Colorado’s top players will not be getting a rest when the NHL takes a break in the middle of February, but they’re probably alright with that.

Over the summer, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar were named to Team Canada, while Mikko Rantanen was one of the first players named to Team Finland for the 4 Nations Face-Off. On Wednesday, both countries added an additional member of the Avalanche.

Devon Toews, Makar’s regular defense partner with the Avalanche, was added to Canada, while Artturi Lehkonen will be playing for Finland. Their selections hardly come as a surprise.

Lehkonen missed the first month of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery over the summer, but since returning has looked like his usual self. He’s picked up 10 points in 14 games this season, with most of that time coming on the other side of Rantanen. It would make sense for Finland to keep the two of them together for the tournament.

Speaking of playing together, it would come as a huge shock if Canada didn’t stick with the pair of Toews and Makar. While Toews is having a bit of a down season, having picked up just one goal and eight points in 22 games, there’s a reason for that. Both the defenseman and his coach have admitted that he’s played most of the season with an injury, which has limited his effectiveness a bit.

“(Toews) at 80% is still better than lots of other players in the league,” Jared Bednar said in November.

If the injury continues to linger, the situation might be something to watch, but for now, no NHL player is turning down this opportunity.

It has been almost a decade since NHL players were able to compete in a best-on-best international tournament. Back in 2016, players took part in the World Cup of Hockey, which was extremely popular. NHL players were not able to participate in the 2018 or 2022 Winter Olympics, but that will change in 2026, as the league has confirmed NHL players will be in Milan. Of the five Avalanche players selected, only MacKinnon has played in a best-on-best tournament, having represented Team North America in 2016.

The 4 Nations Face-Off will only include Canada, the United States, Finland, and Sweden, so it will be missing some of the better players in the NHL, but it should still be good hockey. A lot of these players are chomping at the bit to participate in a tournament like this.

The tournament will take place from Feb. 12-20 in two locations, Montreal and Boston. Because of that, there will be no All-Star game this season. The Avalanche will not play between Feb. 8-21.