Crosby McDavid MacKinnon 4 Nations bug

The 4 Nations Face-Off starts next Wednesday, and though most of the rosters are set, last-minute replacements for injury are still being made and will be until Monday.

So, it’s time to get down to brass tacks and figure out line combinations, defense pairs and goalie depth charts for Canada, the United States, Finland and Sweden.

Practices start Monday and the first game for each country is Wednesday or Thursday, so much of the roster construction will need be figured out ahead of time.

With that in mind, a team of three NHL.com writers and editors will take a stab at the lineup for each country.

Here, NHL.com Editor-in-Chief Bill Price, staff writer Derek Van Diest and LNH.com staff writer Nicolas Ducharme present how they believe Canada should look when it opens the tournament against Sweden on Feb. 12 (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS).

The 4 Nations Face-Off will be held from Feb. 12-20 at Bell Centre in Montreal and TD Garden in Boston. Tickets for each site are on sale now.

Forwards (13)

Sidney Crosby -- Connor McDavid -- Nathan MacKinnon

Brad Marchand -- Sam Reinhart -- Mitch Marner

Brandon Hagel -- Brayden Point -- Mark Stone

Sam Bennett -- Anthony Cirelli -- Travis Konecny

Seth Jarvis

McDavid has waited a decade to play with Crosby, so it would make sense the two play on the same line with MacKinnon on the right side. The star forwards are having outstanding seasons with the Edmonton Oilers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche, respectively, and it would be difficult to put more talented players together. McDavid has reiterated how excited he is to play with Crosby for the first time at an international event. Having Crosby with McDavid would leave an opening at second-line center, which Reinhart would be able to fill, with Marchand and Marner, who is having an outstanding season with the Toronto Maple Leafs. All three are talented offensive players who would form a strong second line. Hagel, Point and Stone would make up the third line and provide grit and forechecking prowess. The fourth line of Bennett, Cirelli and Konecny would make a strong checking unit. Jarvis would be the 13th forward and can be used as an effective bottom-six forward if required. -- Van Diest

Defensemen (7)

Cale Makar -- Devon Toews

Shea Theodore -- Colton Parayko

Josh Morrissey -- Travis Sanheim

TBD

This is tough to do right now because we still don’t know who is doing to replace Alex Pietrangelo of the Vegas Golden Knights in this group. If I had to guess, Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings would take his place, which would be a huge addition for Canada. If that happens, he would team up with Theodore, Parayko would go with Morrissey and Sanheim would be the extra defenseman. No matter who replaces Pietrangelo, the top pair of Makar and Toews, who already play together for the Avalanche, is set. Right now, the left-handed shot Theodore pairs up well with the right-handed shot Parayko (Doughty is a right-handed shot too). If Parayko drops to the third pair, he fits well with the left-handed shot Morrissey. If it someone other than Doughty, who made his season debut Jan. 29 after breaking his ankle in training camp, gets added, maybe Sanheim jumps into the top six. -- Price

Goalies (3)

Adin Hill

Jordan Binnington

Sam Montembeault

The Golden Knights have struggled a bit lately and so has Hill, allowing 17 goals in his past five starts, including four each four times, but I’ll still give him the nod, but not much wiggle room. If Hill struggles or even looks shaky in practice, Binnington could get the starting nod. He has been inconsistent as well, going 3-5-1 with a 2.98 goals-against average and .899 save percentage in his past nine starts. It looked like Montembeault was emerging as the starter at the end of December, but he has struggled in 2025 as well, going 4-5-1 with 3.33 GAA and .888 save percentage in 10 starts. -- Ducharme

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