Updated Projected Team Canada Roster for 2025 Four Nations Faceoff   (2024)

After nearly a decade without one, we are finally going to see a best-on-best international hockey tournament this February featuring NHL players when the Four Nations Faceoff takes place between Canada, the United States, Finland and Sweden.

Even though the tournament is still several months away, we do know at least six players that will be on the Team Canada roster: Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Brayden Point, Brad Marchand and Cale Makar.

With those six players definitely in the mix, let's take a look at the players that should fill in the roster around them.

Zach Hyman - Connor McDavid -- Mitch Marner

McDavid starting as the top-line center is a must. He is the single best offensive player on the planet right now, which he emphatically proved in the Stanley Cup Playoffs by having one of the greatest postseason runs in NHL history.

He tallied 42 points, broke Wayne Gretzky's record for most assists in a single postseason assist and helped drag a top-heavy and flawed Oilers team to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.

He should have a familiar face on his wing on the top line here in Hyman, his Edmonton teammate.

Hyman being on the first line of a Canadian best-on-best team might have seemed ludicrous a few years ago, but after scoring a career-high 54 goals in the regular season and leading the playoffs with 16 more goals, he has earned a spot. His chemistry with McDavid only adds to the incentive to put him here.

Marner had another disappointing playoff run in Toronto, and he might even get traded this offseason, but he is still a sensational player who can make major contributions both offensively and defensively.

Brad Marchand - Sidney Crosby - Nathan MacKinnon

We're thinking outside the box here and shifting MacKinnon over to the wing. Not only because Canada is loaded down the middle at center, but because it would be fascinating to see longtime friends Crosby and MacKinnon get a chance to play together.

Crosby is getting deeper into his 30s, but he remains one of the NHL's best two-way players at center, and MacKinnon is fresh off winning his first NHL MVP award. He also won the Ted Lindsay Award as the most outstanding player voted on by his peers.

Those two should have tremendous chemistry together and form a terrifying duo.

Adding Marchand into that mix makes it so this line might not ever give up the puck. Marchand's two-way play, defensive ability, possession-driving and offense make him one of the NHL's best all-around players. He also has the sandpaper element that makes him one of the most frustrating players to play against.

This would be an unquestioned top line on almost any international team. For Canada, it is only the second line.

Steven Stamkos - Sam Reinhart - Mark Stone

Reinhart took a massive leap forward this season and went from "really good player" to "bonafide superstar" with the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. He not only had a career year offensively, but he was also a sensational defensive and penalty-killing presence who impacted almost every game in all phases (offense, defense, power play, penalty kill).

Pairing him up with Mark Stone gives our Canadian third line two of the best defensive forwards in the NHL, which makes them a perfect complement to Stamkos on the wing.

Stamkos is still a dynamic goal-scorer and offensive player, especially when it comes to the power play, but his 5-on-5 play and defensive game have both taken a slight step backward in recent years. Pairing him with two of the best defensive forwards in the NHL can help hide those shortcomings and allow him to focus on doing what he does best—score goals.

Connor Bedard - Brayden Point - Jonathan Marchessault

Canada's forward depth is so absurd that the fourth line could have Brayden Point and Jonathan Marchessault on it, as well as the NHL's next great superstar in Bedard.

Point and Marchessault both topped the 40-goal mark during the 2023-24 regular season, while Bedard scored 22 goals in 68 games as an 18-year-old rookie.

The forward depth on this roster is incredible. This collection of fourth-liners could easily be a second or third line for any other team in the tournament.

All three of these players are deserving of a roster spot. It is just hard to see how they fit in within the top three lines. The solution—make the most dynamic fourth line possible.

Cale Makar - Evan Bouchard

Cale Makar has already established himself as the top offensive defenseman in the NHL right now. He has averaged more than a point per game in each of the past three seasons, and he always plays his way into the running for the Norris Trophy.

He is the unquestioned top defenseman in Canada, if not the entire world.

Meanwhile, Bouchard took a massive leap forward this season for the Oilers and also had one of the all-time great performances for a defenseman in Stanley Cup Playoff history.

Putting these two on the ice together, especially when combined with one of the top-two offensive lines mentioned above, should strike fear into any opposing goalie, defense and coach.

Good luck stopping that five-man unit.

Josh Morrissey - Dougie Hamilton

Injuries have slowed down Hamilton quite a bit in recent years, including during the 2023-24 season with the New Jersey Devils. But if he is healthy he is a must-have player on this Team Canada roster.

When healthy, Hamilton is one of the best all-around defenders in the NHL and is capable of impacting the game in all three zones. He is as good of a possession-driver as there is in the NHL when it comes to defensem*n, and while he puts up a lot of big numbers offensively, he is a far better defender in his own zone than he tends to get credit for.

Morrissey does not always have the all-around game that Hamilton has, but he has developed into a top-tier offensive defenseman and an outstanding playmaker and passer.

He finished the 2023-24 season with 59 assists and 69 total points in 81 games.

Devon Toews - Noah Dobson

On the third-defense pairing, we are putting a former Islanders defenseman with a current Islanders star.

Ever since arriving in Colorado, Toews has played at an exceptionally high level, and his skill set seems to be built specifically for a roster and a tournament like this. He is an excellent transition defenseman who excels at turning defense into offense and has played at a Norris Trophy level the past few years in Colorado with talented forwards around him.

This roster would give him the same sort of setup and opportunity with every line being full of All-Stars.

Meanwhile, Dobson has become one of the Islanders' most impactful players. He's coming off a monster 2023-24 season that saw him finish with 70 points (10 goals, 60 assists) in 79 games.

Dobson is another sensational playmaker who would be a perfect fit with this roster.

Stuart Skinner - Cam Talbot - Jordan Binnington

As good as Canada's forwards and defense are, the goaltending is what could potentially hold them back. Then again, the rest of the team might be so good that the goalie doesn't even matter.

That better be what happens for Canada. Because if it comes down to a goalie stealing some games for them, it's difficult to see who's going to do it.

Cam Talbot and Jordan Binnington both had solid .913 save percentages during the regular season, but those might have been outliers given some of their more recent full-season performances. Can Canada expect them to consistently play at that level?

Binnington has a Stanley Cup ring, but he has not consistently played well since winning that championship during the 2018-19 season.

Skinner is the surprise addition here, and his 2024 Stanley Cup Playoff performance might have earned him some favors with Hockey Canada. He was not consistently strong in the playoffs, or even consistently good, but he did show a knack for playing his best hockey when the Oilers were facing elimination and needed him most.