The 4 Nations Face-Off can't have any trades, obviously — but what if it did?

There are no trades in the 4 Nations Face-Off.

There couldnt be.

It wouldnt make any sense.

Players play for their home countries, just like every other international tournament.

Each team has a GM, but that guys job is simply to assemble the best roster he can from the players available to him.

Making trades with that roster? That would be dumb.

Advertisement So lets be very, very clear: We acknowledge that what youre about to read is indeed dumb, and were doing it anyway.

Four of The Athletic s hockey writers have been assigned a 4 Nations team and told to make trades to improve the roster.

What exactly improve will mean is up to each GM, but the ground rules look like this: Each team has to make one trade with each other team, for a total of three trades each and six overall.

In this very fake scenario, we assume that all trades are permanent, meaning any players acquired would remain property of that nation for the 2026 Olympics and beyond.

Any player who is eligible for a national team can be dealt.

That means were not limited to the players who are actually on a 4 Nations roster; the various snubs and near-misses and prospects are eligible too.

There are no draft picks in these trades.

That would be unrealistic! Julian McKenzie will be GM for Team Canada.

Mark Lazerus will handle Team USA.

The two Seans get Europe, with Gentille taking Sweden and McIndoe getting Finland.

This post is about fake trades that will not happen and can not happen, under any circumstances.

Were hoping it will be fun and entertaining, but its possible that it will be a complete waste of your time.

The whole thing is completely ridiculous, and if youre the sort of person wholl be bothered by that, you can hit the back button right now.

Nobody would think any less of you.

Still here? Yikes.

OK, youve got nobody to blame but yourself.

Lets do this.

The game plans Team USA I could win this tournament with Team USA: The Oops, All Goalies edition.

Goalies at every position.

Goalies up front.

Goalies on the back end.

Goalies quarterbacking the power play.

Goalies in the shootout.

Yes, I have too many great goaltenders; woe is me.

Lets see if I can fleece some needy, struggling, second-tier hockey nation like, oh, I dont know, Canada, by dangling one of my umpteen world-class goalies in front of them, distracting them like a little kitten and stealing all their stuff.

Lazerus Advertisement Team Canada I want to improve Canadas depth in goal, not just for the present but for the future.

I hope to move around some young talent to get some pieces that can help me at the 4 Nations, in 2026 and beyond.

Im pretty comfortable with my depth up and down the lineup and in my reserves, so Im willing to listen to most offers.

McKenzie Team Sweden Are we the favorites? No.

Can we still win this thing? Absolutely.

Ive got high-end pieces and quality depth at goaltending and along the blue line, and Im trying to use both to improve at forward.

I also want guys who can help next week, next year and in 2030, so Im going to target players in their 20s.

No need to be precious about prospects here; Sweden has won gold before, and we can do it again.

Gentille Team Finland With Finland already a big underdog before we found out Miro Heiskanen would miss the tournament, Im focused on the future.

Im not throwing in the towel because we have Jusse Saros and anything can happen in a short tournament.

But Im going to try to add some younger pieces, especially on the blue line, that will help us contend for gold at next years Olympics and (especially) beyond.

With the other three GMs apparently in win now mode, its possible this could shape up as a sellers market.

And no, Im obviously not trading Aleksander Barkov.

Well, unless somebody absolutely blows me away, he said, perhaps dropping some ironic foreshadowing into an intro nobody will read.

McIndoe The trades It doesnt take long for Canada to address its goaltending.

But its not with the trade pairing we were expecting.

The trade: Sweden trades Filip Gustavsson to Canada for Seth Jarvis.

The Team Canada view: Losing Jarvis is going to hurt.

But we have more than enough forward depth to make a move like this.

Gustavsson is the bell cow for Minnesota and will likely see time for Sweden at this years tournament.

In this scenario, hell be No.

2 to Jake Oettinger (stay tuned...).

But if Oettinger needs to be relieved, Gustavsson can prove to be a more-than-adequate replacement.

McKenzie Advertisement The Team Sweden view: We like Gustavsson a lot.

His ceiling is obvious a .931 save percentage in 2022-23 says plenty, as does the bounce-back season hes having for Minnesota.

The less said about 2023-24, the better.

Down the line, though maybe not until in 2030, hed have a shot at the permanent starting job.

Right now? Hes a backup.

For a team with holes elsewhere, thats a luxury we cant afford.

Jarvis, quite literally, could play throughout our lineup, and hes just 23 years old.

Dont typecast him as an energy guy, either.

Hes well on pace for his second straight 30-goal season.

In net, Im fine to roll with some combo of Linus Ullmark and Jacob Markstrom for the next year and hope someone (Wild prospect Jesper Wallstedt, perhaps) steps up in the meantime to join Ullmark in 2030.

Gentille Thats a big move, but will it be enough for Canada in the crease? Well see about that, but for now lets move on to a smaller deal.

The trade: Finland trades Roope Hintz and Kaapo Kakko to Sweden for Simon Edvisson and Axel Sandin Pellikka.

The Team Finland view: Like I said, were focused on the future.

We move Hintz, whos a very good player now and still will be in 2026 but might be declining by 2030, for two defensemen with elite upside who can be part of three Olympics for us.

Also, after years of dumping on the Yzerplan, landing two Wings prospects will ensure that Detroit fans dont call me an idiot in the comments for once.

McIndoe The Team Sweden view: Were cooking, folks.

With William Karlsson out, my center depth chart for 4 Nations is now Elias Pettersson (an elite offensive player when hes right), Hintz (who works on scoring and matchup lines), Mika Zibanejad (give him easy minutes and watch him thrive) and Joel Eriksson Ek (a Selke-caliber player who can be thrown to the wolves).

Jarvis is in the mix at center, too, and Leo Carlsson will be back for the Olympics.

Its not North American-caliber depth, but it gets us close.

Kakko helps solidify the bottom six and can play either left or right wing.

Down the line, sending out the Red Wings prospects will hurt.

Doesnt mean theyre ready to contribute, though, and neither is going to fill the Victor Hedman-sized hole thatll be in the lineup come 2030 or so.

Say it with me: Were trying to win gold medals right now.

Gentille Advertisement That leaves Sweden with just one more deal to make, and they move quickly to make one more big addition.

Literally.

The trade: Sweden trades Leo Carlsson to Team USA for Tage Thompson.

The Team Sweden view: Whoops.

Add Thompson to that center depth chart.

We believe in him and his one-of-one skill set, whether thats down the middle or on the right wing.

Carlsson is going to be great, and he probably wouldve had a full-time spot by 2030 if Hintz, Thompson and Jarvis werent added to the mix.

They were, though.

Tough luck.

Also, NHL teams seem to love Anton Frondell; Scott Wheeler said in December that hes still on the periphery of the No.

1 overall discussion for the 2025 draft.

That makes Carlsson even more expendable.

Gentille The Team USA view: My original plan to spice up this tournament was to scatter the Hughes brothers to the wind.

A Hughes in every pot! But while trading Luke would have been simple, trading either Quinn or Jack seemed awfully stupid.

Speaking of stupid, Tage Thompson is not on my roster.

Hes 27, and the powers that be seem to have made up their minds about him, so I might as well get something for him.

So I looked to the future and picked up my fourth-line center (Matthews, Eichel and Hughes arent going anywhere) for 2030, 2034 and 2038 in Carlsson.

Well bring the kid along to 4 Nations to get him the experience, but he likely wont play now or in Italy.

Lazerus Were waiting for GM Lazerus to address the media about this move, but hes delayed.

It doesnt take us long to find out why, as a genuine goalie blockbuster hits the wire.

The trade: Team USA trades Jake Oettinger and Jake Sanderson to Canada for Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel.

The Team Canada view: I just got back from a meeting with Canada head coach Jon Cooper.

Hes really upset that I had to part ways with Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel, his guys, to make this trade.

But he understood when I told him wed be getting a No.

1 goaltender and a talented puck-moving defenceman who can run a power-play and defend.

If Sanderson somehow isnt good enough to play at the 4 Nations, hes certainly on the radar for 2026.

Advertisement Also, there was a much bigger proposal on the table but the American GM wouldnt budge.

Im talking four players on each side and tons of star power, including a superstar player Lazerus wouldnt move.

Wouldve been fun to do if ML wasnt so scared.

But we settled on this one instead.

Im still content.

McKenzie The Team USA view: The simple fact here is the Team Canada GM is a coward and didnt bite on my Connor Hellebuyck for Cale Makar proposal.

The trade was one-for-one.

That would have soothed my concerns about Quinn Hughes health considerably for 4 Nations, and would have given me perhaps the best top pairing in the history of the game for the next couple of Olympics.

Ive got elite goaltenders coming out of my ears, so I tried to go for broke by dealing away the best of the bunch.

Alas.

But if there was one minor weakness on my ridiculously stacked roster, it was in the shutdown/energy roles.

Cirelli is as good as it gets, and he and Hagel can lead my penalty-killing unit.

And just as important, I can scratch Chris Kreider, whos on my team instead of Tage Thompson for reasons passing understanding.

Lazerus With fans across North America reeling from seeing Team USA help their biggest rivals address their weakest position, we quickly find out that the Americans arent done.

The trade: Finland sends Patrik Laine to Team USA for Dylan Larkin, Chris Kreider and Luke Hughes.

The Team Finland view: I dont need a powerplay specialist like Laine in this tournament because the refs are already going to be in the bag for Gary Bettmans pre-ordained Canada-USA final.

So I keep one eye on the future by obtaining another blue-chip young defenseman, while also improving my forward depth.

Is Larkin actually the best player in this three-for-one deal? He might be, and even if not, its close enough to make this deal worth doing.

McIndoe The Team USA view: Every team needs a little tension to keep everyones edge, and J.T.

Miller is merely one man.

So throwing Patrik Laine and Zach Werenski back in the same locker room is just the jolt this roster needs.

I dont want my team which is clearly orders of magnitude better on paper than any of the other three getting too comfortable.

Complacency topples dynasties at any stage, even the first one.

And while this trade might have made my team a little worse, it made it a lot funnier.

Thats got to count for something.

Granted, this is not a deal I was eager to make, but the rules of this exercise mandated I humor Finland with a trade.

I tried simply pawning off Luke Hughes for cash to cover tariff expenditures, but was rudely rebuffed by Mr.

McIndoe.

Lazerus With only one combination of teams left in play and the countdown to the 4 Nations trade deadline ticking, we figure weve already seen the biggest moves.

Were wrong, because a buzzer-beater hits the wire, and its a blockbuster.

Advertisement The trade: Finland sends Aleksander Barkov to Canada for Connor Bedard and Evan Bouchard The Team Canada view: Canadas strength is through the middle.

If you look through their most successful tournaments, the mens team has prided itself on having strength at center.

Team Canada could easily build a forward roster of players who can play center and still be competitive.

We all know of the star potential Connor Bedard has and this is very much a roll of the dice.

But if he doesnt get better in his own end as he develops, hell be a winger at future tournaments.

Barkov becomes a must-play at center for Team Canada and you could put him alongside Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart at the 4 Nations and create a mega-shutdown line.

Parting ways with Bouchard may hurt, but Canada is deep enough with puck-moving defensemen to make up the difference.

Im trading for the sure thing here.

McKenzie The Team Finland view: Look, I said it would take a ton for me to move Barkov, and Julian stepped up.

In Bedard, I get a guy who could develop into my teams best forward for a decade or more.

And Bouchard adds yet another blue-chip defenseman to my now completely remade blue line.

Does that add up to enough for one of the best forwards in the world right now? I hope so.

Does it all but eliminate my version of Team Finland from contention in this years 4 Nations? Probably.

Could it more than pay off down the line? Thats the gamble Im taking.

Is it a blatant conflict of interest to let a Canadian GM trade Finlands best player to Team Canada? This press conference is over.

McIndoe Final rosters and closing thoughts (Note: Players added through trade are highlighted.

Some teams are over the roster limit now but well deal with that later, which is to say, not at all.) Mission accomplished.

Skill influx complete.

I still have a Vezina winner in net and the second-best defensive group in the tournament, and I now can roll these lines.

Theyre calling it the best Swedish chess match since The Seventh Seal .

Do not explore that comparison any further.

Gentille Admittedly, my approach ended up feeling less like a scalpel and more like a sledgehammer.

I realize that some Team Finland fans may not love that, especially if theyd already bought tickets to the championship game in two weeks.

Still, these are bold moves that could pay off, and at the very least I feel like Ive raised our ceiling significantly for next year and beyond, especially with the return of a healthy Heiskanen.

McIndoe What did I lose? A goalie who wouldnt see any action, a forward and two defensemen who arent even on my team, a good-but-replaceable fourth-liner, and a player who never should have been on my roster to begin with.

What did I gain? Two playoff-tested, two-way standouts and penalty-killers, a power-play specialist who, when hot, is one of the best pure goal-scorers in the world, and a 19-year-old two-way center wholl be a fixture in my lineup for three or four Olympics to come.

I mean, my god, look at this lineup.

Ridiculous.

Of course, I could have stood pat and said the same thing.

Lazerus I improved my goaltending without sacrificing any of my core guys, who I need to win games.

I also added the heir apparent to Patrice Bergeron.

Even if I sacrificed parts of my future to win, its Canada.

They still have incredible depth up and down the lineup and in their reserves.

Put my centre depth against anybody at this tournament.

Were winning.

Advertisement Speaking of reserves, Ive called on John Tavares and Carter Verhaeghe (!) to make up some losses on the left wing.

Tavares can play alongside Mitch Marner on a line.

And while Im dead set on my shutdown line, Bennett and Verhaeghe are interchangeable.

Canada still has a chance to win at the 4 Nations, in 2026 and beyond.

McKenzie (Top photo of Connor Bedard and Aleksander Barkov: Chris Arjoon / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images).

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