Hughes not medically cleared, won't join U.S. for 4 Nations final
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Despite shedding his non-contact jersey while skating with the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday, star defenceman Quinn Hughes will not travel to Boston to join the United States for the 4 Nations Face-Off final, according to TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun.
LeBrun adds Hughes was not medically cleared from the undisclosed injury that caused him to miss Vancouver's last four games before the tournament break.
"Sounds like Team USA looking at bringing in a couple of other players just as insurance, because of illness going around," LeBrun wrote Wednesday in a post on X.
Hughes was put on standby by Team USA for the 4 Nations Face-Off final on Tuesday after Charlie McAvoy was ruled out.
Under the rules that saw Thomas Harley join Team Canada earlier in the tournament, Hughes would not have been eligible to play unless there is an additional injury for the U.S. team.
"The rules are the rules. I can't play unless anyone else gets injured, and I obviously don't want to see anyone get injured," Hughes said Tuesday of potentially joining Team USA. “It's been fun to watch. Hard for me to watch. I’m close with a lot of those U.S.A. guys and proud of how they've been playing. And the six (defencemen) that have been there, of course, I want them to play. They've gotten us to the point where we're in a championship game now, and those guys also deserve to play.
"But in saying that, it's obviously been hard for me. I'm a competitor, and I feel like I want to play and need to be there.”
Jake Sanderson, a late add to the roster to replace Hughes, made his tournament debut in Monday's meaningless 2-1 loss to Sweden, logging 17:08 of ice time. The Ottawa Senators defenceman has five goals and 35 points in 55 games with his club this season, averaging a team-high 24:24 of ice time.
The United States leaned heavily on Jaccob Slavin and Brock Faber in their first game against Canada, with both finishing with over 25 minutes of ice time. Noah Hanifin sat just above McAvoy with 20:13 of ice time, while Zach Werenski and Adam Fox saw just under 14 minutes of ice time each.
The Americans rotated different defence pairings during the skate on Wednesday, leaving the combinations unclear for the championship game.
Hughes, who has been sidelined since Jan. 31, could make his Canucks return on Saturday when the team takes on the Vegas Golden Knights on the road.