Teuvo Teräväinen named to Finland's Four Nations Face-off roster

In lieu of holding an All-Star weekend this year, the NHL is putting on the Four Nations Face-off tournament between Sweden, Finland, Canada, and the U.S. It marks the first “best vs. best” men’s hockey tournament since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. The Four Nations Face-off begins in mid-February, when an All-Star break would usually appear, and the finalized rosters for all four participating countries were revealed on Wednesday.

To no one’s surprise, the Chicago Blackhawks are not heavily represented at the tournament with the only participant being Teuvo Teräväinen after he was named to Team Finland.

After starting his NHL career in Chicago and winning a Stanley Cup in 2015, Teräväinen was traded in the Summer of 2016 to the Carolina Hurricanes and spent the next eight seasons there before coming back to Chicago as a free agent signing this summer. Since his return to the Blackhawks, Teräväinen has underwhelmed with just six goals and 12 points in 25 games so far this season.

Previously, Teräväinen has represented Finland at the World Junior Championships in 2013 and 2014 (winning a Gold Medal in 2014), at the World Cup of Hockey in 2016, and at the 2018 World Championships.

After the Swedish and Finnish rosters were announced in the afternoon, the rosters for Canada and the U.S. were announced and no Blackhawks were selected. The best cases that could have been made were for defenseman Alex Vlasic and forward Connor Bedard. While a very long shot, Vlasic’s name being in the discussions for Team USA is a positive sign that his standout defensive game is getting more recognition outside of Chicago and bodes well for his opportunities with Team USA as the 2026 Olympics approach. With Team Canada, there is so much talent that while Bedard leads the Blackhawks in scoring and is producing points at a high level for any 19-year-old in the NHL, he hasn’t had the phenom season that would have seen him be a shoo-in for Team Canada at the Four Nations Face-off. Like Vlasic, Bedard is sure to be in the discussions for the Canadians with the 2026 Olympics come around.

While Teräväinen is the only current Blackhawks player at the Four Nations Faceoff, there are a number of former players that will be playing in the tournament. Gustav Forsling will be part of the defensive group for Team Sweden for the third time in his major international career and Brandon Hagel will represent Team Canada for the third time in his major international career. Joining Teräväinen on Team Finland are former Blackhawks Olli Määttä and Kevin Lankinen. This will be the ninth time Määttä represents Finland and the second time for Lankinen after helping the Finns win the 2019 World Championships Gold Medal.

The Four Nations Faceoff will be played February 12-20 in co-host cities Montreal and Boston. Sweden, Finland, Canada and the U.S. will play a round robin style, concluding with the Championship game on February 20 at TD Garden in Boston. Games can be seen in North America on TNT, ESPN, ABC, Sportsnet, and TVA.

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