What to know for the 4 Nations Face-Off

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As the NHL's best players get ready for their long-awaited return to the Olympics next year, an appetizer will be served over the next nine days as Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland compete in the new 4 Nations Face-Off.

Here's a primer on the star-studded mini-tournament, which opens on Wednesday night with Canada facing Sweden in Montreal.

Whose idea was this?

The NHL and the NHL Players' Association confirmed the creation of the 4 Nations Face-Off during last February's all-star festivities in Toronto. The announcement was paired with official word that the league and the players had agreed to take part in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy after skipping the 2018 and 2022 Games.

The 4 Nations is replacing the all-star game this year. Anyone who's not participating gets to enjoy a two-week vacation before the NHL regular season resumes on Feb. 22.

Why only four countries?

Ideally, the 4 Nations Face-Off would probably be a 6 Nations Face-Off including Russia and the Czech Republic — the only other countries with enough NHL players to form a team. But Russia remains banned from international hockey (among other team sports) due to the war it started against Ukraine immediately after the 2022 Olympics.

While the NHL and NHLPA technically don't have to honour the International Ice Hockey Federation's Russia ban after deciding to run (and profit from) the 4 Nations without co-operation from the global governing body, that's a moral and political third rail that they wisely decided not to touch. The Czechs are simply collateral damage because a five-team