NHL insider Chris Johnston outlines how 4 Nations will likely impact teams' trade strategy  

The NHL's best have come together in Montreal ready to represent their countries at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

The tournament spans from Wednesday until Feb. 19. NHL action will resume on Feb. 22, leaving just two weeks until the March 7 trade deadline. While trade target boards have been wiped out in recent weeks with all of the activity, there are still plenty of interesting names that could be moved.

TSN hockey insider Chris Johnston appeared on "First Up" on Tuesday and was asked whether there will be any trades that could go down during the 4 Nations Face-Off.

"The 4 Nations Face Off, I mean, this is the start of something bigger," Johnston said (10:03). "And so, you know, I don't think the league would want to do anything that takes away from the focus on that.

"And, you know, let's see if it works again. I don't know where we're at. I don't know what kind of TV audience these games are going to generate. I don't know that all the tickets are going to be sold. But you know this, this is a big event, just the same for everyone involved organizing it and playing it."

Brock Nelson, Rickard Rakell, Rasmus Ristolainen, Gustav Nyquist and Joel Armia are five players participating in the tournament who also find themselves on TSN's "Trade Bait Board."

The 4 Nations Face-Off officially begins on Wednesday

The wait is almost over as the 4 Nations Face-Off officially starts on Wednesday at Bell Centre in Montreal.

The first matchup of round-robin play is between Team Canada and Team Sweden. Generational talents Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon join forces on Team Canada for the first time in a best-on-best setting. They'll face no easy task to begin their quest for the 4 Nations Cup with the likes of Victor Hedman, William Nylander and Erik Karlsson standing in their way.

The last time fans saw the NHL's best competing for their countries was during the World Cup of Hockey back in 2016.

The puck drops on for the Canada versus Sweden matchup at 8 p.m. EST.