For NHL’s top pending UFAs, 4 Nations Face-Off pauses the drama

Brock Nelson, Brad Marchand, Mitch Marner and Mikko Rantanen

Credit: Imagn Images

MONTREAL – You’re in the midst of a playoff race, but you’re a pending unrestricted free agent. You have no idea what your future is with your team. You could be traded next month. Maybe you’ve been traded already. Every NHL free-agent-to-be has a different story. But for those playing at the 4 Nations Face-Off, the event is a rare reprieve from the noise of the season with the NHL closing up shop for 13 days.

The break couldn’t come at a better time for someone like New York Islanders center turned Team USA invitee Brock Nelson. He’s been No. 1 on Daily Faceoff’s Trade Targets board for several weeks now. But with the Isles’ recent seven-game winning streak pulling them back into the Eastern Conference Wildcard hunt, trade rumors have given way to talk of the Isles and GM Lou Lamoriello trying to re-sign the 34-year-old. He truly has no idea which way things are going to break.

“Everything will sort it self out,” Nelson said Tuesday at 4 Nations media day. “There’s definitely time still. There’s a lot of speculation from outside…What do I want? I want what‘s best for me, family and team. There’s a lot of factors that go into that. You want an answer right now, but that’s not how the world works. You don’t always get what you want. Lou’s a great guy. I love playing for him. He’s a great manager. He’s done a lot for me. He’s given me a great opportunity over the last seven years I’ve had with him. He’s an influential guy in hockey in general. My agent’s got a great relationship with him and communicates with him.”

Then there’s Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand, who will bring his infectious swagger to Team Canada. He’s in the midst of a turbulent season, which has included Boston firing coach Jim Montgomery. The Bruins sit outside a playoff spot right now, and Marchand, 36, is a pending UFA. It remains to be seen if the Bruins are buyers, sellers or retoolers when the Trade Deadline arrives next month. It feels like Marchand should be a Bruin for life, but the demand for a pure winner like him would be through the roof if Boston ever made him available.

Toronto Maple Leafs right winger Mitch Marner, meanwhile, draws the exciting assignment of playing on Connor McDavid’s right wing for Canada. It’s a high-profile gig, and Marner won’t exactly be playing out of the spotlight, but his country’s generational superstars will certainly vacuum up some of the attention, providing somewhat of a break from the pressure of playing in Toronto and being asked whether he’ll re-sign with the Leafs in the offseason.

Mikko Rantanen has already experienced the big change, traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in a spectacular three-way blockbuster last month, with Taylor Hall joining him from the Chicago Blackhawks and Martin Necas heading to the Colorado Avalanche. As Rantanen explained Tuesday, the change is still fresh, and “it’s going to take time” for him to feel settled, especially since Carolina has played more road games than home games since the blockbuster.

For each, the 4 Nations provides an opportunity for tunnel vision of sorts: focusing entirely on a new goal, “pausing” the part of the brain that worries about the future – as best they can.

It’s probably easier said than done for Nelson, whose fate will decided in just a few weeks, but he’s doing his best to cherish the experience of playing for Team USA, like his uncle Dave Christian did as part of the 1980 Miracle On Ice team.

“It’s a mental break, it’s something you put on pause a little bit, being here,” Nelson said. “Different environment, different things going on. Solely just focused on enjoying this experience right now and trying to soak it up. And know that everything beyond that and back in New York is on the back burner.”

Marchand, predictably, is as Zen as it gets about blocking out the noise.

“That’s the biggest thing about these tournaments, you have to be in the moment,” he said. “You can’t worry about anything that’s gone on before or after. And it’s just such a unique experience. You don’t think outside of what’s happening right here, right now: what we’re going to do for dinner as a group, our meetings later, you’re just always in the moment. So can’t let anything take away from that. You also don’t want it to, because it’s going to go by very fast. You want to embrace every opportunity to be here right now.”

Marner doesn’t necessarily feel like he can completely disassociate from Toronto’s drama, but he’ll certainly try.

“Maybe, I don’t know,” he said. “You’re going to enjoy these things, enjoy these moments, I don’t know if that changes it [at home] in any way. You’re just in this moment right now. That’s what I try to live as, for the moment, try to enjoy that and whatever happens happens.”

For Rantanen, like USA’s J.T. Miller, the tournament allows for a breather, post-trade, and also lets him spend more time with a new Carolina teammate in Sebastian Aho. Rantanen seems genuinely relieved to be playing in the event.

“Yeah, the playing side of everything is the best part,” Rantanen said. “You just try to focus on the games. A tournament like this goes by quick. There’s only three games and then hopefully you’re in top two seeding and then get to the finals.”

So maybe the tournament truly does provide a mental rest. An alternative thought: it will give each of these pending UFAs. not to mention others like Sam Bennett and Adin Hill, a chance to see how they mesh with different teammates and perhaps serve as a dry run for playing on new teams next season – whether they want to admit that or not.

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For NHL’s top pending UFAs, 4 Nations Face-Off pauses the drama

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