Team USA Gets a Reality Check Regarding Quinn Hughes Prior to 4 Nations Face-Off Final
Team USA was able to call up defenseman Quinn Hughes on Tuesday, however, the 4 Nations Face-Off is making their rules very clear in regards to replacements.
Yesterday, it was revealed that Team USA defenseman Charlie McAvoy was dealing with an infection and an upper-body injury. As a result, he would have to miss the 4 Nations Face-Off final against Team Canada.
However, the Americans immediately followed up that news with a bombshell, claiming that Quinn Hughes was on his way up from Vancouver.
Will Quinn Hughes play in the 4 Nations Face-Off final
Many Canadian fans felt slighted by this news as they felt it was cheap for the Americans to call up the best defenseman in the world due to just one injury.
Well, it turns out that the Canadian fans have a point, and the NHL immediately reached out to Team USA to acknowledge this.
According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Americans would have to suffer another injury in order for Quinn Hughes to be eligible.
It would not be shocking if one of the weaker American players wound up "injured" or "sick" in the coming days.
After all, the Americans want to win this tournament on home soil and you wouldn't blame them for trying to bend the rules a little bit.
However, Canada has every right to be annoyed when you consider how much of a battle it was to even get Thomas Harley on the roster.
Either way, Thursday's final has the potential to be an instant classic in the same vein as the game we all watched on Saturday night, which had three fights in the first nine seconds.
Fans were treated to some truly awesome hockey and no matter who wins, this tournament will have been a success for the NHL.
