With the full rosters for the NHL’s first-ever Four Nations Face-Off tournament being announced next week, many are wondering how Team Canada will look between the pipes.
While there are little to no “star goalies” to choose from, many Canadian fans have been speculating who will get the nod.
But as per a new a report from TSN insider Pierre Lebrun, two out of the three netminder spots have already been filled by candidates with playoff experience.
“It sounds like there are two goalies where there’s consensus among the Team Canada management and coaching staff and that’s Jordan Binnington and Adin Hill – who are Stanley Cup champions, their body of work very much important here, perhaps more so than their up-and-down season so far,” LeBrun said Tuesday on Insider Trading. “So, they would be pencilled in right now as two of the three.”
Despite Hill and Binnington appearing to be locks, Canada’s third-string goalie won’t necessarily be riding the bench when the international tournament kicks off this winter
“As for the third spot among the goalies, still a lot of debate internally of who that might be. [Logan] Thompson. [Stuart] Skinner. [Sam] Montembeault. [Cam] Talbot. And the thing is, this isn’t a No. 3 job,” LeBrun added. “When they announce these three goalies next week, it will be made clear to everyone this is a wide-open competition right to February. Any of the three goalies could be the No. 1 starter.”
The 4 Nations Face-Off hits the ice in Montreal and Boston from February 12 to 20, with full rosters for Canada, USA, Finland, and Sweden being revealed on December 4.
Here’s how Daily Hive’s Colton Pankiw predicts the rest of Team Canada’s lineup taking shape.
Forwards
Zach Hyman – Connor McDavid* – Mitch Marner
Brad Marchand* – Sidney Crosby* – Nathan MacKinnon*
Brandon Hagel – Brayden Point* – Sam Reinhart
Sam Bennett – Mark Scheifele – Mark Stone
Defence
Devon Toews – Cale Makar*
Shea Theodore – Alex Pietrangelo
Josh Morrissey – MacKenzie Weegar
Extras: Connor Bedard, Drew Doughty
*already named to preliminary roster