NHL Announces 4 Nations Face-Off, Future Olympic Participation

Canes could have a large presence as international play returns starting next year

By Walt Ruff

@WaltRuff Hurricanes.com

February 02, 2024

RALEIGH, NC. - The best hockey players in the world going head-to-head is finally on the horizon again.

Amid his press conference on Friday at the NHL's All-Star festivities in Toronto, Commissioner Gary Bettman announced a new event set to begin in 2025, and the news that the league plans to allow its players to participate in both the 2026 & 2030 Olympics.

4 Nations Face-Off

Featuring international tournament play between NHL Players from Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States, the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off will take place from February 12-20 next year.

Played in two North American cities – one in Canada and one in the United States, the event will consist of a total of seven games played over nine days, along with two designated training/practice days before gameplay begins.

Because of this, NHL All-Star Weekend will not be held in the 2024-25 season.

Three current Canes players are likely to be selected to represent their countries at the tournament, as Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen are likely locks for Finland, and Jaccob Slavin should be a strong candidate for the red, white, and blue.

Each team will be comprised of 23 NHL Players (20 skaters, 3 goalies) selected by each National Association. Players must be under an NHL contract for the 2024-25 season and on an NHL roster as of Dec. 2, 2024.

Sebastian Aho on the NHL’s return to the Olympics and best-on-best international competition;

“Our generation hasn’t had the chance to do this as NHL players… I’m very pumped.” pic.twitter.com/zBDu4839hh
— Adam Laskaris (@adam_la2karis) February 2, 2024

2026 & 2030 Olympics

In addition to next year's four-team event, NHL players will soon be able to represent their countries at the Olympic Games for the first time since 2014.

As far as presence from the league's 32 franchises goes, Carolina could have one of the heaviest. Below is a list of players who could be under consideration by their respective nations:

Canada - Brent Burns

Czechia - Martin Necas

Denmark - Frederik Andersen

Finland - Sebastian Aho, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Teuvo Teravainen

Russia - Dmitry Orlov, Alexander Nikishin, Andrei Svechnikov

United States - Jaccob Slavin

The above list is certainly contingent on several things, including countries qualifying and the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) decision on Russia. A lot can change in two years and it's anyone's guess what could happen between now and then.

The 2026 Olympics will take place in Milan, Italy, and are scheduled from February 6-22. Games will take place on NHL-sized rinks, as opposed to international-sized rinks, where they'd previously been played.

The 2030 Olympics are now set to take place in France, with the hockey portion specifically taking place in Nice.

Martin Necas represented Czechia on several occasions from 2014-19, including captaining the team at World Juniors in 2019, but now he'll have the opportunity to play in the Olympics for the first time in his pro career.