Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo has withdrawn from the 4 Nations Face-Off due to an undisclosed injury and to prepare for the rest of the NHL season with the Vegas Golden Knights, the club announced in a statement Sunday.
Pietrangelo was selected to represent Canada when 4 Nations Face-Off rosters were finalized in December. He is the first player to withdraw from the event.
Pietrangelo, a 35-year-old blueliner, was sidelined for three games earlier this season due to an upper-body injury. Pietrangelo has been productive in the Golden Knights' backend, collecting three goals and 25 points while averaging a team-high 22:41 of ice time.
Now that Pietrangelo is unavailable, Canada general manager Don Sweeney will look at several intriguing options to fill the void. 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 when the 4 Nations Face-Off rosters were announced.
Drew Doughty -- a two-time Olympic gold medalist with Canada -- could be in the mix if he's recovered from a broken left ankle suffered in the preseason. Doughty has yet to appear in a regular-season game for the Los Angeles Kings but has been practicing recently.
The 4 Nations Face-Off features teams from Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland. It runs from Feb. 12 to Feb. 20, with games split between Bell Centre in Montreal and TD Garden in Boston.
