The 4 Nations Face-Off — the highly anticipated best-on-best international hockey tournament — takes place next month.
The latest: To no one's surprise, Connor McDavid is favoured to lead the tournament in points. Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils is atop the odds board for Team USA but I'm backing a different Hughes to lead the way for the Americans.
Check out our 44 Nations Face-Off leading scorer odds as of Jan. 16.
4 Nations Face-Off leading scorer odds
Visit all of our 4 Nations Face-Off markets.
McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon slot 1-2 to lead the tournament in scoring with a duo of Americans right behind.
Auston Matthews is sandwiched between the Hughes brothers, though the reigning Rocket Richard winner is having an injury-riddled down year.
Matthews' teammates — Mitch Marner and William Nylander — are on the shortlist to lead the tournament and their respective nations, Canada and Sweden, in points.
| Player | Odds to win |
| Connor McDavid | +750 |
| Nathan MacKinnon | +900 |
| Jack Hughes | +1,300 |
| Auston Matthews | +1,500 |
| Cale Makar | +1,700 |
| Quinn Hughes | +1,700 |
| Mitch Marner | +2,000 |
| Matthew Tkachuk | +2,000 |
| Jack Eichel | +2,000 |
| Aleksander Barkov | +2,300 |
| Sidney Crosby | +2,300 |
| William Nylander | +2,300 |
| Mikko Rantanen | +2,300 |
4 Nations Face-Off leading scorer odds: Team Canada best bet
Best bet: Connor McDavid (+250)
The favourite to win the tournament at +170 odds, Team Canada has a loaded, top-heavy roster but lacks the depth Team USA has.
McDavid, MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby and Cale Makar are some of the best players on the planet. But when you get to Canada's third and fourth lines, trouble may occur.
Canada might have to rely on these guys when they're in the thick of it. Let's say it's a 2-2 tie late in the third period against the Americans. Our neighbours to the South might have the luxury of rolling out all four lines, whereas Canada might be sending out fewer lines, with its best players double-shifting.
That's where I like McDavid. He should receive ample ice time in this tournament. Albeit unrelated, I'd imagine the Game 7 loss in the Cup Finals fuels his fire in a competition like this.
Team USA best bet
Best bet: Quinn Hughes (+750)
Jack Hughes (+400) and Auston Matthews (+600) top the odds board for leading Team USA scorer.
Jack has been a rock for the Devils all season scoring 60 points in 53 games, and deserves to be at the top of this list.
When Matthews has been in the lineup, he's elite. But with two different stints on the IR this season, some experts believe it might be in the reigning Rocket Richard recipient's best interest to sit the tournament out.
And now to my best bet.
Quinn might be the only reason the Vancouver Canucks don't sit in the basement of the Western Conference standings.
He leads the eighth-place Canucks in points, assists, time on ice and plus-minus.
The former Norris Trophy winner has proven to be one of the most gifted offensive defencemen in the NHL, racking up 391 points in 411 games.
I would imagine he quarterbacks Team USA's No. 1 power-play unit, making this play all the more intriguing.
4 Nations Face-Off leading scorer odds: Finland best bet
Best bet: Mikko Rantanen (+300)
Rantanen leads all Finnish-born players in points in the NHL this season (65). He has a 14-point lead over new teammate Sebastian Aho of the Carolina Hurricanes.
I believe this Finland roster is skilled enough that there might be a slight drop-off in Rantanen's points production, but not enough that he can't be this team's best player offensively.
He is the most gifted pure goal scorer on this roster. I expect that to translate in this tournament, no matter who his linemates are.
Team Sweden best bet
Best bet: William Nylander (+450)
The Maple Leafs star forward finds the top of the odds board for Team Sweden's highest points scorer.
Nylander added another level to his game during the 2021-22 NHL season. Since then, he paces a point-per-game (1.07) and has become a fan favourite in Toronto.
Team Sweden has some very talented playmakers like Filip Forsberg and Jesper Bratt but Nylander's confidence level this season is what sets him apart from the other Swedes, in my eyes.
I'll be looking forward to watching how he stacks up with some of the other nations' top players.
