USA Announces Roster For 4 Nations Face-Off
The NHL has confirmed the United States 23-man roster for the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off in February:
F Matt Boldy (Wild)
F Kyle Connor (Jets)
F Jack Eichel (Golden Knights)
F Jake Guentzel (Lightning)
F Jack Hughes (Devils)
F Chris Kreider (Rangers)
F Dylan Larkin (Red Wings)
F Auston Matthews (Maple Leafs)
F J.T. Miller (Canucks)
F Brock Nelson (Islanders)
F Brady Tkachuk (Senators)
F Matthew Tkachuk (Panthers)
F Vincent Trocheck (Rangers)
D Brock Faber (Wild)
D Adam Fox (Rangers)
D Noah Hanifin (Golden Knights)
D Quinn Hughes (Canucks)
D Charlie McAvoy (Bruins)
D Jaccob Slavin (Hurricanes)
D Zach Werenski (Blue Jackets)
G Connor Hellebuyck (Jets)
G Jake Oettinger (Stars)
G Jeremy Swayman (Bruins)
The Americans certainly don’t boast the offensive firepower of Team Canada, however, there is a good argument to be made that they have a more balanced lineup, particularly in net, where they have the goaltending that could steal some games.
Up front, Team USA doesn’t lack firepower, with arguably the NHL’s best goal scorer in Matthews as well as some incredible depth down the middle with Eichel and Hughes as well as Larkin. The wingers boast a little bit of everything, led by the Tkachuk brothers who will certainly be difficult to play against as they bring an element of skill and grit. As for goal scorers, the team boasts several other perennial 30-40 goal scorers in Connor, Guentzel and Boldy.
On the backend, the team should have an elite power play with Hughes and Fox manning the points. On top of that, McAvoy and Faber will offer solid skating and two-way play that will balance things out. In net, the Americans have arguably the best trio of goaltenders, and it will certainly be a massive advantage over Team Canada.
The biggest surprise for the Americans was a couple of roster snubs in Cole Caufield and Tage Thompson, who were left off the roster in favor of Brock Nelson, Vincent Trocheck, and Chris Kreider. Thompson and Caufield have averaged nearly a point a game this season in the first quarter of the season, while Kreider and Trocheck have struggled in New York with the Rangers. Nelson, on the other hand, isn’t the biggest name and won’t put up offense like Caufield and Thompson, however, what he does offer Team USA is the ability to play anywhere with anyone, in nearly all situations. Something they clearly coveted, given who they left off the roster for him.
Ducks Activate Cam Fowler, Place Urho Vaakanainen On IR
Anaheim will welcome back the organization’s longest-tenured player this evening. The Ducks announced they’ve activated defenseman Cam Fowler from the team’s injured reserve and have placed defenseman Urho Vaakanainen on it in a corresponding roster move.
There was an expectation that the Ducks would make a formal roster move after Derek Lee of The Hockey News reported earlier that Pavel Mintyukov would be a healthy scratch for tonight’s contest for Fowler. Lee also mentioned that young forward Leo Carlsson wouldn’t play tonight due to an upper-body injury.
Anaheim has a few reasons to be thankful that Fowler is back in the lineup. First, he gives the team another veteran presence to a blue line that’s struggled this season. The Ducks are 26th in the league in shots against and their shortcomings have largely been covered up by the phenomenal play of Lukáš Dostál. Fowler won’t have much to give on the offensive side of the puck but he is in his 15th straight season averaging more than 20 minutes a night and has a career on-ice save percentage in all situations of 90.3%.
The other reason Anaheim is thankful to have Fowler back is to showcase him to the rest of the league. It’s public knowledge that the Ducks and Fowler hope for a trade to materialize and it would be better for inquiring teams to see how he’s continuing to handle top-four minutes.
Vaakanainen’s move to the injured reserve is curious. The Joensuu, Finland native has played sparingly for Anaheim this season with his last game coming on November 13th. This leads to the idea that Vaakanainen may have been injured for quite some time and the Ducks are just now taking him off the active roster. Still, it’s a big win for Anaheim to get a top-four defenseman back in the lineup.
Los Angeles Makes Several Roster Moves
The Los Angeles Kings will have a different lineup tonight when they take on the Dallas Stars. The Kings organization announced they’ve activated netminder Darcy Kuemper from the team’s injured reserve, placed veteran forward Trevor Lewis on the injured reserve, and loaned goaltender Erik Portillo back to their AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign.
It was a relatively long hiatus for Kuemper on Los Angeles’ injured reserve. This was the second time this season that Kuemper landed on injured reserve, the first being from October 14 to October 26. This most recent stretch cost Kuemper seven consecutive games with backup netminder David Rittich being handed the starting role. The veteran netminder has managed a 4-2-3 record in 10 starts for the Kings this season though many of his starting goaltender peers have already recorded 20 or more starts.
Given the organization’s proximity to the salary cap ceiling and without a real need to keep three goaltenders on the roster, it was always likely Portillo would head back to Ontario, CA. He still made his NHL debut on November 29th against the Anaheim Ducks, picking up his first win in a near-flawless effort. Still, he’ll find more consistent playing time with the Reign this year where he’s already managed a 4-2-0 record with a .906 save percentage and 2.68 goals against average.
Similarly to Kuemper, Lewis’ time on the Kings’ injured reserve won’t be brief. The lower-body injury is expected to shelf the veteran forward for the next four to six weeks which will prohibit him from playing in his 1,000th career game for a month or more.
Los Angeles has sufficient forward depth to replace Lewis down the middle on the fourth line. The team will likely deploy prospect Samuel Helenius there for the time being but could like to give those minutes to Arthur Kaliyev once he’s activated from the injured reserve himself.
Sweden Sets Roster For 4 Nations Face-Off
1:23 p.m.: The NHL has confirmed the roster, as Expressen reported.
12:46 p.m.: Swedish national team head coach Sam Hallam has finalized the country’s roster for February’s 4 Nations Face-Off, Expressen reports. All four countries participating in the tournament will confirm their rosters later Wednesday. The reported roster, which comprises 13 forwards, seven defensemen, three goaltenders, and two reserves, is as follows:
F Viktor Arvidsson (Oilers)
F Jesper Bratt (Devils)
F Leo Carlsson (Ducks)
F Joel Eriksson Ek (Wild)
F Filip Forsberg (Predators)
F William Karlsson (Golden Knights)
F Adrian Kempe (Kings)
F Elias Lindholm (Bruins)
F William Nylander (Maple Leafs)
F Gustav Nyquist (Predators)
F Elias Pettersson (Canucks)
F Lucas Raymond (Red Wings)
F Mika Zibanejad (Rangers)
D Rasmus Andersson (Flames)
D Jonas Brodin (Wild)
D Rasmus Dahlin (Sabres)
D Mattias Ekholm (Oilers)
D Gustav Forsling (Panthers)
D Victor Hedman (Lightning)
D Erik Karlsson (Penguins)
G Filip Gustavsson (Wild)
G Jacob Markström (Devils)
G Linus Ullmark (Senators)
Reserves: F Mikael Backlund (Flames), D Adam Larsson (Kraken)
As is the case with every other team, the Swedes had 19 spots to fill after naming their first six players – Forsberg, Forsling, Hedman, Nylander, Zibanejad and Erik Karlsson – all the way back in June. That exercise provided a safety net for a player like Zibanejad, who’s struggled heavily for the Rangers this season with five goals and a team-worst -14 rating in 24 games, to remain on the roster.
That meant the goaltending position was technically up for debate heading into the season. Gustavsson and Markström essentially established themselves as locks with their respective hot starts, and they currently sit tied for the league lead in wins among Swedish netminders with 12. Ullmark would have been a popular pick at the beginning of the year after his impressive resume with the Bruins, but after posting a .888 SV% and 5-7-2 record in 15 games with Ottawa, there may have been an opening for someone else, like Flyers up-and-comer Samuel Ersson. However, Sweden will opt to go for the more veteran presence with a longer track record of success, even if this season hasn’t been a smooth one.
Sweden’s skaters, as per usual, are quite a well-rounded group. While their European rival Finland likely has some major question marks on defense, that isn’t the case with Tre Kronor. They boast one of the best stay-at-home defenders in the world in Brodin, top-end offensive threats in Dahlin and Karlsson, and two-way dynamos everywhere else.
The forwards pack some punch as well, although there’s a somewhat notable snub of Sharks winger William Eklund. The 22-year-old Stockholm native, who San Jose selected seventh overall in 2021, is second on the Sharks this season with 23 points in 27 games and is arguably a higher-ceiling option than someone like the more established Arvidsson, a two-time 30-goal scorer who’s battled injury this year and has been limited to five points in 16 games.
NHL Announces Finland’s Roster For 4 Nations Face-Off
The NHL has confirmed Finland’s 23-man roster for the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off in February:
F Sebastian Aho (Hurricanes)
F Joel Armia (Canadiens)
F Aleksander Barkov (Panthers)
F Mikael Granlund (Sharks)
F Erik Haula (Devils)
F Roope Hintz (Stars)
F Kaapo Kakko (Rangers)
F Patrik Laine (Canadiens)
F Artturi Lehkonen (Avalanche)
F Anton Lundell (Panthers)
F Eetu Luostarinen (Panthers)
F Mikko Rantanen (Avalanche)
F Teuvo Teräväinen (Blackhawks)
D Jani Hakanpää (Maple Leafs)
D Miro Heiskanen (Stars)
D Esa Lindell (Stars)
D Niko Mikkola (Panthers)
D Olli Määttä (Utah)
D Rasmus Ristolainen (Flyers)
D Juuso Välimäki (Utah)
G Kevin Lankinen (Canucks)
G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Sabres)
G Juuse Saros (Predators)
As expected, Team Finland will boast an adequately deep forward group led by Barkov, Rantanen, and Aho. The trio has combined for 86 points in 69 games for their respective organizations and should help Finland in the goal-scoring department. There will be a few more question marks toward the bottom of their offensive structure as Armia and Haula don’t necessarily jump off the page as international stars.
Goaltending won’t be an issue unless Saros is injured at any point during the event. He’s been objectively elite for the last nine years, collecting 188 wins in 353 starts (.532 W%) with a .917 save percentage and 2.63 goals-against average. Toss in four finishes in the top-five of Vezina Trophy voting and Team Finland has one of the most consistently good goaltenders over the last decade. It’ll be interesting to see whom the Finnish coaching staff tabs as their backup netminder given that Lankinen and Luukkonen are enjoying relatively similar seasons.
The real question marks for Finland lie on the blue line. Heiskanen is the only above-average puck-moving defenseman on the roster as he’s scored 24 goals and 140 points in his last 174 games in Dallas. The rest of the defensive group is comprised of ‘shutdown’ defensemen or at the very least defensemen not known for their offensive prowess.
Finland’s objective may have been to build their roster from the crease. Saros has been a top goaltender regardless of the defensemen playing in front of him and his skill may be even more highlighted with an entire group of defensive defensemen in front of him. If they keep the games close, Finland could succeed by relying on the abovementioned forwards to score clutch goals.
Flames’ Justin Kirkland Undergoes ACL Surgery, Out For Season
The Flames announced Wednesday that forward Justin Kirkland underwent successful ACL surgery and will be out for the remainder of the season.
Kirkland, 28, was amid a breakout season as an NHL-level threat after spending nearly all of his professional career to date in the minors. He’d made a career-high 21 appearances for Calgary before the injury, scoring twice and adding six assists for eight points with a +6 rating despite averaging less than 10 minutes per game.
The 6’3″, 183-lb winger has frequently flexed to center at points this season for the Flames, winning 54 of his 126 faceoffs for a 42.9% win rate. His point totals were quite impressive given his high defensive zone usage, but he was likely due for some regression while shooting 22.2% on only nine shots on goal.
However, Kirkland had made a name for himself in shootouts. He scored three times on four attempts, helping Calgary to a 3-0-1 record in games that went past overtime.
Kirkland’s final appearance this season came on Nov. 29 against the Blue Jackets. He skated just 1:05 before sustaining the ACL tear and leaving the game. He’s missed the two games since with what the Flames initially termed a lower-body injury and landed on injured reserve on Monday.
A 2014 third-round pick of the Predators, Kirkland was a Group VI unrestricted free agent last summer and returned to the Flames, with whom he spent the 2019-20 through 2021-22 seasons in the minors, on a one-year, two-way pact. 2024-25 will go down as his only professional season to date without a minor-league assignment that resulted in games played.
Kirkland is the second Flames forward to have their season cut short by an ACL surgery. Offseason pickup Anthony Mantha underwent the same procedure last month after recording four goals and three assists in 13 games.
Kirkland’s interminable absence should create added opportunities for recent call-ups Walker Duehr and Jakob Pelletier, both of whom are expected to make their season debuts tomorrow against the Blues while Andrei Kuzmenko sits in the press box.
East Notes: McCabe, Matinpalo, Deslauriers
Maple Leafs defenseman Jake McCabe will miss Wednesday’s tilt against the Predators with an upper-body injury, head coach Craig Berube told reporters including David Alter of The Hockey News.
It will be the second game in a row McCabe has missed with the injury, which he sustained after taking a puck to the head/neck area against the Lightning last Saturday. McCabe said yesterday that he’d be “good to go” against Nashville, but Berube said today the blue-liner still “isn’t feeling right.” It’s unknown whether he’s in concussion protocol.
Fresh off signing a five-year, $23.5MM extension in October, the 31-year-old McCabe has been one-half of the best shutdown defense pairing in hockey alongside free-agent pickup Chris Tanev. Together, the duo is allowing just 1.3 expected goals against per 60 minutes, the fewest in the league by a country mile among pairings with at least 180 minutes of ice time together this season.
Offensively, McCabe has only five assists in 23 games, but he leads the team with a +11 rating and is second in both blocks (46) and hits (52). The Wisconsin native is also averaging a career-high 21:20 per game. Frequent healthy scratch Philippe Myers is projected to remain in a fringe top-four role alongside Morgan Rielly tonight, per Mark Masters of TSN, while Oliver Ekman-Larsson shifts back to his natural left side to skate alongside Tanev in place of McCabe.
There’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Recent Senators call-up Nikolas Matinpalo is absent from practice today due to an illness, per Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia. Ottawa elevated the 26-year-old from AHL Belleville yesterday to serve as an additional right-shot option with Artem Zub landing on long-term injured reserve, but it doesn’t appear he’ll be an option on Thursday against the Red Wings. The 6’2″ Finn likely would have sat in the press box anyway with Jacob Bernard-Docker, Travis Hamonic and Nick Jensen still all available on the right side.
- Flyers enforcer Nicolas Deslauriers left today’s practice session early due to an undisclosed injury, Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports. Head coach John Tortorella told reporters that something “tightened up” and didn’t necessarily call his departure precautionary, so it’s fair to call him questionable for for tomorrow’s home game against the Panthers. It won’t make much of a difference – the 33-year-old has been a healthy scratch for 10 games in a row and hasn’t played since Nov. 9. He has one assist in seven appearances this season with one fight while averaging a career-low 6:05 per game.
Wild Reassign Liam Ohgren, Jesper Wallstedt
Dec. 4: The Wild announced Wednesday that they reassigned Ohgren and Wallstedt to Iowa. Ohgren did not suit up against Vancouver – evidently, the recalls were for salary cap management purposes to optimize Zuccarello’s LTIR capture.
Dec. 3: The Wild have recalled top prospects Liam Ohgren and Jesper Wallstedt from AHL Iowa ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Canucks, per a team release. The team placed defenseman Jonas Brodin and left-winger Jakub Lauko on injured reserve to open spots on the active roster and also moved right-winger Mats Zuccarello from IR to LTIR to open up the necessary cap space.
Ohgren, 20, made Minnesota’s opening night roster but struggled out of the gate, posting no points and a -2 rating in seven appearances while averaging under 10 minutes a night before being assigned to Iowa at the end of October. He was recalled under emergency conditions for a game against the Stars last month but has otherwise spent all his time in the minors since.
The 2022 first-round pick has fared much better in the AHL, quickly proving himself as one of the club’s most efficient goal-scorers with five in eight contests. It’s unclear if he’ll unseat recent AHL call-ups Ben Jones or Devin Shore for a spot in the lineup tonight with Lauko and Zuccarello still out, but it seems likely.
In Wallstedt’s case, it’s similarly uncertain if they plan to give the 22-year-old his first start of the season between the pipes. Michael Russo of The Athletic “has a sense” that his recall is primarily to get him working with Minnesota’s NHL goaltending staff, one that’s worked wonders to help Filip Gustavsson along to a vicious resurgence this season.
Wallstedt, the 20th overall pick in the 2021 draft, is off to a nightmarish start in Iowa in what the Wild hoped would be his last season seeing minor-league ice. After back-to-back AHL All-Star Game appearances, the 6’3″ Swede has just a .860 SV% and 4.34 GAA in 10 games with Iowa this year behind a 3-6-1 record. Minnesota inked Wallstedt to a two-year, $4.4MM extension in October that goes into effect for the 2025-26 campaign.
Brodin’s IR placement doesn’t affect the stalwart’s return timeline. The 31-year-old has already missed three games with an upper-body injury and remains day-to-day for now. He last played on Nov. 25 against the Jets, so he can come off the injured list at any time.
In 19 games this season, Brodin has two goals and six assists for eight points with a +7 rating. His 45 blocked shots are second on the team behind Jacob Middleton‘s 61.
Lauko, 24, also last suited up in the Winnipeg game last week, so his situation is pretty much the same. He’s still listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury, and while he won’t play tonight, he hasn’t been ruled out for Friday’s game against the Ducks. He has two goals and two assists in 21 games for Minnesota in a fourth-line role after being acquired in an offseason swap with the Bruins.
Zuccarello underwent lower-body surgery on Nov. 14 and is expected back sometime in the next two weeks, although the move to LTIR means he won’t be back until Tuesday against Utah at the soonest.
Hurricanes Recall Dustin Tokarski, Reassign Spencer Martin
The Hurricanes swapped backup goaltenders on Wednesday, announcing they recalled the newly signed Dustin Tokarski from AHL Chicago while reassigning Spencer Martin in a corresponding transaction.
Carolina signed Tokarski, 35, to a one-year, two-way contract on Monday. They immediately placed him on waivers to send him down to Chicago, where he’d spent the season to date on a minor-league deal, and he cleared yesterday.
They’ll turn to the highly experienced netminder to give them more passable play in a backup role than what Martin has provided them over the past few weeks. He’ll play sparingly as long as Pyotr Kochetkov is healthy – he’s the de facto No. 1 as Frederik Andersen is on the shelf recovering from knee surgery – and his .933 SV% and 1.61 GAA in five AHL showings this season suggests he’s still up to the task.
It’s no surprise to see Carolina look elsewhere for a temporary backup after Martin posted a sub-.900 SV% in all but one of his seven starts last month. He allowed 10 goals on just 57 shots faced in back-to-back losses to the Panthers last Friday and Saturday and has a horrid .846 SV% to go along with his 3-4-1 record in nine total appearances.
Tokarski now gets a shot at playing in his first NHL game since he was a member of the Penguins in the 2022-23 season. The Saskatchewan native has rarely been a full-time NHL option throughout his lengthy professional career, but he did briefly get a chance at being a full-time backup with the Sabres a few years ago. Since making his NHL debut with the Lightning way back in the 2009-10 season, he has a 23-34-12 record, two shutouts, 3.15 GAA, and a .902 SV% in 67 starts and 13 relief appearances.
Tokarski can remain on Carolina’s roster for up to 30 days or play 10 games before he requires waivers to return to the AHL. Martin bypassed waivers today because he’s played in nine games since last clearing waivers during the preseason, and a series of paper transactions have kept him on the active roster for fewer than 30 days since his initial recall in late October.
Oilers Reassign Drake Caggiula
The Oilers announced early Wednesday that they reassigned left-winger Drake Caggiula to AHL Bakersfield.
Caggiula, 30, had played in Edmonton’s last five games after being recalled for the second time this season in mid-November. The veteran depth piece did not record a point during that span and averaged 7:11 per game with a -1 rating, 5 PIMs, and four shots.
The former Oilers undrafted free agent signing out of North Dakota has an assist in seven NHL games this season between call-ups, his first in two years after spending all last season on assignment to Bakersfield. He’s in year two of his second stint in the Oilers organization after achieving journeyman status around the turn of the decade, recording stints with the Blackhawks, Coyotes, Sabres, and Penguins after spending the first two-and-a-half seasons of his professional career in Edmonton.
Caggiula has filled in for the past couple of weeks as wingers Viktor Arvidsson and Zach Hyman remain out with undisclosed injuries. Since they haven’t implicated him in paper transactions as of late, his demotion could be a sign that one or both could return tomorrow against the Blue Jackets, or that they plan on dressing 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
A high-energy presence, Caggiula has continued performing as a legitimate offensive impact piece in the minors. He has five goals and nine points in 12 games for Bakersfield this season after recording 37 points in 43 games last year.
After clearing waivers at the beginning of the regular season, Caggiula is nearing the end of his temporary exemption. He can play three more games or remain on the active roster for nine more days until he needs waivers again to return to Bakersfield.