Which Sabres Are In The Mix For The NHL’s 4 Nations Faceoff?

The National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players’ Association will announce the rosters for Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States for the upcoming Four Nations Face-Off Tournament next February. According to Elliotte Friedman, David Amber, and Kyle Bukauskas on Sportsnet’s 32 Thoughts podcast, five Buffalo Sabres players could be in the mix.

The tournament will consist of a total of seven games played in Boston and Montreal from February 12 - 20, with rosters comprised of 23 players (20 skaters, 3 goalies).

Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is a near certainty to be selected by Team Sweden. The 24-year-old blueliner struggled to open the regular season, but now leads all Buffalo defensemen with 19 points (6 goals, 13 assists) in 24 games and is in the top 10 in league defensive scoring.

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The panel of three, in predicting the rosters for all four clubs, all selected Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to be one of the three goalies selected for Team Finland (along with Nashville’s Juuse Saros and Vancouver’s Kevin Lankinen) and defenseman Henri Jokiharju to be chosen for their blueline.

Sabres center Tage Thompson and leading scorer Alex Tuch were mentioned but were not unanimous selections to make Team USA. Thompson, 27, leads Buffalo with 11 goals in spite of missing five games with a lower-body injury and can shift to the wing with the US being loaded up the middle with the likes of Toronto’s Auston Matthews, former Sabre Jack Eichel, and New Jersey’s Jack Eichel. Tuch has 22 points and leads the club with a +10 plus/minus rating, and can be utilized in a bottom-six and penalty-killing role.

No Sabres were predicted to be in the mix for Team Canada, but Pittsburgh GM Kyle Dubas -- a member of Canada’s management team – was in Buffalo earlier this month and it is possible that both blueliners Bowen Byram and Owen Power could be in the mix for a depth role. Byram and Power have scored all of their points at even strength and are extremely mobile, but they might only factor in if there are injuries to more experienced defensemen being considered.

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