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Greg Wyshynski
When the USA faces Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off on Feb. 15, it will be the long-awaited first NHL clash between a generation of stars representing their nations.
Connor McDavid vs. Auston Matthews. Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon vs. Jack and Quinn Hughes. It’s an incredible moment for hockey — and it’s going to look incredible, too.
The jerseys for the 4 Nations Face-Off were officially released on Friday, giving fans their best look at the sweaters yet. That included the blue USA jerseys and the red Canadians sweaters that will fill the Bell Centre with vibrant colors for their highly anticipated “best-on-best” showdown.
“We wanted to make sure that for a 10-day tournament, the machinations of the colors would work against each other because we were only going to do one set of uniforms for each nation,” said Brian Jennings, NHL chief branding officer and senior executive vice president.
The 4 Nations Face-Off jerseys, which went on sale to the public on Friday, are a collaboration between the NHL, NHLPA and Fanatics, the official outfitter of the NHL’s on-ice uniforms.
“The guys had the opportunity to see some prototypes before we went to mass production. The feedback that we’ve received after they’ve had a chance to put them on for various marketing promotional activities has been extraordinarily positive,” said Rob Zepp, NHLPA senior director for international strategy & growth. “Obviously they’re excited to put these jerseys on, some of them for the first time on this grand of a stage.”
The 4 Nations Face-Off is a round-robin tournament scheduled for Feb. 12-20 in Montreal and Boston. It’s the first “best-on-best” tournament for NHL players since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey and a tune-up for their return to the men’s Winter Olympic tournament in 2026.
Here’s a look at some of the details and inspirations for the U.S., Canada, Finland and Sweden.
Team USA
The primary color is navy blue, with red and white striping on the sleeves and the base of the jersey. Rather than harken back to the past for a crest, the designers went with a modern “USA” block wordmark.
“What we wanted to do is really create this elegant aesthetic that was celebrating the American flag,” said Dom Fillion, creative director for Fanatics.
But there is a bit of hockey nostalgia on the jersey: Each shoulder features a single white star patch, a nod to the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” team that won America’s last Olympic men’s hockey gold.
Embossed on the sleeves of the jersey are the words “E Pluribus Unum,” which appear on the Great Seal of the United States.
“We thought [it] was such a powerful statement when we talk about sports and a nation and people coming together as one,” Fillion said.
Team Canada
Quite a history moment here for a Team Canada jersey: Someone finally found a way to incorporate maple into the design. “White maple,” to be exact, which is used for colored accents around the sweater.
“It started with the maple leaf on the front. We wanted to build a narrative around the jersey, around the maple leaf, and then maple became the focus,” Fillion said. “We talked about the maple water running through Canadians’ veins, that kind of idea. Ultimately, [it] became a color narrative.”
The front crest is a 13-point maple leaf with an arced “Canada” wordmark inside of it that’s a reference to their gold medal team from 1924. The sleeves feature debossed maple leaf vines.
“Some historic nods to the past, but always done in this more modern progressive look,” Fillion said.
Team Finland
The Finns are wearing white for the 4 Nations Face-Off, which Fillion said is meant to evoke “the vast winter landscape” of the country. The front crest features a contemporary take on the national coat of arms with its iconic crowned lion set against the backdrop of the Finnish sky. It also features the wordmark that reads “Suomi,” the Finnish word for Finland.
Embossed on the sleeves are Convallaria Majalis, commonly known as lily-of-the-valley, the country’s national flower.
“It’s tough to land a white jersey in a powerful way and make a statement, but I think we really did that with Finland,” Fillion said.
Team Sweden
The starting point for every Sweden jersey is the “Tre Kronor,” or three crowns, and the nation’s yellow and blue color scheme. There’s not too much tinkering to be done here. “Sweden always have this really minimal approach and it fits within the design aesthetic of the country and their overall kind of design aesthetic,” Fillion said.
But there is one big change for Sweden on these sweaters: Opting for a navy blue than the lighter blue the team has worn in the past. “Using that deeper blue was a big shift,” Fillion said.
An even bigger shift: the Swedish flag being featured on the sleeve of the jersey, one of the most memorable Easter eggs among the four jerseys.
“To be able to put the Swedish flag on the forefront like this as a design element within the jersey is something that’s pretty progressive and frankly something I haven’t seen or done in the past,” Fillion said.
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