Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo has withdrawn from the 4 Nations Face-Off due to an undisclosed injury and to prepare for the rest of his NHL season with the Las Vegas Golden Knights, the club announced in a statement on Sunday.
Pietrangelo was selected to represent Canada when 4 Nations Face-Off rosters were finalized in December. He is the first player to remove himself from the event.
The blueliner, 35, was sidelined for three games earlier this season with an upper body injury. Pietrangelo has otherwise been a productive piece of the Golden Knights’ backend, collecting three goals and 25 points while averaging a team-high 22:41.
Now that Pietrangelo is unavailable, Canada general manager Don Sweeney will look to fill that role with several intriguing options. One front-runner could be Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard, a top-pairing skater who averaged a point-per-game last season in Edmonton and was considered a surprise snub by missing out on an initial invitation to the 4 Nations Face-Off.
There is also the possibility that Drew Doughty — a two-time Olympic gold medalist with Canada — will be in the mix if he’s fully recovered from a broken left ankle suffered in the preseason. Doughty has yet to appear in a regular season game for the LA Kings but has been practicing recently and is preparing to make his debut sooner than later.
The 4 Nations Face-Off features teams from Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland. It runs from February 12-20, with games split between Bell Centre in Montreal and TD Garden in Boston.