Boston, Montréal Leaders To Host NHL International Tournament In 2025

The National Hockey League (NHL) and National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) announced on Friday they will hold a four-country tournament in February 2025.

The 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off will feature international play between NHL players from the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden.

The tournament will take place in one US city and the other in Canada. Boston and Montréal are speculated to be the host cities, according to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. If Boston and Montréal were selected, TD Garden, home of the Boston Bruins, and the Bell Centre, home of the Montréal Canadiens, would be the host stadiums, but there have not been details released as to which teams would play in each city.

Each of the four teams will compete in three games under NHL Rules and in a traditional Round Robin format. A win in regulation will earn the team three points, two points for a win in overtime or the shootout and one point for a loss in overtime or shootout. Teams will not earn a point if they suffer a regulation loss.

One thing that will differ from the league is that overtime will be 3-on-3 sudden death for 10 minutes, rather than the five-minute overtime in the regular season.

The two teams with the best record will advance to a one-game Final in which the overtime for the Final would be full-strength sudden death for 20 minutes.

The four teams will be comprised of 23 NHL players (20 skaters and three goalies) selected by each National Association for each of the countries. According to the NHL and NHLPA, all players must be under contract for the 2024-25 season and on an NHL roster as of Dec. 2, 2024. The initial six players for each entity are expected to be announced this summer.

With the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off taking place in February, the two groups announced the All-Star Weekend will not be held in the 2024-25 season. The All-Star festivities were underway at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto when the tournament was unveiled.