Zizing 'Em Up: Canada teammates eager to play with Crosby at 4 Nations Face-Off

NHL.com staff writer Mike Zeisberger has been covering the NHL regularly since 1999. Each Monday he will use his extensive network of hockey contacts for his weekly notes column, "Zizing 'Em Up.”

MONTREAL -- The Sidney Crosby watch for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off reached peak level before the Pittsburgh Penguins center practiced with Canada on Monday and was deemed ready to play the best-on-best tournament beginning against Sweden at Bell Centre in Montreal on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS).

Anthony Cirelli was a testament to that.

"It would mean the world to us if he can play," the Tampa Bay Lightning forward said Sunday.

"The world."

It's now a reality. Crosby said after practice he's good to go. He was the center on the second line between Mark Stone (Vegas Golden Knights) and Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche), and on the first power play with Sam Reinhart (Florida Panthers), MacKinnon, Cale Makar (Avalanche) and Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers) at CN Sportsplex in Brossard, Quebec.

Cirelli was standing in the dressing room just minutes after the Lightning's 5-3 victory at the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday when his thoughts turned to Crosby, who was named as Canada's captain less than two weeks ago. Crosby was reportedly on a plane to Montreal on Sunday and skated Monday to prepare for 4 Nations, which features Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland in a round-robin tournament in Montreal and Boston from Feb. 12-20.

The 37-year-old missed two games with an upper-body injury, although he did skate at length Saturday morning prior to a 3-2 loss at the Philadelphia Flyers.

"I mean, obviously, Sid, growing up, watching him and what he means to be a Canadian hockey player, it meant and means everything," Cirelli said. "He's just such a big part when you think of Hockey Canada. Look what he's done playing for the country. Look what he's done since he's gotten into the League. He's a Hall of Famer. Look at all the awards he's won."

Forward Brayden Point, one of three Lightning players who will represent Canada (Cirelli and forward Brandon Hagel) couldn't agree more.

"He is such a big part of our Canadian team," Point said. "His accomplishments for Canada speak for themselves."

To that end: The native of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, won a gold medal at the 2005 IIHF World Junior Championship in North Dakota and Minnesota, the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the 2014 Sochi Olympics and the 2015 IIHF World Championship in Prague and Ostrava, Czech Republic. He also captained his country to the title at the World Cup of Hockey 2016 in Toronto.

In the process, Canada has won 25 straight games in tournament play with Crosby in the lineup, having not lost since a 5-3 defeat to the U.S. in the preliminary rounds of the Vancouver Olympics on Feb. 21, 2010.

Although such an accomplishment is indeed eye-popping, his leadership extends far beyond the ice.

On Jan. 12, after Tampa Bay's 5-2 victory at Pittsburgh, Crosby, still frustrated with the loss, asked Lightning coach Jon Cooper to send out Cirelli, Point and Hagel to talk 4 Nations.

"They couldn't believe it," said Cooper, Canada's coach at 4 Nations. "They were like kids in a candy store talking with Sid."

Just imagine what it would be like for them to play with Crosby.

FRIENDS BECOME FOES

Both Cirelli and Lightning captain Victor Hedman had a goal and an assist in Tampa Bay’s win against Montreal.

Then, after the final siren sounded, they suddenly turned from teammates to opponents. Indeed, Cirelli’s Canadians will meet Hedman’s Swedes in the tournament’s opening game on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS).

As he watched Hedman being interviewed by a gaggle of Swedish reporters after the victory, Cirelli broke into a wry grin.

“It’s going to be a bit weird,” he admitted. “We’ve been joking around the last week or so here. The bottom line: he’s an enemy for the next two weeks. So, if I’m in the corner with him, I’ve got to play him hard, lay a hit on him.

“Who knows? Maybe we’ll fight.”

Who knows indeed.

A RIVALRY LIKE NO OTHER

Mats Sundin was the first Swede to be the No. 1 pick in an NHL Draft when he was selected at that spot by the Quebec Nordiques in 1989.

But it was long before that that he realized just how fierce the Finland-Sweden rivalry was when it came to hockey.

“It started when I was a kid watching the old Canada Cups and Olympics,” said Sundin, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Class of 2013.

He then made an admission that Swedish fans might not want to hear.

“My mom (Gunilla) was born 70 kilometers from the Finnish border in northern Sweden,” Sundin told NHL.com in a phone interview from the Stockholm area. “In fact, my mom’s first language is actually the type of Finnish that is spoken in parts of northern Sweden and northern Finland.”

Not that that will keep Sundin, one of the most decorated players of all-time in Swedish international hockey, from cheering for the Tre Kroner when they meet Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off at Bell Centre on Saturday. Far from it.

“It’s the old "siblings fighting" thing when it comes to Sweden and Finland,” Sundin said with a chuckle. “It’s very similar to Canada-U.S. when they play. It’s always been there, ever since I started playing for Sweden at the World Championships and Olympics.

“It’s always been a must-win for us. Always.”

Sundin was the captain of the Swedish team that won the gold medal at the 2006 Turin Olympics thanks to a 3-2 victory against Finland in the title game. Many consider it to be the pinnacle of Swedish hockey.

“It’s the only time Team Sweden has won a best-on-best tournament,” Sundin said. “So, it was special for my generation, for me, for (Nicklas) Lidstrom, for Peter Forsberg, Henrik Lundqvist, Daniel Alfredsson … It was my last chance to win a best-on-best tournament.

“Once we realized we were going to meet Finland in the final, it went from knowing you’d get at least silver in the Olympic tournament, to a feeling of a “must-win.

“Once it was Finland, guys got really focused. If we would have met Canada or Russia in the final, we would have had as good of a game but it’s a special game whenever we meet Finland.

“Obviously, it ended up as a special game for us.”

Much like he hopes it will be for Sweden against Finland on Saturday, although not on the same scope.

GRETZKY’S HERO AT IT AGAIN

On Sept. 24, during an event in support of ALS Action Canada on Parliament Hill in Ottawa that included Canada’s Minister of Health Mark Holland, Wayne Gretzky looked at his friend and former teammate Mark Kirton and said, “You are my hero.”

Gretzky’s adulation comes from Kirton’s efforts to fight against the heinous disease and continuing to raise awareness and funds to find a cure.

People diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, have an average life expectancy of three to five years. Kirton, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2018, has already exceeded that.

In the past two years alone, ALS has claimed three notable figures from the hockey world: Maple Leafs Hall of Famer Borje Salming, an ex-teammate of Kirton, on Nov. 24, 2022; Calgary Flames assistant GM Chris Snow on Sept. 30, 2023; and former Senators assistant coach Bob Jones on July 26, 2024.

It was Kirton who helped provide guidance for Salming and his family when the former defenseman was diagnosed with the disease. He and former Maple Leafs forward Darryl Sittler were instrumental in bringing Salming to Toronto to be honored by the Maple Leafs just two weeks before his passing.

Months later, Kirton’s efforts have led to all 32 NHL teams donating items to the cause as part of the ALS Super Auction: Bid for a Cure. Items range from ultimate fan experiences, to NHL and 4 Nations games, including Canada-USA in Montreal on Feb. 15, to autographed jerseys from the likes of the Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid and the Boston Bruins’ David Pastrnak, to a game-worn jersey from Evgeni Malkin of the Penguins.

The auction, which is being hosted by Real Sports as part of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, started on Feb. 6 and runs through Feb. 20. Bids and donations can be made via ALSSuperFund.ca.

To date, the ALS Superfund has raised $1.3 million to help find a cure. Little wonder that Gretzky considers Kirton, who played 266 NHL games with the Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and Vancouver Canucks from 1980-85, to be his hero.

QUOTE/UNQUOTE

“I see it every time I go into his office. And yes, I remind him of who won the gold.”

-- Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Hedman on the silver medal that Lightning coach Cooper has displayed from coaching Canada at the 2017 IIHF World Championship. To Hedman’s glee, Canada lost the gold medal game to -- you guessed it -- Hedman and Sweden.

THE LAST WORD

With 4 Nations starting Wednesday, this is the final edition of our weekly look at one player from each country who's on a roll with his respective NHL team.

Nathan MacKinnon (Canada): The Colorado Avalanche center leads the NHL with 87 points (21 goals, 66 assists).

Kyle Connor (United States): The Winnipeg Jets forward (30 goals, 39 assists) is tied with Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (19 goals, 50 assists) for the most points of any American player with 69.

Mikko Rantanen (Finland): The Carolina Hurricanes forward will be healthy enough for 4 Nations, coach Antti Pennanen said Monday. Rantanen sustained a lower-body injury when he was hit in the leg by a shot in the third period of a 2-1 loss at the Minnesota Wild on Thursday. He leads all Finnish players with 66 points (26 goals, 40 assists).

Jesper Bratt (Sweden): The New Jersey Devils forward leads all Swedish players with 64 points (17 goals, 47 assists).