The Toronto Maple Leafs will have three of their biggest stars taking part in the NHL's newest tournament, the Four Nations Face-Off. Auston Matthews will captain Team USA, William Nylander will be an assistant captain of Team Sweden, and Mitch Marner will play for Team Canada.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and many other NHL teams can't afford to lose their top stars to injury during this tournament, but that risk is unavoidable. Losing a top star in what is a glorified All-Star game-type event is ridiculous. Players competing in the Winter Olympics is one thing, but this Four Nations Face-Off event is unnecessary.
Teams are risking their biggest stars at a very crucial time in the NHL schedule. What happens if the Leafs lose Auston Matthews for the rest of the season, or the Oilers lose Connor McDavid? The rewards of this tournament just do not even come close to justifying the risks.
At a time in the NHL season when teams are thinking about what they need heading into the trade deadline on March 7th, the last thing they need is to end up spending more than intended to replace an injured star. The Leafs need to significantly improve their team at this year's deadline. Leafs GM Brad Treliving is going to have enough trouble getting that done, let alone trying to replace one of Matthews, Marner, or Nylander.
Toronto Maple Leafs Crossing Thier Fingers During Four Nations Face-Off
Hopefully, for the Leafs, nothing bad happens to their stars during the tournament. The Leafs just got Matthew Knies and John Tavares back from injury. Brad Treliving can only hope that addressing his team's glaring need for a centre and a top-pairing defenseman are his only concerns after the Four Nations Face-Off.
After the huge Mikko Rantanen and JT Miller trades last week, the Leafs have an even tougher challenge ahead of them, as two of their main rivals have each added one of the NHL's best players to their teams. As it stands right now, the Leafs have little wiggle room within their cap space, and they don't have a first-round pick in the 2025 NHL draft to use as a trade chip, so matching those trades is going to be nearly impossible.
Regardless, you can bet that Treliving and the Leafs are keeping their fingers crossed during the Four Nations Face-Off that Matthews, Marner, and Nylander don't get hurt.