'A little bit weird': NHL teammates to go from friends to foes at 4 Nations

Toronto Maple Leafs centre Auston Matthews celebrates his goal with teammates William Nylander and Mitch Marner during NHL action against the Tampa Bay Lightning, in Toronto, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn)

Auston Matthews spends a lot of time with Mitch Marner and William Nylander.

The trio of Maple Leafs grew up together on and off the ice as they criss-crossed the continent. Their common goal is to help an Original Six franchise with a long Stanley Cup drought finally break through.

Matthews and Marner have largely played on the same line for Toronto in recent seasons. Nylander sometimes gets thrown in the mix when the team needs an offensive jolt. The star forwards are all key components on the power play.

And like much of the world’s top hockey talent, it’s all about to be put on hold.

The 4 Nations Face-Off tournament — NHL players' return to high-level international competition — gets going next week in Montreal and Boston.

The United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland are set to take part in the round-robin showcase that concludes with a one-game final Feb. 20. Friends and teammates, meanwhile, will quickly shift to opponents sporting opposite colours.

“It’ll be different,” Matthews, the U.S. captain, said of facing Canada’s Marner and Sweden’s Nylander. “You’re used to having those guys on your side.”

The 2016 World Cup represented the last time men’s hockey saw something resembling a best-on-best event. The NHL went to five straight Olympics between 1998 and 2014, but skipped 2018 for financial reasons before COVID-19 shelved 2022 plans.

The 4 Nations won’t rise to that level with Russia banned and reigning world champion Czechia caught in a numbers game for the truncated tournament, but it’s being viewed as an appetizer for the league’s Olympic return in 2026.

Swedish-born Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm said it will be strange going up against Edmonton teammate and Canadian superstar Connor McDavid when their countries open the schedule Wednesday at the Bell Centre.

“We just haven’t had that experience,” Ekholm said. “It’s going to be a new thing for a lot of guys. But I’m sure when you put the skates on and you get out there, you want to win.”

Nylander joked with reporters last week he was going to challenge Matthews to drop the gloves.

“Representing our countries, it’s always a great honour,” Marner added. “Always some hard-fought games. We’re all excited.”

Canadian head coach Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning faced several of his players at the 2017 world championship. Tampa defenceman and current captain Victor Hedman of Sweden took gold over Canada in a shootout.

“Disappointing,” Cooper said with a little smirk.

“It’s gonna be a lot of fun,” Hedman, who will wear the ‘C’ for his country, added of squaring off against NHL teammates Brayden Point, Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli of Canada.

Vancouver centre Elias Pettersson, meanwhile, is looking forward to tangling with Canucks captain and U.S. defenceman Quinn Hughes, who’s currently a question mark with an injury.

“I know what he’s good at,” Pettersson said. “I’m going to try to not let him use that against us.”

Dallas Stars head coach Pete DeBoer will have players from his club competing at the 4 Nations, but he’s focused on getting to know some of Canada’s talent better as an assistant on Cooper’s staff.

“I’ve seen them from the other bench quite a bit,” he said. “Haven’t had a chance to work with them. Really excited about that opportunity.”

Minnesota Wild head coach and U.S. assistant John Hynes expects his NHLers will show growth competing in a different sort of high-stakes environment.

“You hope that everything goes well for everybody,” he said. “It’s a great experience. It’s only going to benefit us down the stretch.”

Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly — among the list of names thrown around for Canada’s blue-line corps prior to rosters being announced in early December — said he will be paying close attention to Matthews, Marner and Nylander.

“I expect those guys to be ready to go … they’re playing great hockey,” he said. “It’ll be a little bittersweet. You’ll be cheering for everyone, but your loyalty lies with your country.”

Matthews, who’s in his first season as Leafs captain, added there won’t be an issue flipping the switch from friend to foe.

“It’ll definitely be a little bit weird,” he said. “At the end of the day, you’ve got to go out there and compete.

“We all want to win. We all want to do our best.”

-With files from Gemma Karstens-Smith in Vancouver.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2025.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press