The final lineup for the NHL's upcoming four-way tournament between the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden is scheduled to be announced during two live broadcasts on Wednesday, and the Rangers are joined by several players.
The remaining players representing Finland and Sweden will be announced on SportsCenter on NHL Network and ESPN at 2 p.m. ET, followed by the full rosters for Canada and the United States on Sportsnet and TNT at 6:30 p.m. ET. It will be announced at
The Blueshirts already have two players, American defenseman Adam Fox and Swedish center Mika Zibanejad, scheduled to represent their countries in their first international NHL games in 10 years.
However, the start of the 2023-24 season is definitely factored into each country's final roster decisions.
As a team, Rangers haven't had the kind of start that will catapult their players into contention for a spot in the Four Nations. However, they were one of nine teams to have multiple players named in the first wave of selection in June.
It will likely be interesting to see how much their individual starts for the season influence the final roster decisions, as the Rangers likely had some international standout players.
Kaapo Kakko seems to have gotten off to a good start and has embarked on heavier consideration.
Perhaps the Finnish winger was originally a candidate for the deep spot, but Kakko was a notable contributor to one of the Rangers' most successful lines this season.
Since scoring the game-winning power play goal against the Canadiens, Kakko has had four goals and nine assists for 13 points in 23 games.
His plus-11 rating is tied for the best with Will Quill on the Rangers, and his goals-per-60 rate of 3.71 is second only to Quill among Rangers regulars.
Kakko will likely play a bottom-six role on Team Finland, which also features the Panthers' Aleksander Barkov, the Avalanche's Mikko Rantanen, the Hurricanes' Sebastian Aho, and the Stars' Miro Heskanen and Esa Lindell. . .
For Alexis Lafreniere, signing a seven-year contract extension with the Rangers was a top priority. Will Team Canada be next?
Canada isn't expected to be short on star power, but Lafreniere will definitely bring more than that.
The 23-year-old has made an impressive start to the season. That carries over into the 2023-24 season, prompting president and general manager Chris Drury to keep the 2020 No. 1 overall pick at $52.15 million.
But as the Rangers struggled, Lafreniere disappeared along with the team's play.
But the Quebec native's rise over the past year and a half may be too remarkable to ignore.
Both Chris Kreider and Vincent Trocheck may also be considered to complete Team USA's roster, and Drury will serve in that role as the team's assistant general manager.
Kreider, the Rangers' longest-tenured player, has become one of the NHL's most consistent goal scorers in recent years.
His individual start to the season has mirrored the Rangers', with nine goals and zero assists in 20 games, but Kreider only recently returned to action after suffering back spasms.
That could be a deterrent for Team USA and for Kreider, who at 33 years old has been one of the league's top net-front presences.
Trocheck just finished last season playing alongside Lafreniere and Artemi Panarin, but he still left a lot to be desired in the first 23 games of this season.
His versatility, special teams contributions, and pest-like qualities still make Trocheck an interesting option. Team USA could always use more of a player like Boston's Brad Marchand who is a good fit for Team Canada.
