Well, the 2025 NHL All-Star Game would be around the corner, but there’s another event replacing it this year. If you haven’t yet received the memo, the 4 Nation’s Face-Off will be the kind of, sort of, midseason break in 2025, featuring the best players in the NHL from the US, Canada, Sweden, and Finland.
Yep, it’s a little more entertaining than what you’ll see from other pro sports leagues, I’m sure, since you can expect everyone on those four rosters to go all-out here. But that does leave a void because the tournament, round robin, or whatever you want to call it, robs a few players of making that glorious All-Star Game appearance.
Rasmus Dahlin
Let’s start with the likeliest candidate and the Sabres best all-around player. Rasmus Dahlin has 28 assists and 34 points on the year, plus 58 blocks and 48 hits. He may be young, but Dahlin has settled into his role as team captain well and already responded to challenges like navigating a 13-game losing streak.
He could be a little more aggressive as he’d been in recent years, but I’m not letting that take anything away from what Dahlin’s accomplished this season. Still, we'll at least see him in the 4 Nations Face-Off, where he’ll play for Team Sweden, in case you haven’t heard.
Jason Zucker
Never in any lifetime, any multiverse, or any reality did I think I’d be talking about the possibility of Jason Zucker getting robbed of a potential All-Star Game appearance. But here we are in late January, and Zucker’s scored 16 goals and nine power play goals, and he’s rocking an 18.8 shooting percentage.
No, this isn’t a drill; it’s the real thing, and Zucker’s 36 points in 47 games show me he’s been a good fit for Lindy Ruff’s system. Now, the burning question is whether he’ll stay in Buffalo or go elsewhere. But if I’m Kevyn Adams and I’m committed to winning, I’d at least try to keep him in town.
Tage Thompson
If there’s one player who should’ve made Team USA in the 4 Nations and didn’t, it’s Tage Thompson. Tage has 22 goals to date and a 16.2 shooting percentage, putting him on track to end the year with between 38 and 39 goals.
An injury kept him out for five contests, and had he remained healthy, there’s a good chance he’d be on pace to score 40-plus. Tage has once again shown some playmaking ability, with 18 assists on the year, and despite missing five games, he’s still leading the Sabres with 136 shots on goal.