Sidney Crosby has been appointed as the captain of Team Canada, while Auston Matthews will lead Team USA in hockey’s 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, marking the first best-on-best tournament since 2016. The announcement was made on Thursday, revealing the leadership role assignments for each team competing in the tournament. Alongside Crosby and Matthews, Aleksander Barkov will serve as the captain of Team Finland, and Victor Hedman will guide Team Sweden.

The 4 Nations Face-Off is scheduled to take place from February 12 to February 20, 2025, in Montreal and Boston. This event features a Round Robin format where teams will compete for an opportunity to advance to the championship game. Notably, the match between the United States and Canada will take place on Saturday, February 15, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, bringing together two of the sport’s premier talents in Crosby and Matthews for the first time in this international setting.

Crosby has a notable history of leadership, having captained the Pittsburgh Penguins to three Stanley Cup Championships since taking on the role in May 2007. His international experience is also extensive, having scored the golden goal for Team Canada at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and captaining the team to Olympic gold in Sochi in 2014. Additionally, he guided Team Canada to victories at the 2015 IIHF World Championships and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Comparatively, Matthews, who became the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs after John Tavares stepped down for the 2024-25 season, has yet to captain Team USA on the international stage but has participated in previous international competitions, including the 2016 World Junior Championships and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. The captains for Team Finland and Team Sweden also bring significant accomplishments, with Barkov leading the Florida Panthers to their first Stanley Cup last spring and Hedman playing a pivotal role in the Tampa Bay Lightning's back-to-back championships.