McDavid has been clamoring to compete for Canada in a best-on-best international event for years – and been vocal about those desires. Since turning pro after being drafted first in the 2015 draft, McDavid took part in the 2016 World Cup as a member of the under-23 North American team and in two world championships in 2016 and 2018.

McDavid and Crosby were among the first six players named to the Canada roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off, along with center Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche, forward Brayden Point of the Tampa Bay Lightning and forward Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins.

McDavid will be Canada's best player at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, but it's still Sidney Crosby's team.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are in town to face the Edmonton Oilers, which has naturally led to a shift in focus to Connor McDavid vs. Sidney Crosby. The two superstars of this generation have played against each other many times since McDavid entered the NHL nearly a decade ago and we’ll soon see them play together on a team for the first time.

While there hasn’t been much fanfare for it, the NHL’s inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off begins in just under 4 months time. Today, the NHL revealed uniforms of the four competing teams: Canada, USA, Sweden and Finland.

The 2024-25 NHL season will pause in February for a new tournament called the 4 Nations Face-Off. The US, Canada, Finland, and Sweden will put together their rosters for a round-robin tournament. Preliminary selections have already taken place with some obvious selections being finalized.