Yahoo Sports Three Florida Panthers among early selections to participate in 2025 4 Nations Face-Off
Three Florida Panthers players, fresh off winning the franchise’s first Stanley Cup, will be representing their home countries this February during the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, the NHL’s first soiree into international hockey in nearly a decade.
Center Aleksander Barkov (Finland), defenseman Gustav Forsling (Sweden) and winger Matthew Tkachuk (United States) were all among the first six players named to their respected countries roster on Friday.
Four countries — the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden — will take part in the NHL-run seven-game tournament from Feb. 12-20, with games split between Boston’s TD Garden and Montreal’s Bell Centre, as a way of easing back into international competition ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Each team will consist of 23 players (20 skaters, three goaltenders), all of whom are currently in the NHL.
Barkov this season won his second Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward while logging 80 points (23 goals, 57 assists) over 73 games. In the playoffs, he tied for the team lead with 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists) in 24 Stanley Cup playoff games.
Forsling led the NHL with a plus-minus rating of plus-56 while also recording 39 points (10 goals, 29 assists) in 79 regular-season games. He had 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 24 playoff games.
Tkachuk was second on the Panthers this season with 88 points in the regular season (26 goals, 62 assists). He tied for the team lead with 22 points in the playoffs (eight goals, 14 assists). This comes a year after he was a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy and set a Florida record with 24 points in the playoffs (11 goals, 13 assists).
The full list of initial six selections are below:
▪ Finland: Panthers center Aleksander Barkov, Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros, Dallas Stars defensemen Miro Heiskanen and Isa Lindell, Carolina Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho and Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen.
▪ Sweden: Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling, Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson, Predators forward Filip Forsberg, Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander and New York Rangers forward Mika Zibanajed.
▪ Canada: Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid, Penguins forward Sidney Crosby, Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, Bostron Bruins forward Brad Marchand and Lightning Forward Brayden Point
▪ United States: Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews, Vegas Golden Knights foward Jack Eichel, Rangers defenseman Adam Fox, Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes and Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy
How Panthers fared in NHL awards
The Panthers already had one major individual award win this year with Barkov taking home the Selke.
But the Stanley Cup champions came up empty Thursday when the league hosted its annual award show.
Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was the only finalist, coming in third for the Vezina Trophy behind winner Connor Hellebyuck and runner-up Thatcher Demko. The award is voted on by the league’s general managers, and Bobrovsky received one of 32 first-place votes.
Beyond that, Forsling finished ninth in voting for the Norris Trophy, given to the league’s top defenseman, and Sam Reinhart received one fifth-place vote for the Hart Memorial Trophy.
