The focus of the hockey world will be on the 4 Nations Face-Off in Montreal and transferring to Boston after Rivalry Saturday. The 92 players competing will be all-in.
The rest will have off until returning to practices Feb. 18.
No player will complain about the opportunity to play in the 4 Nations. It’s an honor and a privilege to be participating in the first best-on-best tournament featuring NHL players since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
But you also never hear any player complaining about extended time off during the season. It’s good for family time, personal time, vacations, rest, relaxation and the like.
But is it good for the teams? Does the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off come at an opportune time or the wrong time?
We explore that question and try to come up with some answers in this week’s edition of the Super 16, which has a new No. 1 for the first time in four weeks.
As a reminder, to come up with the Super 16 each week, the 15 voters this week put together their own version of what they think the rankings should look like and a point total is assigned to each, with the team selected first given 16 points, second 15, third 14, and so on.
Here is the status of each ranked team as the break is approaching edition of the Super 16:
1. Winnipeg Jets (38-14-3)
Total points: 234
Last week: No. 2
“The Jets will go into their final game before the 4 Nations break, against the New York Islanders on Friday, riding a seven-game winning streak. The easy thought would be let’s just keep rolling. But to me, the break is coming at the perfect time for the Jets. They have just three players taking part in the tournament, defenseman Josh Morrissey with Team Canada, and forward Kyle Connor and goalie Connor Hellebuyck with Team USA. That means a lot of important players will get to relax, let whatever bumps and bruises they’ve accumulated through the first 55 games of the season heal up, and get ready for what’s to come — four games in six days coming out of the break, including a back-to-back with travel, then 14 games in 31 days in March. The final stretch is 26 games in 54 days before the real work of the Stanley Cup Playoffs start. So any rest will be welcome.” — Adam Kimelman, deputy managing editor
2. Washington Capitals (35-11-7)
Total points: 230
Last week: No. 1
“The Capitals have one regulation loss in their past 17 games (11-1-5), so maybe they’d prefer not to go on a break right now. But the time off should help them. Washington is the lone team without any players playing in the 4 Nations Face-Off, so they should be well-rested for the stretch drive and heading into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. As remarkable as Alex Ovechkin has been this season, with 25 goals in 37 games, he is 39 years old, and the time off should be good for him. Remember that he scored 22 goals in 35 games after getting refreshed during the All-Star break last season. With 878 goals for his career, Ovechkin needs 17 in the Capitals’ final 29 games to break Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894 goals this season.” –Tom Gulitti, senior writer
3. Edmonton Oilers (34-16-4)
Total points: 206
Last week: No. 3
“The Oilers are winning more than they’re losing heading toward the 4 Nations Face-Off but they’re not necessarily playing to their standards. The Oilers are doing enough to get by, but a break might help them reset for the stretch drive. Edmonton has three players participating at the 4 Nations Face-Off, Connor McDavid for Canada, and Mattias Ekholm and Viktor Arvidsson for Team Sweden. The break will give forwards Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and defensemen Evan Bouchard and Darnell Nurse a chance to recharge. They will be counted on heavily by Edmonton for another long playoff run. The Oilers made it to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last season, losing 2-1 to the Florida Panthers, and are looking to get back this season and finish the job. The break should help the Oilers in that regard.” — Derek Van Diest, staff writer
4. Dallas Stars (34-18-1)
Total points: 194
Last week: No. 6
“The Stars have been hot lately, but I still think the 4 Nations Face-Off break comes at a good time for them. It won’t help them much on the injury front because two of their biggest losses are gone for a while. Forward Tyler Seguin was expected to be out 4-6 months after having hip surgery in December, and defenseman Miro Heiskanen is out month to month after knee surgery Tuesday. But for the rest of the Stars, barring those heading to 4 Nations, this is a great time to rest and regroup and get ready for what promises to be a crazy finish in the Central Division. Again. Yes, the Jets are still firmly in first right now, and even if they stay there, other spots are going to be up for grabs. It’s a good time to take a breath.” — Tracey Myers, staff writer
5. Carolina Hurricanes (32-18-4)
Total points: 176
Last week: No. 5
“After a team makes a big trade, the thought would be any break in the schedule could be detrimental to the new players getting comfortable with new teammates, but that is not the case here. Mikko Rantanen, acquired by the Hurricanes in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 24, has played five games with his new teammates and he has two more before the 4 Nations begins, starting against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+). The good news is that the forward will be playing on Team Finland with Carolina forward Sebastian Aho. As for the rest of the Hurricanes, I think they can use a break. They have been up and down all season, and have lost two in a row heading into their game Thursday. They appear to be comfortably in a playoff spot and I would look for them to really hit their stride after some much-needed days off.” — Bill Price, Editor-in-Chief
6. Toronto Maple Leafs (32-19-2)
Total points: 153
Last week: No. 7
“The 4 Nations Face-Off break comes at the perfect time for the banged-up Maple Leafs. Forwards John Tavares, Max Pacioretty and Matthew Knies all returned to the lineup in the past week from various injuries, so the two-week pause in the regular season will allow them to continue getting stronger for the stretch run. The same holds true for goalie Anthony Stolarz, who this week returned to the active roster after undergoing a knee procedure. Prior to this week, he had not played since Dec. 12. His return will bring welcome relief to fellow goalie Joseph Woll, whose workload this season has been unprecedented during his young NHL career; his 29 games already this season are four more than his previous NHL high. With Stolarz looking to be stronger after 4 Nations, it’s just another reason why the Maple Leafs will benefit from the much-needed time off.” — Mike Zeisberger, staff writer
7. Florida Panthers (32-20-3)
Total points: 152
Last week: No. 8
“I’m not sure how much of a break this is for the Panthers, who have eight players (one-third of their active roster) involved in the tournament. But for the players that are not going to Montreal and Boston, the break is perfect. The Panthers are starting to find their way a little bit, not only in wins but also in the quality of their play independent of a result. But virtually everyone on this roster has played a ton of hockey after going to the Final in back-to-back seasons. It’ll be nice to take a break mentally as much as it will be physically for coach Paul Maurice and the players.” — Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial
8. Vegas Golden Knights (31-17-6)
Total points: 149
Last week: No. 4
“It’s easy to say the break will come at a good time for the Golden Knights. For one, they’re struggling and it’s been ongoing for too long now. They’re 3-8-3 in their past 14 games, scoring 2.50 goals per game despite a 38.7 percent power play. Alex Pietrangelo had to withdraw from the 4 Nations Face-Off to tend to an injury he says he’s been dealing with. The time off could benefit him. William Karlsson had to pull out of the tournament too, because of a lower-body injury that has kept him out for seven games. Vegas still has forwards Jack Eichel (USA) and Mark Stone (Canada), defensemen Noah Hanifin (USA) and Shea Theodore (Canada), goalie Adin Hill (Canada) and coach Bruce Cassidy (Canada assistant) going to the tournament. However, even with the slump and the injuries, I think the break comes at a challenging time for the Golden Knights. They want to play through the slump and get on the other side of it. They do not want to be slumping going into the break. They still play the New Jersey Devils on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, MSGSN) and the Boston Bruins on Saturday, so they could break it before the break. But if they do that, the Golden Knights are going to want to keep going. Either way, it’s easy to see this as a good time to get away. But I can poke holes in that theory when it comes to Vegas.” — Dan Rosen, senior writer
9. Minnesota Wild (31-19-4)
Total points: 108
Last week: No. 9
“The break can’t come soon enough or be long enough for the Wild. In fact, they wish it could have started last Saturday so they wouldn’t have had to suffer through a goal drought of 121:27 and counting, and lose their past two games by a combined score of 9-0. Minnesota had its worst showing of the season in its 6-0 loss in Ottawa, where it was outshot 52-16, to which the team responded with a 3-0 loss in Boston on Tuesday to end a five-game road trip. The Wild clearly are out of steam and reeling without forward Kirill Kaprizov, who underwent surgery to repair a lower-body injury and is certain to miss the rest of February. Every day of the break is a day they don’t have to play without their superstar.” — Paul Strizhevsky, staff writer
10. New Jersey Devils (30-19-6)
Total points: 97
Last week: No. 10
“The Devils will welcome the break as three key players are recovering from injuries, center Nico Hischier (upper body), goalie Jacob Markstrom (MCL sprain) and defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler (undisclosed). Forward Erik Haula did return to the lineup in a 3-2 shootout win at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday after missing 12 games because of an ankle injury. New Jersey has been very inconsistent of late because of the injuries and certainly could use a reset. It is 6-6-3 since Jan. 1.” — Mike G. Morreale, senior draft writer
11. Colorado Avalanche (31-22-2)
Total points: 84
Last week: No. 11
“It’s looking like the Avalanche could use a reset during the 4 Nations break, even though they have a handful players set to compete in the tournament. Colorado is 8-7-2 since Jan. 1, displaying an inability to string wins together. During this span the Avalanche are in the bottom half of the NHL in goals scored per game (2.76), due in part to an ineffective power play (15.2 percent, 28th in the NHL). Obviously they’ve experienced a massive change with the trade of Rantanen to the Hurricanes and the arrival of forwards Martin Necas and Jack Drury, so it’s imperative the Avalanche establish an identity after the break and before the start of the playoffs.” — Brian Compton, managing editor
12. Los Angeles Kings (27-17-6)
Total points: 66
Last week: No. 12
“The break is coming at a good time for the Kings, who are 3-7-1 in their past 11 games entering Wednesday. They also only have one player, forward Adrian Kempe with Sweden, taking part in the 4 Nations, which means they’ll be able to rest. Defenseman Drew Doughty could be an injury replacement for Canada, but if not, he’ll also get two weeks to rest after making his season debut Jan. 29 following recovery from a broken ankle sustained during a preseason game.” — David Satriano, staff writer
13. Ottawa Senators (29-21-4)
Total points: 63
Last week: No. 13
“It’s a bad time for the Senators to take a break. Not only are they 5-1-0 in their past six games and 10-3-1 in their past 14, but they’re just getting goalie Linus Ullmark back after six weeks out because of a back injury. Ullmark, who is headed to the 4 Nations Face-Off to play for Sweden, may or may not see the net, given that Tuesday was his first start since Dec. 22; he made 34 saves on 37 shots in the 4-3 loss to the Lightning. Between the success they’ve been having and the need to get Ullmark some reps — not potentially have him sit another two weeks — the Senators surely wish they could be playing.” — Amalie Benjamin, senior writer
14. Detroit Red Wings (28-21-5)
Total points: 51
Last week: NR
“Frankly, the 4 Nations break comes at a terrible time for the Red Wings. They’re red hot. They’ve won seven straight after sweeping a road trip through Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver and Seattle. They’re 15-4-1 under coach Todd McLellan and have the best record in the NHL (.775 points percentage) since his hiring Dec. 26. Not only have they climbed back into a playoff spot, they’re in contention for a top-three spot in the Atlantic Division. When you have momentum, you want to keep rolling. The good news is that they have a big event coming out of the break, the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Ohio Stadium on March 1. Should be a fun stretch run.” — Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist
15. Tampa Bay Lightning (28-20-4)
Total points: 39
Last week: No. 14
“The break could be good for the Lightning, specifically forward Nikita Kucherov and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. Kucherov’s minutes are increasing. He’s been averaging 24:39 of ice time the past eight games. Taking a rest likely would be good. But my guess is he won’t think so. He’s not built that way. Still, avoiding the wear and tear of those big minutes for a while will benefit him. The Lightning are in a playoff race now, and they will be coming out of the break. Nothing is locked in for them, so Vasilevskiy will have to play the bulk of the final 27 games after the break, especially with only two sets of back to backs. He definitely will benefit from having some time off. Victor Hedman won’t get it. He’ll likely log the most minutes for Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Jake Guentzel (USA), Anthony Cirelli (Canada) and Brandon Hagel (Canada) will play in the tournament too. But the Lightning need Kucherov and Vasilevskiy to be fresh, healthy and ready to play monster minutes coming out of the break. This will be good for them.” — Rosen
16. Columbus Blue Jackets (26-21-7)
Total points: 12
Last week: No. 15
“The break will be more than welcome for the Blue Jackets. They played without defenseman Zach Werenski and forwards Kirill Marchenko, Sean Monahan, Yegor Chinakhov and Boone Jenner against the Sabres on Tuesday. With all those key players out of the lineup, coach Dean Evason was not able to create the magic of the past weeks. Werenski (USA) will be the only player from Columbus at the 4 Nations. Rest will be a key for this team.” — Jean-Francois Chaumont, journalist principal LNH.com
Others receiving points: Calgary Flames 10, New York Islanders 7, Boston Bruins 6, Vancouver Canucks 3
Dropped out from last week: Flames (No. 16)
Enterprise Team of the Week: This is a toss-up between the No. 1 Jets and the No. 14 Red Wings. They’re each riding seven-game winning streaks. So, for the first time the Super 16 Team of the Week honors are shared. The Jets have pulled away again in the Central Division and now lead the No. 4 Stars by 10 points. They lead the NHL with 79 points. The Red Wings have pulled into a playoff position in the Eastern Conference. They’re on their second seven-game winning streak since McLellan got behind the bench for the first time Dec. 27. Winnipeg has scored eight more goals than Detroit (31-23) in each’s respective winning streak, but both have allowed only 13, or 1.86 per game. Since the Super 16 ran last week, the Red Wings have defeated the No. 3 Oilers, Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks and Seattle Kraken, and the Jets have wins against the Boston Bruins, No. 2 Capitals and No. 5 Hurricanes. — Rosen
HERE’S HOW WE RANKED ’EM
AMALIE BENJAMIN
1. Washington Capitals; 2. Winnipeg Jets; 3. Edmonton Oilers; 4. Dallas Stars; 5. Carolina Hurricanes; 6. Toronto Maple Leafs; 7. Vegas Golden Knights; 8. Florida Panthers; 9. Minnesota Wild; 10. New Jersey Devils; 11. Los Angeles Kings; 12. Tampa Bay Lightning; 13. Colorado Avalanche; 14. Ottawa Senators; 15. Detroit Red Wings; 16. Calgary Flames
JEAN-FRANCOIS CHAUMONT
1. Washington Capitals; 2. Winnipeg Jets; 3. Edmonton Oilers; 4. Dallas Stars; 5. Carolina Hurricanes; 6. Toronto Maple Leafs; 7. Florida Panthers; 8. Vegas Golden Knights; 9. Minnesota Wild; 10. Colorado Avalanche; 11. New Jersey Devils; 12. Ottawa Senators; 13. Los Angeles Kings; 14. Tampa Bay Lightning; 15. Calgary Flames; 16. Columbus Blue Jackets
BRIAN COMPTON
1. Winnipeg Jets; 2. Washington Capitals; 3. Edmonton Oilers; 4. Dallas Stars; 5. Toronto Maple Leafs; 6. Carolina Hurricanes; 7. Florida Panthers; 8. Vegas Golden Knights; 9. Ottawa Senators; 10. Minnesota Wild; 11. New Jersey Devils; 12. Los Angeles Kings; 13. Detroit Red Wings; 14. Colorado Avalanche; 15. Tampa Bay Lightning; 16. New York Islanders
NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA
1. Washington Capitals; 2. Winnipeg Jets; 3. Edmonton Oilers; 4. Dallas Stars; 5. Carolina Hurricanes; 6. Vegas Golden Knights; 7. Toronto Maple Leafs; 8. Minnesota Wild; 9. Florida Panthers; 10. Los Angeles Kings; 11. New Jersey Devils; 12. Colorado Avalanche; 13. Tampa Bay Lightning; 14. Ottawa Senators; 15. Detroit Red Wings; 16. Calgary Flames
TOM GULITTI
1. Winnipeg Jets; 2. Washington Capitals; 3. Edmonton Oilers; 4. Dallas Stars; 5. Carolina Hurricanes; 6. Vegas Golden Knights; 7. Florida Panthers; 8. Toronto Maple Leafs; 9. New Jersey Devils; 10. Minnesota Wild; 11. Los Angeles Kings; 12. Colorado Avalanche; 13. Tampa Bay Lightning; 14. Ottawa Senators; 15. Calgary Flames; 16. Detroit Red Wings
ADAM KIMELMAN
1. Winnipeg Jets; 2. Washington Capitals; 3. Edmonton Oilers; 4. Toronto Maple Leafs; 5. Carolina Hurricanes; 6. Dallas Stars; 7. Florida Panthers; 8. Vegas Golden Knights; 9. Minnesota Wild; 10. Tampa Bay Lightning; 11. New Jersey Devils; 12. Colorado Avalanche; 13. Los Angeles Kings; 14. Columbus Blue Jackets; 15. Ottawa Senators; 16. Detroit Red Wings
MIKE G. MORREALE
1. Winnipeg Jets; 2. Washington Capitals; 3. Florida Panthers; 4. Dallas Stars; 5. Edmonton Oilers; 6. Carolina Hurricanes; 7. Toronto Maple Leafs; 8. Vegas Golden Knights; 9. Minnesota Wild; 10. Colorado Avalanche; 11. Los Angeles Kings; 12. New Jersey Devils; 13. Tampa Bay Lightning; 14. Boston Bruins; 15. Detroit Red Wings; 16. Vancouver Canucks
TRACEY MYERS
1. Winnipeg Jets; 2. Washington Capitals; 3. Edmonton Oilers; 4. Dallas Stars; 5. Vegas Golden Knights; 6. Carolina Hurricanes; 7. Florida Panthers; 8. New Jersey Devils; 9. Toronto Maple Leafs; 10. Minnesota Wild; 11. Colorado Avalanche; 12. Ottawa Senators; 13. Los Angeles Kings; 14. Detroit Red Wings; 15. Calgary Flames; 16. Tampa Bay Lightning
BILL PRICE
1. Winnipeg Jets; 2. Washington Capitals; 3. Edmonton Oilers; 4. Dallas Stars; 5. Carolina Hurricanes; 6. Vegas Golden Knights; 7. Florida Panthers; 8. Toronto Maple Leafs; 9. Minnesota Wild; 10. New Jersey Devils; 11. Colorado Avalanche; 12. Ottawa Senators; 13. Detroit Red Wings; 14. Los Angeles Kings; 15. Tampa Bay Lightning; 16. Boston Bruins
SHAWN P. ROARKE
1. Washington Capitals; 2. Dallas Stars; 3. Winnipeg Jets; 4. Edmonton Oilers; 5. Carolina Hurricanes; 6. Florida Panthers; 7. Colorado Avalanche; 8. Toronto Maple Leafs; 9. Vegas Golden Knights; 10. Detroit Red Wings; 11. Columbus Blue Jackets; 12. Ottawa Senators; 13. New Jersey Devils; 14. Minnesota Wild; 15. Los Angeles Kings; 16. New York Islanders
DAN ROSEN
1. Winnipeg Jets; 2. Washington Capitals; 3. Edmonton Oilers; 4. Dallas Stars; 5. Carolina Hurricanes; 6. Toronto Maple Leafs; 7. Florida Panthers; 8. Detroit Red Wings; 9. New Jersey Devils; 10. Vegas Golden Knights; 11. Ottawa Senators; 12. Minnesota Wild; 13. New York Islanders; 14. Colorado Avalanche; 15. Tampa Bay Lightning; 16. Columbus Blue Jackets
DAVID SATRIANO
1. Winnipeg Jets; 2. Washington Capitals; 3. Edmonton Oilers; 4. Carolina Hurricanes; 5. Dallas Stars; 6. Florida Panthers; 7. Toronto Maple Leafs; 8. Vegas Golden Knights; 9. Minnesota Wild; 10. New Jersey Devils; 11. Detroit Red Wings; 12. Colorado Avalanche; 13. Los Angeles Kings; 14. Ottawa Senators; 15. Boston Bruins; 16. New York Islanders
PAUL STRIZHEVSKY
1. Winnipeg Jets; 2. Washington Capitals; 3. Edmonton Oilers; 4. Dallas Stars; 5. Carolina Hurricanes; 6. Toronto Maple Leafs; 7. Florida Panthers; 8. Vegas Golden Knights; 9. Minnesota Wild; 10. New Jersey Devils; 11. Los Angeles Kings; 12. Ottawa Senators; 13. Detroit Red Wings; 14. Tampa Bay Lightning; 15. Colorado Avalanche; 16. Vancouver Canucks
DEREK VAN DIEST
1. Winnipeg Jets; 2. Washington Capitals; 3. Dallas Stars; 4. Edmonton Oilers; 5. Vegas Golden Knights; 6. Carolina Hurricanes; 7. Florida Panthers; 8. Toronto Maple Leafs; 9. Colorado Avalanche; 10. Minnesota Wild; 11. Ottawa Senators; 12. New Jersey Devils; 13. Los Angeles Kings; 14. Detroit Red Wings; 15. Calgary Flames; 16. Columbus Blue Jackets
MIKE ZEISBERGER
1. Washington Capitals; 2. Winnipeg Jets; 3. Edmonton Oilers; 4. Vegas Golden Knights; 5. Dallas Stars; 6. Carolina Hurricanes; 7. Toronto Maple Leafs; 8. Florida Panthers; 9. Colorado Avalanche; 10. Minnesota Wild; 11. New Jersey Devils; 12. Los Angeles Kings; 13. Ottawa Senators; 14. Detroit Red Wings; 15. Tampa Bay Lightning; 16. Vancouver Canucks
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