup as a towering two-way presence.
Kaapo Kakko is the other young piece to the forward core and is heating up at the right time with the Kraken, finding his home in the Pacific Northwest as a solid point-producer and great defender. Mikael Granlund is having a career revival this season and is carrying that from San Jose to Dallas. The rest of the group has talented grinders who are tough to play against, like Artturi Lehkonen, a strong skater with a great net-front presence, Erik Haula, who has a good track record as a middle-six forward, and Joel Armia, a great defender who can be deployed on the penalty kill. This is a very tough group to compete against.
Defensemen
| Player | Shoots | Birthplace | Team |
| Henri Jokiharju | Right | Oulu, North Ostrobothnia | Buffalo Sabres |
| Esa Lindell | Left | Helsinki, Uusimaa | Dallas Stars |
| Olli Määttä | Left | Jyväskylä, Central Finland | Utah Hockey Club |
| Niko Mikkola | Left | Kiiminki, North Ostrobothnia | Florida Panthers |
| Rasmus Ristolainen | Right | Turku, Southwest Finland | Philadelphia Flyers |
| Urho Vaakanainen | Left | Joensuu, North Karelia | New York Rangers |
| Juuso Välimäki | Left | Nokia, Pirkanmaa | Utah Hockey Club |
When Miro Heiskanen and Esa Lindell played together in Dallas, they’ve posted outstanding expected goals percentage metrics. Even with Heiskanen’s scoring output being down, especially on the power play, the fact that he is ruled out for the tournament is a significant blow given that he is Finland’s clear-cut no. 1 defenseman and a fierce two-way presence on both ends of the ice. Even with Lindell playing a strong defensive defenseman, Heiskanen adds a level of offense on the Finnish team that won’t get as much from the rest of the group, and that is going to be sorely missed.
Olli Määttä, Jani Hakanpää and Niko Mikkola all play a similar style of game as Lindell. They’re all big, very physical, and strong at the defensive end. While Lindell can generate some offense, the others are more defensive rather than offensive, but if the forwards can get the job done offensively, that will make up for the lack of offense. However, due to injury issues, Hakanpää is unavailable, and Finland will have to look for two replacements when also factoring in Heiskanen’s injury. Henri Jokiharju and Urho Vaakanianen will both fill in their place, and while offense will be hard to come by for the two of them, they are quietly impactful defensemen, the former being an aggressive two-way type and the latter bringing physicality and size.
Mikkola and Rasmus Ristolainen are mirror images of one another, bringing considerable size on the defensive back end and can help on the penalty kill. The two of them both play a good two-way game and are solid puck movers. Juuso Välimaki can do so as well and can chime in on the power play at times. Lastly, Olli Määttä has been around since the 2014 season but it feels like he’s been around for longer, winning two Stanley Cups with the Penguins and Olympic bronze in Sochi with Barkov and Granlund. He’s given Utah a solid 20 minutes per game as a key defensive piece.
The other downside to this core besides the lack of offensive production is that they’re not a very fast group. However, at their best, they can make other teams pay a physical toll, and has the potential to be one of the better defensive groups at their own end.
Goaltending
| Player | Catches | Birthplace | Team |
| Kevin Lankinen | Left | Helsinki, Uusimaa | Vancouver Canucks |
| Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | Left | Espoo, Uusimaa | Buffalo Sabres |
| Juuse Saros | Left | Forssa, Kanta-Häme | Nashville predators |
Juuse Saros is one of the leaders in the NHL in goals saved above expected. Whatever disaster is brewing in Nashville is not his fault. He’s the star of the show in Finland, being a perennial Vezina candidate, and is one of the most reliable goalies in the league during his time as a starter in the NHL as a perennial Vezina Trophy candidate, and can win a game on his own.
However, the difference between Finland and the other teams is that they have a sure-fire starter and two lower-tier goaltenders. Kevin Lankinen’s underlying numbers have him playing just below expected, but he’s statistically the Canucks’ best goaltender this season, with Arturs Silovs playing way below average and Thatcher Demko uncharacteristically struggling in his injury return. However, since his hot start, Lankinen has cooled off a bit, and he still hasn’t proven himself to be a great goaltender, but he’s arguably been the most valuable asset to the Canucks.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen could similarly win games on his own like Saros, too, but that depends on the night. Consistency has been something that is a challenge for him, but he was coming off a breakout season that earned him a big payday this past offseason. That said, his numbers have came back down to earth this season, and is barely performing better than his 2023 stats. While it’s not a bad goaltending core, Saros is going to be the main face of the Finnish crease.
Surprises
Jani Hakanpää: Hakanpää is an interesting selection. He’s listed at 6’ 7”, signing a one-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs Last offseason. Last season, his campaign with the Dallas Stars ended after 64 games to arthroscopic knee surgery. He made his debut with Toronto in November, playing just two games before he left the lineup and was subsequently placed on the long-term injured reserve, and later ruled out for the tournament. Because Heiskanen can’t go either, Finland had no choice but to get Henri Jokiharju and Urho Vaakanainen.
Joel Armia: The 31-year-old Pori native set a new career high in goals last season, with 17, but has just under half that production this season. However, Finland is not selecting him for his goal-scoring, but rather for his penalty killing, and because Finland needed a big-bodied penalty killer, and Armia is one, landing him a roster spot despite getting left off many roster predictions before the final roster selections.
Snubs
Jesperi Kotkaniemi: After a subpar season that saw his numbers go down in every major stat, Kotkaniemi is having a decent bounce-back season. He has already matched last season’s assist total, and even though he has 26 points compared to his 27 last season, he’s averaging more points per 60 minutes than last season. His offensive upside, however, doesn’t make up for how bad he is defensively. He’s also not as versatile as the other forwards, and he doesn’t kill penalties.
Joonas Korpisalo: The only player with more games played than Korpisalo among Finnish goaltenders is Juuse Saros, but experience unfortunately didn’t get him one of the three roster spots on Finland. He had a strong start to the season, but he cooled off significantly from his .909 save percentage at the time of final roster selections, and now sits at an .894 save percentage. He’s also at the negative side of goals saved above expected.
Overall
While the Finns are not as talented as their counterparts in this tournament, they are a tenacious group with strong defensive play and great goaltending from their starter that can be the difference in a close game. This is not to sugarcoat Barkov, Rantanen and Aho being three of the best players in the world of hockey, and having those three lead they way shows they have a clear foundation for an underdog team that can make their opponents’ lives a living hell. They would certainly love to play spoiler to a potential Canada vs. USA championship game in Boston.
Finland Projected Lines
Forward Lines
- Artturi Lehkonen — Aleksander Barkov — Mikko Rantanen
- Mikael Granlund — Sebastian Aho — Teuvo Teräväinen
- Eetu Luostarinen — Roope Hintz — Patrik Laine
- Kaapo Kakko — Anton Lundell — Joel Armia
- Extra: Erik Haula
Defense Pairs
- Esa Lindell — Rasmus Ristolainen
- Juuso Välimäki — Olli Määttä
- Niko Mikkola — Henri Jokiharju
- Extra: Urho Vaakanainen
Goaltending
- Starter: Juuse Saros
- Backup: Kevin Lankinen
- Third String: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Power Play
| First Unit | Second Unit | |
| Quarterback | Esa Lindell | Juuso Välimäki |
| Left Circle | Patrik Laine | Mikael Granlund |
| Right Circle | Mikko Rantanen | Sebastian Aho |
| Bumper | Aleksander Barkov | Roope Hintz |
| Net-Front | Artturi Lehkonen | Joel Armia |
Penalty Kill
| First Unit | Second Unit | |
| Center | Anton Lundell | Aleksander Barkov |
| Forward | Eetu Luostarinen | Sebastian Aho |
| Left Defense | Juuso Välimäki | Niko Mikkola |
| Right Defense | Olli Määttä | Esa Lindell |
Check out our other Four Nations Face-Off breakdowns:
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