Finland has officially announced that defenseman Jani Hakanpää will not participate in the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off, prompting the management to seek replacements for two injured defenders.
The Finnish Ice Hockey Federation confirmed this decision on Saturday, noting that Hakanpää has only played in two games this season for the Toronto Maple Leafs and has been absent since mid-November due to a lower-body injury.

Miro Heiskanen was expected to be Finland’s top defenseman; however, he sustained an injury from a hit by Mark Stone during a game between Dallas and Vegas on Tuesday night. The Dallas Stars have categorized Heiskanen’s injury as week-to-week, effectively ruling him out of the 4 Nations tournament.
Captain Aleksander Barkov expressed the significance of Heiskanen’s role, stating, “He’s that type of player that any team in the world would love to have. He is a leader defensively and really good offensively, so he’s a huge part of Team Finland’s success. All the best and try and get back as soon as possible and as healthy as possible. Health is the most important thing.”

General Manager Jere Lehtinen, who played a crucial role in assembling the Finnish team that claimed Olympic gold in Beijing in 2022, announced that replacements for both Heiskanen and Hakanpää would be named next week. Currently, only four eligible defensemen are available to fill these positions, as only 11 Finnish defensemen have competed in the NHL this season.
The potential candidates include Henri Jokiharju from Buffalo, Nikolas Matinpalo from Ottawa, Ville Heinola from Winnipeg, and Urho Vaakanainen from the New York Rangers. Among these players, Jokiharju and Vaakanainen, who transferred from Anaheim to New York last December, possess the most professional experience.

Finland is set to begin play on February 13 against the United States, followed by a game against their rivals Sweden on February 15, and will wrap up the round-robin stage against Canada on February 17.

Sweden is also dealing with its own lineup challenges, with players like William Karlsson of Vegas and Jonas Brodin of Minnesota unavailable. However, Boston’s Hampus Lindholm is nearing a return after being sidelined. Canada still needs to announce a replacement for Alex Pietrangelo, the two-time Stanley Cup champion and 2014 Olympic gold medalist, who has withdrawn to address a personal ailment and prepare for the remainder of the NHL regular season, according to the Golden Knights.