Edmonton Oilers

NHL Trade Talk Morning Roundup: Blues, Maple Leafs & Oilers

NHL Trade Talk Morning Roundup (Feb 12), Binnington named Team Canada starter, Matthews and Nylander in a fun ad, and McDavid vs. Ekholm.

by
Old Prof
February 12, 2025

Welcome to today’s NHL Trade Talk Morning Roundup (February 12). Each morning, we’ll bring you three key NHL stories. Here, you can stay updated on the latest team wins and losses, trade talk, and player news from around the NHL. In today’s roundup, we again focus on the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off.

In our news roundup today, Team Canada’s head coach, Jon Cooper, has named Jordan Binnington (St. Louis Blues) the starting goalie for tonight’s contest against Team Sweden. Second, a neat advertisement for the 4 Nations Face-Off has different players from each team dissing each other’s moves and then trying to one-up them. A couple of Maple Leafs players – Auston Matthews (Team USA) and William Nylander (Team Sweden) – feature prominently in the ad. Finally, the 4 Nations is interesting because it pits current NHL teammates against each other. Tonight, the Edmonton Oilers Matias Ekholm will face off against teammate Connor McDavid. As well, Nylander faces off against Maple Leafs teammate Mitch Marner.

Jordan Binnington Earns Canada’s Starting Spot for 4 Nations Face-Off Opener

The word is out that St. Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington will get the starting nod for Team Canada tonight’s opening game. Binnington’s big-game experience led to the decision despite his tough season. Team Canada’s coach, Jon Cooper, is confident in Binnington’s ability to compete in big games.

Kelly Hrudey called Binnington a “gamer” and said that while he gets caught up in the antics from time to time, he’s taken some of that out of his game. He’ll compete until the end and Kevin Bieksa said Team Canada feels they’ll give the team a chance to win every night.

NHL Players Show Off Their Skills (and Swagger) in New Ad

As a commercial for the 4 Nations Face-Off, NHL stars showed impressive skills and a bit of humor in a new ad campaign. Among those players featured were the Maple Leafs Auston Matthews and William Nylander. The “It’s Tricky” soundtrack adds energy and swagger.

Auston Matthews Maple Leafs scored — Auston Matthews of the Maple Leafs featured in a neat commercial.

Sweden’s Defense Faces Tough Test Against Canada’s High-Powered Offense

Tonight, the game between Team Sweden and Team Canada pits a couple of teammates against each other as rivals. One interesting battle will be the Edmonton Oilers’ big defenseman Mattias Ekholm against all-universe Connor McDavid. It will be intriguing to find out if Ekholm is giving away secrets about defending McDavid to his fellow Swedish linemates. It would make sense is this environment, but does he want to help players who might end up playing against the Oilers in the postseason?

Sweden’s defense will face Canada’s high-powered lineup in the opener. If Sweden is to be successful, its defense must quickly gel to succeed in the tournament.