Team Canada will not have one of its anchors on defence for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off.
The Vegas Golden Knights announced Sunday that Alex Pietrangelo has withdrawn from the best-on-best tournament “to tend to an ailment and prepare for the remainder of the regular season.”
Pietrangelo, 35, is one of the most experienced players on the Canadian roster with two Stanley Cups, an Olympic gold and a World Cup of Hockey title on his resume. He is not currently injured and was in the lineup Sunday against the Florida Panthers Sunday night. He did miss a week in November with an upper-body injury.
-
-
4 Nations Face-Off
With the inaugural edition of the 4 Nations Face-Off fast approaching, be sure to catch up on all the latest news about the highly-anticipated best-on-best event. Puck drops on Feb. 12, 2025, on Sportsnet.
Team Canada did not immediately announce a replacement for Pietrangelo and the deadline to do so is Feb. 11, the day before the tournament opens. Some right-shot blueliners who could be candidates to be added to the team include Dougie Hamilton of the Devils, Evan Bouchard of the Oilers, Aaron Ekblad of the Panthers and Drew Doughty of the Kings.
Pietrangelo is the first player to withdraw from the tournament, which also features the United States, Sweden and Finland. Sweden is expected to make some lineup changes, though, with goaltenders Jacob Markstrom and Linus Ullmark, and forward William Karlsson, all currently injured.
The 4 Nations Face-Off is the first best-on-best international event since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. The tournament will run from Feb. 12-20 in Montreal and Boston with all games available on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
Below is Canada’s roster without Pietrangelo:
Forwards
Sam Bennett (Florida Panthers)
Anthony Cirelli (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
Brandon Hagel (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Seth Jarvis (Carolina Hurricanes)
Travis Konecny (Philadelphia Flyers)
Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche)
Brad Marchand (Boston Bruins)
Mitch Marner (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers)
Brayden Point (Tampa Bay Lightning)
Sam Reinhart (Florida Panthers)
Mark Stone (Vegas Golden Knights
Defence
Cale Makar (Colorado Avalanche)
Josh Morrissey (Winnipeg Jets)
Colton Parayko (St. Louis Blues)Alex Pietrangelo (Vegas Golden Knights)
Travis Sanheim (Philadelphia Flyers)
Shea Theodore (Vegas Golden Knights)
Devon Toews (Colorado Avalanche)
Goaltenders
Jordan Binnington (St. Louis Blues)
Adin Hill (Vegas Golden Knights)
Sam Montembeault (Montreal Canadiens)
