RALEIGH, N.C. - The Finnish Ice Hockey Association, in conjunction with the NHL and the NHL Players' Association, announced its leadership group for February's 4 Nations Face-Off on Thursday. Carolina Hurricanes forwards Sebastian Aho and Mikko Rantanen were named assistant captains.

Status in question Thursday

Team Finland announced their leadership group for the 4 Nations Face-Off today and both Carolina Hurricanes forwards Sebastian Aho and Mikko Rantanen were named alternate captains. Finland will be captained by Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers and Mikael Granlund of the San Jose Sharks will also serve as an alternate captain.

Hurricanes superstar Mikko Rantanen opened up about playing with Sebastian Aho for the first time in a long while after his trade.

This all while the clubs around them in the playoff push continue to pick up points. That’s what has made the Rangers situation so precarious despite their uptick in play lately.

For one, Brind’Amour is pairing his two best players by putting them on a line together. Aho has led the Hurricanes in scoring in six of the last seven seasons, and Rantanen was a superstar in Colorado, logging more minutes than any forward in the league since the start of the 2021-22 season.

The Carolina Hurricanes acquire a superstar from the Colorado Avalanche in a massive trade that will help Sebastian Aho on offense. The Chicago Blackhawks are also part of the trade, which is one of the most resounding moves of the 2024-25 NHL season.

The Carolina Hurricanes made waves on Friday night with the acquisition of Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche. Colorado and Rantanen were at an impasse when it came to contract negotiations.

Michael Finewax suggests trading for Linus Ullmark in fantasy hockey leagues, who is close to returning to the Ottawa lineup from a back injury.

Sebastian Aho scored the game-winning goal in overtime and Jaccob Slavin collected three assists as the visiting Carolina Hurricanes notched a 4-3 comeback victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday.

Andrei Svechnikov scored twice and added an assist, Frederik Andersen made 22 saves, and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New York Rangers 4-0.

The 4 Nations Face-Off is right around the corner, as it’ll last from Feb. 12-20. Finland became the first country to announce its captain—it wasn’t much of a surprise.