McDavid, MacKinnon, Crosby get early nod for Canada's 4 Nations Face-Off roster
Makar, Marchand and Point will also play in NHL tournament next February
Canada's team for the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off will include the NHL's most valuable player and its playoff MVP.
Colorado Avalanche centre Nathan MacKinnon and Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid were among the six players announced Friday by Hockey Canada, along with Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, Colorado defenceman Cale Makar, Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand and Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point.
MacKinnon was awarded the NHL's Hart Trophy for the first time in his career on Thursday night, capping a season in which he put up 140 points (51 goals, 89 assists).
McDavid, who was a finalist for the Hart, was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as post-season MVP after amassing 42 points (eight goals, 34 assists) in 25 games as the Oilers advanced to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final before losing 2-1 to Florida in the deciding game.
Crosby and MacKinnon last suited up together for Canada at the 2015 world championships.
"I'd love to be on his wing," MacKinnon said Thursday at the NHL awards after winning both the Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award in Las Vegas. "That'd be cool. I think we play well together."
Crosby will be looking to decorate an international career with Canada that includes two Olympic gold medals. He scored the winning overtime goal against the United States in the final of the 2010 Olympic tournament in Vancouver.
Makar who has won the Calder, Norris and Conn Smythe trophies over his five-season career, has won gold with Canada at the world junior and Junior A Challenge levels.
Marchand, who has spent 15 seasons in Boston and just finished his first as captain, won back-to-back world championship gold medals as well as gold at the world championship and World Cup of Hockey over his international career.
Full roster to be unveiled at later date
Point, a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Lightning, has won silver at the world championship, gold at the world junior championship, gold at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup and bronze at the U18 world championship.
The rest of Canada's roster will be announced at a later date.
The event slated for Montreal and Boston will feature six round-robin contests followed by a championship game.
Canada and the U.S. will play Feb. 15 at the Bell Centre in the last of four games in Montreal after Sweden takes on Finland.
Boston's TD Garden gets three contests, including the final on Feb. 20.
The NHL announced at February's all-star game that players would participate at the next two Olympics after skipping 2018 for business reasons and missing out in 2022 due to COVID-19.
The 2026 Winter Games are set for Milan and Cortina, Italy. The host city in 2030 has yet to be announced.
Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper will lead Canada at both the 4 Nations and the 2026 Olympics, while Pittsburgh Penguins bench boss Mike Sullivan will do the same for the U.S.
Czechs, Russians not in tourney
NHLers went to five Olympic Games between 1998 and 2014 — the last best-on-best men's tournament.
The upcoming 4 Nations won't be exactly that, with the likes of the Czech Republic and Russia not in the mix, but it's an opportunity for many of the game's best to pull on international jerseys a year out from the 2026 Games.
The NHL last held a World Cup in 2016, an event that featured an under-23 Team North America and Team Europe made up of smaller hockey powers.
Toronto Maple Leafs centre Auston Matthews was named to the United States' team along with defenceman Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks, forward Matthew Tkachuk of the Stanley Cup-champion Florida Panthers, defenceman Adam Fox of the New York Rangers and rearguard Charlie McAvoy of the Bruins.
Leafs forward William Nylander was named to Sweden's squad, joining Tampa Bay defenceman Victor Hedman, Pittsburgh defenceman Erik Karlsson, Florida defenceman Gustav Forsling, forward Filip Forsberg of the Nashville Predators and Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad.
Finland will be led by Florida captain Aleksander Barkov, Nashville goalie Juuse Saros, Dallas Stars defencemen Miro Heiskanen and Esa Lindell, and forwards Sebastian Aho of the Carolina Hurricanes and Mikko Rantanen of the Avalanche.
