Alex Pietrangelo kicked off what may become a more prevalent problem for the NHL heading into February.
The 35-year-old defenseman officially withdrew from Team Canada’s roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off on Sunday night. The Vegas Golden Knights revealed the news in a social media post, citing Pietrangelo’s desire to “tend to an ailment” and prepare for the remainder of Vegas’ 2024-25 campaign.
Update: Alex Pietrangelo will be withdrawing from the 2025 4Nations Face-Off to tend to an ailment and prepare for the remainder of the regular season with Vegas. #VegasBorn
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) January 26, 2025
Pietrangelo is the first player to withdraw from the event, which is being held from February 12-20. Games will be played in Bell Centre in Montreal and TD Garden in Boston. While the veteran blueliner was sidelined with an upper-body injury in November, he hasn’t missed any time for the Golden Knights in recent weeks.
Just hours after announcing his withdrawal, Pietrangelo played 24:22 of ice time in a 4-1 win against the Florida Panthers. Pietrangelo averages 22:42 of ice time per game this season for Vegas and has 25 points (3g, 22a) in 47 games for the Pacific Division leaders.
Per ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly has relayed that the NHL will not apply the same policy it has for players who skip the yearly All-Star Game to the 4 Nations Face-Off. In past cases, players who pulled out of the All-Star Game were required to miss one game immediately before or after the break.
Canada has up until the start of the tournament to choose Pietrangelo’s replacement. Potential candidates to join their roster include Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard, Calgary’s MacKenzie Weegar, or potentially Los Angeles’ soon-to-be-returning Drew Doughty.
