The puck is about to drop on the 4 Nations Face-Off™ tournament. The tournament features All-Star, NHL players from four of the world’s top hockey-playing nations — Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States — dazzling fans at matchups in Montréal and Boston from February 12 to 20. And it’s no accident that Montréal was chosen to co-host.
A champion metropolis
Montréal is where hockey is king, and where the spirit of sport infuses the lives of both inhabitants and visitors keen to tap into the deep-seated competitive energy of the city. We’re home to the most celebrated and storied team in hockey history, the Montréal Canadiens (who have won an NHL-leading 24 Stanley Cup® Championships), as well as professional football in the form of the CFL’s Montréal Alouettes and soccer courtesy of MLS franchise CF Montréal. Additionally, each year we welcome hundreds of thousands of discerning sports fans to premier events such as the National Bank Open and the Formula 1 Grand Prix du Canada, as well as to elite competitions in running, cycling, swimming, and so much more. All of which makes Montréal a better-than-ideal fit for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off™ tournament.
High-calibre competition
Hockey fans are about to be treated to top-tier talent at the NHL and NHLPA’s nine-day, round-robin 4 Nations Face-Off™ tournament. This year, the 4 Nations Face-Off™ will take the place of the traditional NHL All-Star Game during the League’s annual regular season break. Fittingly, the games will be played at Montréal’s state-of-the-art Bell Centre (the largest, and consistently busiest, hockey arena in North America and Europe) on February 12-15, and at TD Garden in Boston on February 17-20. In a nod to hockey history, both venues are home to “Original Six” NHL teams that share a long-running, friendly rivalry to this day. Canada opens the tournament with a game facing Sweden on February 12.
Next-gen hockey
The best-on-best 4 Nations Face-Off™ provides an extraordinary chance for fans to see generational players like Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid share the ice together as teammates for Canada. Other household names on the star-studded Canadian roster include Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche), Brad Marchand (Boston Bruins), Mitch Marner (Toronto Maple Leafs) and Sam Reinhart (Florida Panthers). Also of note, Montréal Canadiens starting goalie Sam Montembeault will be one of three netminders backstopping Canada, while Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper will helm the bench. And it’s not just Canada: all four teams are icing stacked, All-Star lineups, ensuring action-packed play as they compete to win the tournament.
A sports fan’s paradise
In addition to the on-ice excitement, the 4 Nations Face-Off™ also includes an array of integrated fan-friendly festivals featuring interactive games, special guest appearances and opportunities to get your photo taken with the 4 Nations Face-Off trophy and the iconic Stanley Cup. It all underscores the widely held knowledge that Montréal isn’t just a place where sports fans come to watch hockey, and virtually everything else, it’s a place where they come to live it.
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