Who Will Canada Put Between the Pipes at the 4 Nations Face-Off?
Adin Hill Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Recently, we learned that the first-ever NHL 4 Nations Face-Off tournament – with teams made up of NHL players representing Canada, Finland, Sweden and America – will be hosted in Montreal and Boston on Feb. 12-20, 2025. While that’s still many months away, it’s close enough for us to start thinking about what the rosters will look like.
One thing that stands out is the goaltending situation for Team Canada. Canada has had some legendary goalies throughout the years. Martin Brodeur, Patrick Roy, Carey Price, Roberto Luongo and Marc-Andre Fleury are some of the biggest names in the last half-century or so of Canadian hockey. Then even before that, you had iconic showings by goalies Ken Dryden and Tony Esposito in the 1972 Summit Series, and Oilers' great Grant Fuhr for that matter during the 1987 Canada Cup.
However, it seems that times have changed. The last time we witnessed an international best-on-best tournament was the World Cup of Hockey in 2016. At that tournament, Canada’s net tandem consisted of Price, Corey Crawford and Braden Holtby, selected by GM Doug Armstrong.
On the international stage, Price represented Canada in 10 games between the 2010 Winter Olympics and the 2016 World Cup. In those contests, he had a record of 10-0-0 with a .965 save percentage and a goals-against average of about 1.00. Meanwhile, Crawford was a two-time Stanley Cup champion and in the four seasons prior to the 2016 tournament, he’d posted a save percentage of .915 or better. As for Holtby, he was just coming off a Vezina Trophy-winning season.
Fast-forward to today, Canada doesn’t supply world-class goalies like they once did. Although there are some Stanley Cup-winning netminders to select from, none of them meet the excellence of the previously mentioned names.
Jordan Binnington and Adin Hill are among those Stanley Cup champions who could get the nod for the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. However, Binnington has mostly regressed since the St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019. To his credit though, he was solid this season, posting a 2.84 GAA and .913 SP. Binnington also recently represented Canada at the World Championship, and although he did have a rather mediocre showing – including a giveaway that led to the game-winning goal for Sweden in the bronze medal game – he finished the event with a solid enough 6-2-0 record.
Vegas’ Hill is the other option who has won a Stanley Cup (with the Golden Knights last season). The only concern with him would be his relative lack of experience as he only has 136 NHL games under his belt.
Another couple of goaltenders who could be candidates to represent Canada at this new tournament are Tristan Jarry and Stuart Skinner. Both have seen a lot of competitive hockey as of late. For Skinner, he’s only been to the NHL post-season twice – last year as a rookie and this year’s run to the Cup final with Edmonton – yet he’s already played more than 30 playoff games.
While Jarry has much less experience in the playoffs, he is still a respectable goaltender in his own right. During six-plus seasons in the NHL, he’s put up impressive numbers for Pittsburgh, with a career GAA of 2.70 and career SP of .912. Also, not that it matters too much, but Jarry and Skinner share the ice with superstars Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid, respectively. Both will likely be selected for Team Canada on June 28 as part of the first six selections by GM Don Sweeney.
Generally, goaltending is a challenging role, and often an unpredictable one, too. Sometimes we see goalies pop off seemingly out of nowhere, and something like that could lead to a surprising selection. For example, when Sergei Bobrovsky first arrived in Florida as a member of the Panthers, it seemed that he’d lost his game and wasn’t the same shot-stopper that he was with the Columbus Blue Jackets. However, he found his footing under coach Paul Maurice, and now the Panthers have made back-to-back appearances in the Stanley Cup final with Bobrovsky in net. Something similar could happen with a Canadian goalie ahead of the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. There are a few netminders who come to mind, such as Devon Levi, Logan Thompson and Sam Montembeault. These are goalies who haven’t established themselves as stars yet, but when they get more reps and find some consistency, they might very well fit the job description and be named one of the three goalies for Team Canada.
Levi, drafted 212th by the Florida Panthers, is still fairly young and inexperienced. In fact, he only has 30 NHL appearances to his name. But, during his time in the AHL this season, he’s put up some great numbers for Rochester with a 2.42 GAA and .927 SP. Despite being only 22 years old, he’s already represented Canada on three occasions. Levi won gold at the 2023 World Championship, a silver medal at the 2021 world juniors, and he was called up to the Olympics in 2022. If Levi can get more time with Buffalo next season and string together some consistent performances, perhaps he can make the team in 2025.
Many have forgotten about Thompson as a potential national team call-up as he had a few injuries in the past. But he could definitely be considered by Sweeney should he have a consistent season with Vegas. He’s proven that he can be a starting goaltender as he’s averaged a .912 SP in his three NHL seasons.
Montembeault is another wild card who could surprise people and sneak his way into consideration. While it might be tough to shine in a rebuilding environment, Montembeault has improved season by season with the Montreal Canadiens. If the Habs can find a smooth run with all the rising youngsters littered throughout the roster, look for Montembeault to take a big step.