Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo withdrew from the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off in what is supposed to be the NHL’s return to international play. It’s been nearly a decade since the NHL has seen their players represent their countries, and the star Golden Knights blue liner might be the first of many to drop out of the tournament.
When it was announced Pietrangelo was going to skip the 4 Nations tournament, the Golden Knights stated he was dealing with an “ailment.” That “ailment,” however, isn’t hampering him enough to miss any regular season games. Pietrangelo played the night of the announcement and logged 24 minutes of ice time.
Is Pietrangelo just the first of many to withdraw from the tournament? Some key names like William Karlsson and Jacob Markstrom will miss due to injury, but if players can take the time off with no repercussions, what would make them want to play?
The NHL told teams to treat the 4 Nations Face-Off like an All-Star Game, which may have been the wrong idea. Players routinely skip the All-Star Game, forcing the NHL to hand out one-game suspensions for that decision.
Pietrangelo will not face any sort of suspension for skipping the tournament. Who else might follow in his footsteps?
Auston Matthews has been in and out of the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup all season with a lingering upper-body injury. There has already been discussions that he should skip the tournament to recover, and now it seems more possible than ever.
The Maple Leafs will have 13 days off while the 4 Nations takes place, which could give Matthews nearly two whole weeks to continue mending his injury.
Ottawa Senators starting goalie Linus Ullmark hasn’t played in over a month with a back injury. It might be in the Senators best interest to keep Ullmark out of the tournament, so he doesn’t aggravate the injury, forcing him to miss more time. Especially where the Senators are in the playoff chase, they’ll want Ullmark as healthy as possible.
The 4 Nations Face-Off may be the NHL’s return to international hockey, but it isn’t completely a best-on-best tournament. Russia will not be part of the tournament, meaning superstars like Alex Ovechkin, Igor Shesterkin, and Nikita Kucherov will have two weeks off.
Germany, while a growing hockey country, will also not be represented. More superstars like Leon Draisaitl and Moritz Seider will be on the sidelines.
Czechia, the IIHF’s current third-ranked country in the world will not be represented. The likes of David Pastrnak and Martin Necas will have to wait for their chance to represent their country.
Only Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States are participating in the tournament, but how many of them will have complete rosters? Pietrangelo may have just set the stage for more key names to withdraw from the four-team tournament.
