'This Guy Hates Canada': Alex Pietrangelo Is The First — But Likely ...

It was on Sunday afternoon when the Vegas Golden Knights announced Alex Pietrangelo would be “withdrawing” from the 4 Nations Face-Off “to tend to an ailment and prepare for the remainder of the regular season with Vegas.”

A couple of hours later, the defenseman logged 24:22 in ice time during a 4-1 win against the Florida Panthers.

This leads us to two conclusions: either Pietrangelo has Wolverine-like healing powers, or maybe, like many have suspected, NHLers are treating the four-team tournament as nothing more than another low-stakes version of an All-Star Game that is worth skipping.

How else do you explain that Pietrangelo was not only able to play on Sunday but also logged the second-most minutes of any player?

"This guy hates Canada," the Big Head Hockey X account posted Sunday night.

With the win, the Golden Knights moved one point ahead of the Edmonton Oilers for first place in the Pacific Division.

That’s where Pietrangelo’s focus is on now. He’s not concerned with winning a round-robin showcase tournament for Canada. Rather, he wants to win another Stanley Cup for Vegas. The best way to do that is for him to take a week off and give his 35-year-old body a rest — not risk further injury in a tournament the NHL and NHLPA created to replace the All-Star Game.

After all, the 4 Nations is not the Olympics. It’s not even the World Cup. With no Russia, Czechia, Slovakia, Germany or other countries participating, it’s not even really close.

In other words, Pietrangelo might be the first to withdraw. But as we’re starting to see, he won’t certainly won’t be the last.

This tournament could not come at a worse time in the NHL schedule. At this point in the season, star players need a break from the wear and tear of playing four months of hockey. Instead, most of them will go head-to-head in a condensed round-robin tournament that will lead to minor injuries — or worse.

Leafs fans have already expressed concerns about management allowing Auston Matthews, who has missed considerable time this season with a nagging shoulder injury, to participate on Team USA. Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving said on Jan. 13 he isn't worried.

Vegas center Willam Karlsson, who is currently out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, is also questionable to play for Sweden, while there are no guarantees that injured Swedish goalies Linus Ullmark and Jacob Markstrom will be back in time.

At the same time, there will be no shortage of Canadians looking to take Pietrangelo’s spot on the back end. The deadline to name a replacement is Feb. 11, with Aaron Ekblad, MacKenzie Weegar and Evan Bouchard among the many potential options.

Drew Doughty, who missed the first the first part of the season, has already said, “I don’t want a break – I want to play.”

As we get closer to the 4 Nations, he, unfortunately, might be in the minority.

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Related: 4 Nations Face-Off: One All-Snub Team Canada Isn't Enough. We Made Two.

Related: Markstrom Injury Changes Goalie Picture At 4 Nations Face-Off, But Swedes Still Solid In Net