The Toronto Maple Leafs have had Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander donned the blue and white for nearly a decade.
Just recently, Matthews played his 600th game with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Marner has played 629. Nylander has appeared in 657.
But at the 4 Nations Face-Off, Matthews, Marner, and Nylander are set to be foes. Matthews will captain Team USA, while Marner will be on Team Canada’s top line. Meanwhile, Nylander will headline a stacked Swedish side.
Marner will face Nylander in the inaugural game on February 12 in what should be one of the best games of the tourney. Then, Marner will face Matthews as the Canadians take on the Americans on February 15 at the Bell Centre.
Lastly, Sweden will take on the United States on February 17 at the TD Garden in Boston. That game will be a must-see as Nylander has joked in the media about challenging Matthews to chuck knuckles. It remains to be seen if that will be the case.
Beyond the fun that all participants are likely to have, there’s an element of pride in the contests. Matthews will be looking to lead the Americans to the tournament gold, while Marner will be looking for his first major championship with Canada at the senior level.
Plus, the additional storylines in the tournament such as Connor McDavid looking to shine and Sidney Crosby likely saying goodbye will all be worth watching.
Then again, Sweden or Finland could surprise the field and make it to the final. With the amount of talent on all four squads, anything is possible.
Looking at Toronto Maple Leafs players projected lineup spots
NHL.com published its projected lineups for each of the 4 Nations squads. For Canada, NHL.com projects Mitch Marner to play alongside Brad Marchand and Sam Reinhart.
No offense to NHL.com, but that line just doesn’t work. Reinhart at centre doesn’t make sense, especially with Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon playing wings with Connor McDavid.
It would make much more sense for Team Canada to deploy Crosby as a second-line centre with Mitch Marner on McDavid’s wing. Adding Marner on Canada’s top line provides offense while balancing defense.
Meanwhile, NHL.com projects Auston Matthews on Team USA’s second line with Kyle Connor and Jack Hughes. Again, NHL.com got it wrong by placing Jack Eichel over Matthews. I like the Matthews line, but they would work much better as the top unit, allowing Eichel and linemates J.T. Miller and Matthew Tkachuk to face off against the opposition’s middle six.
Lastly, NHL.com projects Sweden deploying Mika Zibanejad as Sweden’s top-line centre with Jesper Bratt and Nylander on the wings. This line could work very well, assuming that Zibanejad can keep up with Nylander and Bratt.
As a side note, Sweden’s projected fourth line, Viktor Arvidsson-Leo Carlson-Rickard Rakell could be deadly. That’s a line to keep an eye on.
Regardless of where the Toronto Maple Leafs representatives play, they will have a chance to be difference-makers on the ice. So, Leafs fans should expect plenty of excitement as the 4 Nations Face-Off promises to be a unique experience.