Canada Names Jon Cooper Head Coach For 4 Nations Face-Off, Winter Olympics
Hockey Canada has announced two-time Stanley Cup champion coach Jon Cooper as its bench boss for both the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off and 2026 Winter Olympics.
Cooper, 56, will enter his 13th season behind the Lightning bench in the fall. The longest-serving head coach in the league will return to the international stage for the first time since 2017 when he coached Canada at the World Championship. He also assisted for Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
The future Hall-of-Fame coach has been one of many affected by the NHL’s lack of participation in international events for the last decade, leading to a surprising lack of accolades for Canada on the world stage. A British Columbia native, Cooper has also routinely led the Lightning deep into postseason play, including three straight Stanley Cup Final appearances from 2020 to 2022. That’s hampered his availability to serve on the Canadian bench for less star-studded tournaments like the World Championship.
In his lone showing for Canada internationally, Cooper led a Canadian roster led by Nathan MacKinnon, Mitch Marner and Ryan O’Reilly to a silver medal at the Worlds. It was their third straight year making the gold medal game after back-to-back wins in 2015 and 2016, but they lost to a Sweden contingent led by Henrik Lundqvist and William Nylander.
Canada hasn’t filled out the rest of their coaching staff for the upcoming tournaments, although those announcements should come before the end of the year. Their first six players for the inaugural 4 Nations tournament, which takes place in February 2025, will be announced this week. They do have their management group in place, though. Blues GM Doug Armstrong will be their principal hockey ops decision-maker for the upcoming best-on-best events, with the Bruins’ Don Sweeney and the Stars’ Jim Nill serving as his assistants.
Ivan Fedotov Suspended From International Play For 3 Years
The International Ice Hockey Federation has levied sanctions against Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Ivan Fedotov, KHL club CSKA Moskva, and the Russian Ice Hockey Federation for disregarding Fedotov’s 2022 entry-level contract, shares Jonathan Bailey of Philadelphia Hockey Now. Fedotov signed the deal in May of 2022, attempting to join the Flyers ahead of the 2022-23 season. But he was detained by Russian authorities when trying to leave the country, and forced to serve one calendar year of military service. The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reported that this service came on an aircraft carrier in the Murmansk region, far from the front lines.
He went on to sign a two-year KHL contract with CSKA this season, warranting the sanctions. The official punishments, per an IIHF statement, are as follows:
- Ivan Fedotov is suspended from playing in any IIHF competitions, including the Olympic Games, for the next three years.
- Ivan Fedotov will receive a six-month suspension from playing at the club level, should he leave the Flyers to play for an international club.
- CSKA will be banned from making international transfers for two years, beginning on August 11, 2024 and ending on August 10, 2026.
- The Russian Ice Hockey Federation has been assessed a fine of $1MM Swiss Francs.
In search of any silver lining, Fedotov can at least be happy with his closing performance in Russia. He recorded 21 wins and a .914 save percentage across 44 games, adding a .916 in five postseason appearances. CSKA terminated his deal following the end of the season, allowing him to move to Philadelphia one year early. Fedotov made that move just before the end of the Flyers season, slotting into the first three NHL games of his career and saving 43 of the 53 shots he faced.
Fedotov stamped his spot in Russian hockey during the 2021-22 season, leading CSKA to the Gagarin Cup and Team Russia to a Silver Medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics. He posted dazzling stats throughout, setting a .919 save percentage in 26 KHL games and a .943 in six Olympic appearances. While a future Russian Olympics roster would likely turn towards NHL stars Andrei Vasilevskiy or Igor Shesterkin, Fedotov would undoubtedly be on the shortlist of final options.
Team USA Fills Out Management Group For 4 Nations, 2026 Olympics
USA Hockey has announced the remainder of the management group that will complement Wild GM Bill Guerin for next season’s 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Rangers GM Chris Drury, Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald and Panthers GM Bill Zito have been named assistant GMs to Guerin. Wild director of player personnel Chris Kelleher will occupy the same role for the national team as he does under Guerin in Minnesota.
Guerin was confirmed as the GM of both squads in February. Earlier this season, he was reportedly the subject of an internal investigation “following a human resources complaint by an employee who alleged verbal abuse in the workplace,” per The Athletic’s Michael Russo. The investigation later determined he did not commit a fireable offense.
This is Drury’s fifth time holding a management role with Team USA. All his previous national team managerial experience came at the World Championship, where he served as AGM in 2016 and 2017 and GM in 2019 and 2021. Drury-managed teams have only medalled once, capturing a bronze medal in ’21.
As a player, he was no stranger to helping out the national team. In fact, he was quite well-decorated internationally, representing the USA at three Olympics (2002, 2006, 2010), three World Championships (1997, 1998, 2004), and the 1996 World Juniors. He took home two Olympic silvers and one Worlds bronze in that time and was eventually inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2016, shortly after taking a director of player development role with the Rangers. He was promoted to AGM and later GM and president of hockey operations ahead of the 2021-22 season.
This is Fitzgerald’s first managerial experience with the national team. He’s held front-office roles in the NHL dating back to 2007 and was named GM of the Devils midway through the 2019-20 season. As a player, he suited up for Team USA at the 1987 World Juniors and in the 1989 and 1991 World Championships.
Zito returns to managing Team USA after GMing their World Championship squad in 2018, back when he was an AGM for the Blue Jackets. It’s his first national team nod since being named GM of the Panthers in 2020, since overseeing the most sustained period of success in franchise history.
Like Fitzgerald, the 49-year-old Kelleher has no international managerial experience, although he did have a cup of coffee as a player with Team USA at the 1995 World Juniors. He predates Guerin with the Wild by a decade, first joining Minnesota as a pro scout in 2009. He’s steadily worked his way up the ranks, earning a promotion to director of pro scouting in 2019 before being named their director of player personnel in 2022.
Doug Armstrong Named Canada GM For 2026 Winter Olympics
Hockey Canada has named St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong as General Manager for the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. Other announced roles include Ryan Getzlaf as the Player Relations Advisor, Scott Salmond as Senior Vice-President of High Performance and Hockey Operations, Katherine Henderson as President and CEO, and Pat McLaughlin as COO and Executive Vice-President of Strategy.
Armstrong has become a key piece of Canada’s representation overseas. He’s been a part of two other Olympic Games, both in an assistant general manager capacity, and seven different World Championship or World Cup tournaments. Canada has won big under his leadership, with Armstrong boasting two Olympic gold medals and three World Championship gold medals. He’ll now get a chance to field what may be one of the best Canadian teams of all time, with the end of Sidney Crosby‘s career, the prime of Connor McDavid‘s career, and the start of Connor Bedard‘s career all lining up perfectly. The team could also bring star defenseman Cale Makar, if the restrictions placed on members of Canada’s 2018 World Juniors Championship team are lifted before 2026.
One question that Armstrong will face is who the proper goaltender for Team Canada really is. His appointment is great news for Jordan Binnington, who served as a pivotal piece of Armstrong’s sole Stanley Cup win and continues to thrive in St. Louis. But Binnington isn’t the best Canadian goaltender on paper, with Vegas’ Adin Hill also championing his team to a Stanley Cup and consistently fighting for the NHL’s lead in save percentage, when he’s healthy. There’s also 25-year-old Stuart Skinner, who emphatically claimed an NHL starting role last season and has since posted 59 wins and a .911 in 98 games. Skinner hasn’t found his way into any hardware yet, but could offer a stronger impact when the Olympics role around in two years. With Team USA boasting Connor Hellebuyck and Jeremy Swayman, and Russia likely to bring Igor Shesterkin or Ilya Sorokin if they participate, Team Canada will need to make sure they’re as strong in net as they will be everywhere else. Those decisions will now be left up to one of the NHL’s longest-tenured general managers in Doug Armstrong.
IIHF Bars Russian, Belarusian National Teams Through 2024-25
The International Ice Hockey Federation announced Monday that all Russian and Belarusian national and club teams will remain barred from IIHF-sanctioned competitions for the 2024-25 championship season. As such, the two countries will not field squads at the upcoming Men’s World Championships this spring, at the 2025 World Juniors, and, more importantly for Belarus, the final qualification round for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
This decision does not mean that Russia will be barred from the 2026 Olympics, which will be the first edition that NHLers are permitted to attend in 12 years. The IIHF Council cited current safety risks for their decision and will review each country’s status again in May 2025.
The upcoming World Juniors in Ottawa will be the fourth straight in which the Russian and Belarusian contingents have been expelled due to the former’s invasion of Ukraine and corresponding safety risks. Russia’s last appearance at the tournament came in the zero-spectator 2021 tournament held in the Edmonton bubble due to COVID-19, in which Predators prospect Yaroslav Askarov backstopped the team to a bronze-game loss. Belarus won promotion at the Division 1A tournament in 2022 and was slated to appear in the 2023 World Juniors, but was barred from competing by the IIHF. Belarus’ last top-division World Juniors showing was in 2018, where a team that featured Flames forward Yegor Sharangovich failed to avoid relegation.
While Belarus will miss the 2026 Olympics by default, given they won’t participate in the qualification tournament, Russia has automatic entry into the tournament via their world ranking – if the IIHF lifts their sanctions on the country by then. Russian teams have won gold and silver medals at the previous two Olympics without NHL participation.
Bill Guerin Named GM Of U.S. Four Nations And Olympic Teams
Minnesota Wild president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Guerin has been named the general manager of Team USA for the upcoming 2025 NHL Four Nations Face-Off as well as the 2026 U.S. Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Team. The announcement was made official this morning and allows the three-time U.S. Olympian to take some time before selecting his first six players for the Four Nations tournament, which is something the NHL has asked each team to do early this summer.
Guerin is no stranger to donning the American sweater as he suited up for three Olympics in 1998, 2002, and 2006, winning a silver medal in 2002. He was also a member of the 1996 Team USA World Cup team that shocked the hockey world and created one of the most iconic moments in USA hockey history when they beat Team Canada to win the tournament. Guerin is a member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, having been inducted back in 2013.
Guerin retired from playing in 2010 as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins and then spent eight seasons with the team in management, winning two Stanley Cups. He was then named general manager of the Wild in August 2019 and guided Minnesota to four consecutive playoff appearances before being named president of hockey operations and general manager last July.
Guerin made sweeping changes in Minnesota during his nearly five years with the franchise with his biggest moves being the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Now he is tasked with putting together a collection of American players who can bring home gold in two separate tournaments and could be the favourite in both. Team Canada will have arguably the best forward group in both tournaments; however, the Americans will likely boast the most well-rounded team, something that Guerin and his staff will start to look at in the coming months.
International Notes: Russia, Insurance, Rink Size, 4 Nations Face-Off, World Cup
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed today that NHL players will participate in the 2026 and 2030 Winter Olympics. Along with NHLPA Executive Director Marty Walsh and IIHF President Luc Tardif, Bettman oversaw a press conference during All-Star weekend in Toronto and offered some clarifying notes about Olympic participation in 2026 in Milan, Italy.
Tardif confirmed to reporters that Russia’s standing in the tournament has not yet been decided. The IIHF council will meet next week to determine whether the country will be eligible to return for the 2025 Men’s World Championship, at which point they will issue additional updates. Russia has been barred from IIHF competition since its early 2022 invasion of Ukraine for geopolitical reasons. If deemed eligible for Olympic play in 2026, Russia will qualify automatically based on their current world ranking.
The security of players will be the driving force behind the IIHF’s decision to reinstate a Russian contingent, said Tardif. Both the 2025 World Championship and 2026 Winter Olympics will be held in Western European countries.
Other updates regarding the Olympics and future international tournaments:
- One of the driving forces behind the NHL’s barring of players from attending the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics dealt with uncertainty over insurance and travel costs for players. That’s been settled as part of today’s announcement, Bettman said. Those costs, plus other travel-associated costs, will not be fronted by the league – instead, individual Olympic committees and the IIHF will provide funding for players to travel and stay at the overseas events.
- Tardif also added that for the first time, the Olympic tournament will be played on smaller NHL-sized ice in 2026. This downsizing from the standard international-sized rink was not contingent on the NHL’s participation in the event, per Tardif, and it did not play a factor in today’s announcement. Previous IIHF specifications dictated that rinks must be 197 by 98 feet, while NHL rinks are narrower at 200 by 85 feet.
- The league also confirmed today’s reported news that a 2025 best-on-best tournament between Canada, Sweden, Finland, and the United States will occur next February in two unnamed North American cities, one in Canada and one in the United States. The tournament, called the 4 Nations Face-Off, will be comprised of 23 NHL-rostered players from each country selected by each nation’s governing association. Interestingly, despite the NHL hosting the tournament, the round-robin portion will adopt the more internationally-recognized 3-2-1-0 points system. There will be no multi-round playoff; instead, the best two teams in the round-robin schedule will play a one-game final match.
- Bettman said the league’s plan is to return to a regular World Cup of Hockey schedule after Olympic participation resumes. Time constraints limited the size of the 2025 best-on-best tournament, but World Cups are expected to run in 2028 and 2032 and will feature expanded participation from countries not included in the 2025 tournament.
NHL To Allow Players To Attend 2026, 2030 Winter Olympics
12:35 p.m.: Commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed an agreement has been reached with the IIHF to send players to the 2026 and 2030 Winter Olympics to media today. Bettman added the league has been given “assurances” that the venue under construction for ice hockey in Milan will be completed on schedule.
9:56 a.m.: The NHL and IIHF have reached a deal to allow players to participate in both the 2026 and 2030 Winter Olympics, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes said Friday. An official announcement is expected from the league later today after the IIHF quickly posted and deleted a post confirming the news on X, formerly known as Twitter, this morning.
Also expected Friday afternoon is an announcement confirming the NHL’s plans to hold a best-on-best international tournament in 2025 between Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States, per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. The tournament will be hosted in Boston and Montreal and will result in no All-Star Game being held next year.
2026 will mark the first time NHL players participate in the Olympics since the 2014 edition held in Sochi, Russia. Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, have already been tabbed as the 2026 hosts, although concerns about the construction timeline for the Olympic rink in Milan may force the ice hockey competitions to be moved to Turin, which hosted the Winter Olympics in 2004.
The host for the 2023 Games has not been named, although Salt Lake City, Stockholm, Switzerland, and the French Alps region have submitted bids. The French Alps bid entered the “targeted dialogue phase” late last year and is the most likely host for the 2030 edition, while Salt Lake City will likely receive the 2034 Games.
Milan will mark the first Olympic appearance for all of the NHL’s next generation of stars, including Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews, Leon Draisaitl, David Pastrňák, Cale Makar, and many others. It’s unclear whether Russia will field a team at the event – they are currently barred from IIHF competition due to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the 2025 four-nations-style tournament will be the first true exhibition of best-on-best international play involving the world’s highest-ranking men’s hockey countries since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Afternoon Snapshots: Olympics, Tanev, Monahan, Kakko
Currently, the last time that NHL players were included in the Olympics was the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games. Due to a dispute over funding in 2018, the Olympic hockey teams were composed of professional players not currently residing on an NHL roster. Set to go back in 2022, those plans were unfortunately canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
With the 2026 Winter Olympic Games to be shared between Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy, the NHL is once again looking to send the world’s best hockey players back to the international event. In today’s edition of TSN’s Insider Trading, Chris Johnson reports that Commissioner Gary Bettman is set to meet with the International Ice Hockey Federation tomorrow, and he could make the announcement as soon as Friday in Toronto.
Not only is the league looking for a return to the Olympics, but they are also looking to bring back a World Cup, which would begin in 2028 under the reported deal. Although nothing is currently set in stone, it does appear momentum is heading in the right direction for the return of NHL players to international hockey.
Other snapshots:
- During the Insider Trading segment, TSN’s Darren Dreger mentions a new team interested in the services of Calgary Flames’ defenseman Chris Tanev; the Ottawa Senators. One would have to assume that if the Senators were to acquire Tanev at the trade deadline, an extension would almost have to be worked out, given that they are all but out of the playoff race even at this point in the season. However, the reported interest in Tanev may just be a ploy to drive up the price for their intra-provincial rival, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
- After a lost season to injury last year, Montreal Canadiens forward Sean Monahan has found himself back on the trade market for this year’s trade deadline. With most teams waiting to see what happens with the Flames’ Elias Lindholm, Pierre Lebrun indicates that once that domino does fall, and Montreal commits to trading Monahan, it is more than likely the Canadiens will be able to fetch a first-round pick for a few months of Monahan, especially if they are willing to retain salary.
- To finish off the reports from Insider Trading, Dreger also indicates that the General Manager of the New York Rangers, Chris Drury, has begun receiving calls on the availability of Kaapo Kakko. With Filip Chytil now missing the rest of the 2023-24 season due to injury, the Rangers have quite the hole down the middle after Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck. Only a few years removed from being the second overall pick, New York could build a package for a center with Kakko as the main piece heading back the other way.
Evening Notes: Olympics, Smith, Laine
On TSN’s Insider Trading today, Pierre LeBrun relayed some of the reservations the NHL might be having about a potential NHL return to Olympic hockey participation in 2026. The NHL hasn’t taken part in the Olympics since the 2014 Sochi Olympics in Russia, a tournament in which Canada took gold. The league did not participate in the events in 2018 and opted not to return in 2022 due to COVID concerns as well as concerns surrounding travel.
LeBrun told viewers that NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman spoke to the NHL board of governors and had concerns about the Olympic arena in Milan, Italy which is not built yet and has a projected timeline that would see construction conclude just six to eight weeks before the Olympics begin.
On top of that, there remains no agreement on many important details such as families travelling to the Olympics as well as an agreement on the players’ insurance.
Lebrun added that he believes this is the most negative he has heard the NHL talk about 2026 Olympic participation but he does add that NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly is not pessimistic towards NHL players returning to the Olympics.
In other evening notes:
- The Nashville Predators announced that forward Cole Smith missed tonight’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks with an apparent illness. The 28-year-old is currently listed as day-to-day, and it is unknown whether he will be able to suit up on Thursday when the Predators take on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Smith has just one full NHL season under his belt and has started this year at a solid pace with four goals and five assists in 24 games while averaging nearly three hits a game.
- Aaron Portzline of The Athletic is reporting that Columbus Blue Jackets forward Patrik Laine was a scratch tonight due to an illness. No word yet on any timeline for Laine to return as the news came out just before the start of the Blue Jackets’ game against the Los Angeles Kings. Mathieu Olivier was expected to be scratched for the game but took Laine’s place in the lineup and scored his first goal of the season in the 4-3 loss. Laine has struggled out of the game this season and has been a healthy scratch at times, he has just five goals and two assists in 16 games thus far which is well short of the numbers he has put up in recent years where he has been a point-a-game player.