Team Canada Gets Bad News as Team USA Brings in the Ultimate Ringer for the 4 Nations Face-Off Final
Team Canada and Team USA are facing off in the 4 Nations Face-Off final and with Charlie McAvoy out with an infection, the Americans are bringing in a superstar.
When Canada suffered injuries to Shea Theodore and Cale Makar, they were able to call up Thomas Harley.
With McAvoy out for the 4 Nations Face-Off final, Team USA has been allowed to bring in an extra defenseman and they have gone with arguably the best defenseman in the league.
Team USA calls up Quinn Hughes
Prior to the tournament, Quinn Hughes was declared out as he was dealing with some kind of injury.
However, according to Team USA head coach Mike Sullivan, Hughes is over whatever was plaguing him and he is now on his way to Boston to play with his American brethren.
This is a horrific stroke of bad luck for Canada as Hughes is easily one of the best offensive defensemen in the entire National Hockey League.
He has 59 points in 47 games and that includes 14 goals. Adding him to the Team USA blueline will create a handful for Team Canada as he is their answer to Cale Makar.
Overall, Hughes does not have the same physicality as McAvoy so perhaps that is one way to look at things if you are the Canadians.
For the most part, however, this is probably not the update that Team Canada wanted to see today. There is no doubt that the championship game has just gotten harder.
No matter what, Thursday's game is going to be a classic and it will be interesting to see if Hughes can be a difference-maker.
UPDATE: According to Elliotte Friedman, Hughes can only play if Team USA suffers another injury.
