The NHL will be heading into a break in the next week. Indeed, the 4 Nations Face-Off will be starting, featuring Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States in a new type of international event that is organized by the NHL and the NHLPA. As it will be replacing the annual All-Star games, the fans’ expectations are at the top, and they demand nothing but epic ice hockey action on the rink.

However, it hasn’t been easy with a few of the team members who have already been facing a lot of issues prior to the tournament. Indeed, in a recent report shared by an NHL insider, it seems like Team Finland will go through a tough time against the other three nations, as they are missing out on a few key players from their main roster.

Sharing the update on his X profile, Chris Johnston unveiled concerning data for Team Finland, stating, “Insane run of poor injury luck for Finland ahead of #4Nations: Nikolas Matinpalo replaces Rasmus Ristolainen, making that three injured defensemen for them. Ville Heinola is the only Finnish ‘D’ to play an NHL game this season who wasn’t part of the roster at some point.”

Indeed, this is a hard-to-swallow pill for the team and their fans. So who are the three defensemen that are out of the tournament, owing to various kinds of injuries? Miro Heiskanen, Jani Hakanpaa, and Rasmus Ristolainen have made it to this list. But what happened to these defensemen before the 4 Nations Face-Off?

Let’s start with Heiskanen. The Dallas Stars’ player had knee surgery after he collided with Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone during a game last month. On average, a knee surgery can take months to heal, for which the ice hockey star will miss out on the tournament. However, while there are no details on Hakanpaa’s injury, the recent addition to this list was Ristolainen.

The Philadelphia Flyers defenseman got himself into an upper-body injury for which he won’t be able to participate in the 4 Nations Face-Off. Now, who is replacing him? It’s Nikolas Matinpalo. The 26-year-old hasn’t had any major breakouts in his short NHL career. However, he is a strong defenseman and has a considerable amount of experience in ice hockey. Only time will tell how he will compete with Team Finland under the captaincy of Aleksander Barkov. However, one of their competitors is already struggling with their own captain.

Other 4 Nations Face-Off teams have their issues just like Team Finland

At least Team Finland has confirmed that their captain, Aleksander Barkov, will be playing in the 4 Nations Face-Off. And what about the others? The United States will have Auston Matthews as their captain, followed by Team Sweden, which has appointed Victor Hedman for this role. However, Team Canada’s future is not looking so bright with Sidney Crosby, owing to the recent update.

So what’s going on with the Pittsburgh Penguins star? Crosby suffered an upper-body injury when he was playing against the New Jersey Devils. This also led him to miss out on the recent NHL games, and what did his coach have to say about it? “Right now, we’re just taking it one day at a time. When he’s not in our lineup, he’s a hard guy to replace,” said Mike Sullivan, emphasizing the importance of Crosby in the Penguins’ locker room.

However, if Crosby doesn’t manage to make it on time, it might open a chance for Connor McDavid to lead the team. Indeed, the Oilers captain might be the next best choice for Canada because their other alternate captain, Cale Makar, doesn’t have captaincy experience like the #97. This will also be a big opportunity for McDavid, who might lead his team to the cup.