Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin, who needs 16 more goals to surpass Wayne Gretzky’s career record of 894, will not be competing at the NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off due to the absence of Russia.Chris Szagola/The Associated Press
International best-on-best hockey returns this week, sort of. As many of the world’s greatest players gather in Montreal and Boston for the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off, there is one glaring omission from the lineup: Russia.
No Alex Ovechkin. No Nikita Kucherov. No Artemi Panarin or Evgeni Malkin. No Sergei Bobrovsky, Andrei Vasilevskiy or Igor Shesterkin.
The round-robin tournament that runs Feb. 12-20 is limited to teams from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States. Russia and its ally Belarus are excluded because of the war in Ukraine.
The International Ice Hockey Federation said last week that both countries would be banned from international competition this year and next, citing security concerns.
Pavel Bure, the former NHL great and special representative to the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, argued against the decision, which would also prevent Russia from playing at the 2026 world championship.
“One of the IIHF’s arguments is the issue of safety,” Mr. Bure, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, said in a statement. “More than 50 Russians play in the NHL. Russian swimmers, chess players and representatives of other sports participate in international competitions without incidents. One of our suggestions was to finance additional security for Russia, in order to allow fans across the planet to watch one of the world’s best teams in action again.”
He also threatened legal action if the IIHF did not relent.
“Without Russia, the level of the world championship has significantly decreased,” Mr. Bure charged. “We will challenge this decision in court and achieve our goal.”
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The International Olympic Committee has the final say on whether Russia can compete at next year’s Winter Games in Italy. The IOC will elect its next president in March and begin discussing the issue then.
The men’s tournament in Milan will include NHL players for the first time in a dozen years, and the 4 Nations Face-Off was created to draw international interest ahead of the Games. However, the sport’s biggest international star will not be there.
That is Mr. Ovechkin, who needs 16 more goals to surpass Wayne Gretzky’s career record of 894. So this one-time event, which is taking place during the normal all-star break, will include some great players but not everybody. The 4 Nations Face-Off falls short when it comes to best on best.
Marty Walsh, a former U.S. secretary of labour and former mayor of Boston, made international competition a priority when he was appointed in 2023 as the National Hockey League Players’ Association’s executive director.
“At my first meeting, international hockey was one of the first things that came to the forefront,” Mr. Walsh said last week. “But we realized we couldn’t do that right away, so we looked at a tournament that was not quite as large, with four teams and all NHL players and something that wouldn’t disrupt the NHL schedule.”
The idea behind the 4 Nations Face-Off is enterprising, but complicated. The break is short, and each national team plays three times in a round-robin format. The two with the best records advance to a winner-take-all final in Boston. Adding additional teams would make it difficult to complete in such a tight window.
“We got a little blowback from Russia, but also from other countries,” Mr. Walsh said. “I’d love to see Russians get the opportunity, but there were forces beyond our control when it came to that. It’s unfortunate that athletes become collateral damage.”
Gary Bettman, the NHL commissioner, said international play became a priority.
“We were intent about getting to where we could resume best-on-best international competition,” Mr. Bettman said last week. “We also knew the players wanted to be in the Olympics and for the World Cup to resume.
“We set our sights on something that was maybe a little more modest but would give people a taste of what’s to come. The idea of 4 Nations was a joint collaboration with the NHL Players’ Association, and players were thrilled and excited to be doing it again.”
Many, but not all.
Ivan Provorov, a defenceman for the Columbus Blue Jackets, would likely have played for Russia at the past two Olympics if NHL players had been allowed.
“Any time you get to play internationally and represent your home country it’s exciting, so the fact that we aren’t included is a little disappointing,” he said. “Hockey is a global sport, and there are a lot of great Russian players, so this would have been huge for us.
“I also understand that politics are politics.”
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Matt Boldy and Filip Gustavsson of the Minnesota Wild have been named to the U.S. and Swedish teams.
“I think it’s unfortunate,” Mr. Boldy said of Russia’s exclusion.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun, but at the same time I am a little disappointed that Russians and a lot of other great players aren’t going to be there,” said Mr. Gustavsson, who may be Sweden’s starting goalie.
John Hynes, Minnesota’s head coach, was named an assistant on the U.S. team.
He called the 4 Nations “a high-stakes tournament” but laments the exclusion of a whole group of players.
“You look at it from a world perspective and there has been a lot going on with Russia, and I’m not sure what other path could be taken,” Mr. Hynes said. “But it is a two-sided coin. On the human side I feel bad for our superstar Kirill Kiprizov and a lot of other great Russian players.”
Canada opens the tournament against Sweden at the Bell Centre on Feb. 12. The U.S. plays its first game against Finland the following night, also in Montreal. Canada and the U.S. then meet in the round-robin at the Bell Centre on Feb. 15.
“There is nowhere else I would rather be than in Montreal and Boston,” Connor McDavid, the Oilers’ superstar centre, said. He is Canada’s alternate captain behind Sidney Crosby. “It’s special to represent your country and it’s special to be a part of. It’s going to be a great event.”
Auston Matthews of the Maple Leafs is the U.S. captain.
“It’s not going to be easy,” he said. “It will be highly competitive. Everybody is honoured to represent their countries.”
That is no solace for those who have been left out.