4 Nations Face-Off participants say level of play 'doesn't get higher'

MONTREAL -- It doesn’t get better than this. Seriously. The 4 Nations Face-Off will feature the highest level of hockey -- maybe ever.

Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States will play seven games over nine days in Montreal and Boston in the first best-on-best tournament since the World Cup of Hockey 2016 in Toronto.

If you haven’t seen a best-on-best tournament before -- or don’t really remember what one is like -- it’s like the NHL on fast forward.

Forward Brad Marchand won the Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011 and the World Cup with Canada in 2016. Asked to name the highest level of play he’d experienced, he didn’t hesitate.

“To date, it was definitely the World Cup,” he said. “It doesn’t get higher than the Olympics and the World Cup and this tournament.”

Defenseman Victor Hedman said much the same, and he played in the World Cup for Sweden in 2016 before winning the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021.

“I mean, the Stanley Cup Final is super high, but probably the World Cup in ’16, the personnel being out there,” he said. “But I think this might be it.”

The NHL is the best hockey league in the world. The speed, skill and depth are better than ever before. After an 82-game season, only half the League makes the two-month, four-round marathon known as the Stanley Cup Playoffs. For good reason, the Stanley Cup is considered the hardest trophy to win in sports.

No two-week tournament can compare from that standpoint.

But the NHL has 32 teams. When you boil down the talent into a few teams for a best-on-best tournament and have the players compete for their countries, it hits different.

“The speed, the execution, those are the two biggest things,” said center Sidney Crosby, who won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009, 2016 and 2017; Olympic gold medals with Canada in 2010 and 2014; and the World Cup with Canada in 2016.

The talent is especially distilled in this tournament, and there will be no warmup.

The field is only four of the top hockey nations. Each team will play three round-robin games, earning three points for a win in regulation, two points for win in overtime or a shootout, one point for loss in OT or a shootout, and none for a loss in regulation. The top two will make championship game at TD Garden in Boston on Feb. 20.

Although some strong nations aren’t included, neither are any weak ones. In the last best-on-best Olympic tournament, in Sochi in 2014, the field was 12 teams. It’s easy to forget that some preliminary-round games -- and even some medal-round games -- were uncompetitive blowouts.

This will be the first best-on-best tournament comprised of NHL players only, and each of them wants to be here. While their NHL teammates are on break -- many on vacation in warm, sunny locales -- these guys chose to spend extra time on the road in cold, snowy Montreal and Boston.

Some players are coming back from, or playing through, injuries, including Crosby, Canada defenseman Drew Doughty, Finland forward Mikko Rantanen and United States defenseman Zach Werenski.

Practices were all business Monday and Tuesday, the players flying down the ice, the boards rattling at times. Players didn’t leave until the siren sounded, as if they were kids trying to sneak in every second of ice time.

“Everybody wants to see it; every player wants to be part of it,” Marchand said. “When you step on the ice in practice even, you see the talent level that’s out there. It’s incredible. The way they can elevate to a different pace and just by being out with those guys, the speed elevates to a level that you’re not used to. It’s special. It goes by quick, but you try to hold on to every moment.”

Canada and Sweden open at Bell Centre here Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS).

“The pace is going to be the biggest difference,” Hedman said. “You’ll probably see that tomorrow night, just under what kind of pace guys can execute plays. You can see it in practice today.”

Finland and the United States open at Bell Centre on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ESPN, SN, TVAS).

“It’s all of our dreams to be playing for the USA in a best-on-best tournament, and to finally be here and see it happening and live it in the moment, it’s special,” U.S. forward Dylan Larkin said. “I think the games are even going to take it up a notch in terms of intensity.”

Some people might think this will be like the NHL All-Star Game. That has its place, bringing together top players for a fun weekend. But although these are all stars, this will not be that.

“There’s no way,” Hedman said. “The intensity is going to be highest it’s been all year. Everyone is here to win. It’s not a charity match. It’s not an All-Star Game. This is for real. We’re here representing our countries and want to make them proud. I’m sure it’s going to be high intensity and physicality. Really looking forward to it.”