The final rosters for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-off in February were announced on Wednesday. Penguins forward Rickard Rakell was left off of Sweden's 4 Nations roster. Should he have been included? After the initial selections months ago, which included Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby (Canada) and defenseman Erik Karlsson [https://www.nhl.com/penguins/player/erik-karlsson-8474578] (Sweden), no other Penguins teammates were selected for Canada, Sweden, Finland, or the United States. Unfortunately, one deserving Pittsburgh forward, Rickard Rakell, was snubbed from Team Sweden, but other than him, there wasn't a long list of eligible candidates. Evgeni Malkin would have been a top pick for Russia. However, the tournament didn't include his native country, as the NHL-sanctioned event only featured four of the world's top hockey countries. According to NHL press relations, 30 out of the 32 teams in the league will be represented in Montreal and Boston, the host cities for the 4 Nations Face-off. Only the Washington Capitals [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals/news/washington-capitals-4-nations-face-off-no-representation] and Seattle Kraken [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/seattle-kraken/latest-news/kraken-forward-left-off-of-team-swedens-4-nations-face-off-roster] will not see any players selected for the tournament. For more information regarding the 4 Nations Face-off, which begins on Feb. 12, 2025, click here [https://www.nhl.com/events/2025-4-nations-face-off]. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEwNjYwNDIwMDI3OTUwOTI5/thnpitbanner.png]
