A hot topic here at EIL has been which members of the Toronto Maple Leafs should play in the upcoming 4 Nations Tournement.
In my opinion, the answer should be zero. There should be zero Toronto Maple Leafs playing in this tournament because their recent playoff failure needs to be overcome and they simply can't risk an injury.
If there is anything stupider than shutting down the NHL in mid-season to have a lame international tournament no one cares about, I can't think of what it is.
Hockey is a game in which giant men strap razor blades to their feet, shoot a vulcanized rubber puck over a 100 MPH at each other, and carry around six foot sticks that they hit each other with. It's also played on ice with the very minimum amount of safety equipment the players can get away with. Injuries are frequent, and injuries also - in a salary cap world with nearly 100% parity - pretty much determine who wins.
Therefore, sending players to a different team to compete for a different prize, while in the midst of a season in which they are being paid millions of dollars, is absolutely stupid. And, if you're a team with years and years of playoff failure that needs every advantage it can get, you best be making your players sit out.
All Toronto Maple Leafs players should sit out the 4 Nations Tournament
The 4 Nations Tournament will feature most of the NHL's best players, and it is a guarantee of 100% accuracy that there will be injuries in it that affect the outcome of the NHL playoffs.
Were Nylander, Matthews and Marner to stay home, get a week or two off to rest their ailments and return refreshed, the Leafs would have a major advantage. If their rivals were to suffer a catastrophic injury during the tournament, they would have a double-advantage.
The 4 Nations Face-Off as it is clunkingly titled, will run from February 12-20 and won't feature Russia, which makes it a joke. Politics aside, when Russia is excluded from international play, at least in hockey, there is no point in playing. Whoever wins wins without facing one of the best teams.
So what we have is a made-up nonsense tournament that doesn't feature Russia, in which NHL teams will risk their playoff futures for absolutely no reason, other than greed.
The Leafs, as a team with the most stars, have the most to lose. I doubt that the team is allowed to influence it's players decisions on participating one way or the other, but in my opinion, any member of the Leafs who actually cares about winning the Stanley Cup for the Leafs and the city of Toronto should sit this one out.