The Toronto Maple Leafs are set to return to game action on Saturday night when they host the Carolina Hurricanes for their first game back following the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off. The finale to the tournament saw Team Canada defeat Team USA 3-2 in overtime for the championship, and in a perfect world, Canada’s Mitch Marner uses it as a confidence boost for the playoffs and USA’s Auston Matthews uses it as fuel.

Marner and Matthews will be facing off against a pair of players they called teammates just 48 hours ago – Seth Jarvis for Canada and Jaccob Slavin for the United States. The unique thing about these best-on-best tournaments is that you have the top percentile of the best group of hockey players in the entire world, most of whom skating with each other for the first time, and you get to see what kind of magic they can make on limited practice time.

There’s obviously the thrill of having Marner play alongside someone like Connor McDavid, but the goal scorers and playmakers also get to gain an appreciation for the players who thrive on the other side of the puck. Matthews got a firsthand look at Slavin and wasn’t shy about how much respect he had for him.

“I think after playing with guys, you have a new level of appreciation for their game,” Matthews told reporters at Saturday’s optional morning skate. “I always knew how good he was defensively, but seeing him up close and personal and playing on the same team as him, in my opinion, he’s the best defensive defenceman in the league.”

Slavin, 30, has played for the Hurricanes since 2015-16 and has emerged into the foundational piece of a Hurricanes defensive corps that has routinely been among the league’s best in recent years. He’s also capable of chipping in some offence, with 20 points in 56 games so far this season and a career high of 42. With or without the offence, it’s his play in his own zone that attracts the attention of people like Matthews.

“I’ve never seen a stick like his the amount of plays he breaks up, the shots that he blocks, and he’s still able to make great passes out of the D-zone and just, the amount of ice he covers, it was pretty incredible,” Matthews continued. “So, I think after playing with him, you definitely have a new level of appreciation for that as well as a lot of other guys too.”

Between the blocked shots, the Norris nominations in each of season of his career save for the rookie year, and the unique mix of big and clean, with two Lady Byng Trophies to his name and only eight PIMs in 2024-25, Slavin is one of those guys that coaches dream of having on their teams. Berube is part of that group.

“Yeah, he’s an excellent defender,” Berube told media. “He’s a great defenceman, long, great stick, lanky, high IQ. He’s a tough guy to go against, for sure. He played great for the USA team and he’s been a great player here with Carolina for a long time.”

The Maple Leafs will face off against the Hurricanes at 7 pm eastern time before heading to Chicago for a road tilt with the Blackhawks on Sunday night.