Alex Pietrangelo announced his withdrawal from the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off, meaning Team Canada loses one of its anchors on defense for the tournament. But what happened just hours later now has fans furious, with everyone saying the same thing about it.
When Team Canada announced their roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off, Alex Pietrangelo was one of the most experienced on there. Over the course of his impressive career, he’s won two Stanley Cups, an Olympic gold, and a World Cup of Hockey.
Pietrangelo was expected to play a crucial part in Team Canada’s defense, but on Sunday, he announced that he won’t play in the tournament, that’s set to start on Feb. 12. Pietrangelo said he needs to ”tend to an ailment and prepare for the remainder of the regular season,” which means he won’t participate at all in the games against Sweden, Finland, and USA.
Alex Pietrangelo’s withdrawal
Team Canada hasn’t announced a replacement yet, but many now expect one of Dougie Hamilton, Evan Bouchard, or Aaron Ekblad to take Pietrangelo’s place. Fans are starting to ask questions about whether he really needs to ”tend to an ailment” or if he just doesn’t care too much about the tournament.
Pietrangelo missed a week in November with an upper-body injury but has played every game for the Golden Knights since then. On Sunday, just hours after he withdrew from the 4 Nations Face-Off, he skated for the Golden Knights in their game against the Florida Panthers. Not only that, but on social media, fans reacted strongly to the fact that Pietrangelo ranked second in TOI in the game.
Pietrangelo slammed by fans
On social media, many seemed certain that Pietrangelo is not, in fact, injured, and many criticized his decision to withdraw from the tournament but continue to play big minutes in the NHL.
”You gotta be very, very careful about this, if you’re a player. You skip these type of tourneys, you won’t get considered for the Olympics,” one said on social media.
”Gotta be a suspension coming for this, right? Especially if he continues to play until the schedule pause lol,” another said.
”I think he’s already black listed by the NHL for this. He is essentially saying this tournament isn’t important to me and it shouldn’t be for you. It is like an anti commercial,” a third added.
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