Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby and defenseman Erik Karlsson were named Friday to their respective national teams for the 4 Nations Face-Off event, Crosby for Team Canada and Karlsson for Team Sweden.
The NHL and NHL Players Association on Friday are announcing a “first six” players from each of the four teams participating in the international tournament, which will be held in February in Montreal and Boston.
Crosby, even with his 37th birthday coming in a matter of weeks, is still dominant. He led the Penguins with 94 points, including 42 goals, while playing all 82 games last season. He has a long and successful history playing for his home country, including the overtime “golden goal” at the 2010 Olympics.
He has won two Olympic gold medals, two World Championships golds. With his three Stanley Cups, Crosby is a member of the triple gold club.
Karlsson, a three-time Norris Trophy winner, had 11 goals, 56 points playing in all 82 games in 2023-24, his first season with the Penguins.
The first player announcements were from Sweden and Finland, then Team Canada. The United States will be revealed later Friday morning.
The other five players announced for Team Canada are forward Nathan MacKinnon of Colorado, forward Connor McDavid of Edmonton, forward Brad Marchand of Boston forward Brayden Point of Toronto, and defenseman Cale Makar of Colorado.
Crosby and McKinnon already have been plotting Canada’s dominance.
The other five players announced for Team Sweden are defenseman Victor Hedman of Tampa Bay, defenseman Gustav Forsling of Florida, forward Filip Forsberg of Nashville, forward Mika Zibanejad of Rangers and forward William Nylander of Toronto.
The six players revealed for Team Finland are goaltender Juuse Saros of Nashville, defenseman Esa Lindell Dallas, Miro Heiskanen of Dallas, forward Alexsander Barkov of Florida, forward Mikko Rantanen of Colorado, and forward Sebastien Aho of Carolina.
The balance of the rosters for the participating teams will be announced at a later date.
This story will be updated.
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