BROSSARD, Quebec – Team USA won’t play its first game of the 4 Nations Face-Off until Thursday night, but it’s already suffered a big blow with Quinn Hughes bowing out due to a reported oblique injury.
Hughes, the defending Norris Trophy winner and one of the frontrunners again this season, agonized over his decision on whether to once again wear red, white and blue and play in his first best-on-best tournament with his younger brother, Jack.
But the Vancouver Canucks captain, who looked to be in discomfort during a skate Saturday morning as he tried to test the injury that has kept him out of four games, ultimately decided it would be most appropriate to rest and heal during the 4 Nations break so he can get healthy for the Canucks’ stretch drive. With the Calgary Flames starting to fade and the Canucks 6-1-1 in their past eight, the Canucks are now three points up on the Flames for the final wild-card spot.
“I’d say it was probably the hardest decision that Quinn’s ever had to make,” Hughes’ agent, Pat Brisson, told The Athletic. “He was looking forward to representing his country along with his brother, Jack. But at the same time, he’s been carrying an injury that could continue to linger and perhaps make it worse while he also hasn’t played in a few weeks. He did everything he could in his recovery to be ready.
“The decision not to play the tournament was finally made (Sunday) after a long marathon of conversations. He was completely devastated.”
This is obviously a huge blow for the U.S. as Hughes would have been its No. 1 defenseman and likely quarterbacked the No. 1 power play. Hughes, 25, is second amongst NHL defensemen with 59 points and 22 power-play points. He leads the Canucks in scoring by 24 points.
Jack Hughes says older brother Quinn Hughes is bummed he had to pull out of 4 Nations but “hopefully Olympics next year we’ll get it done.” pic.twitter.com/tZ3OyBex9T
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) February 10, 2025
Devils star Jack Hughes was obviously disappointed but said, “It’s hockey at the end of day. People get injured all the time, and I was looking forward to spending time with him, but it’s all good, and hopefully he heals up and is ready to go for a big second half with Vancouver.
“He wants to be a part of this. He was really excited to come with this group and put the USA Jersey back on. So it’s frustrating. But if you’re injured, you’re injured.”
Ottawa’s Jake Sanderson, a 2022 Olympian who came awfully close to making the initial roster in December before the United States brass chose Noah Hanifin, replaced Quinn Hughes on the roster. He stuck around Florida, where the Sens last played, and waited well into Sunday until finally being given the word that Hughes was officially out. Sanderson, asked Saturday by GM Bill Guerin to be on call just in case, canceled a tropical vacation and flew to Montreal.
Brady Tkachuk, Sanderson’s teammate with the Sens, called him “one of the best defensemen in the league” and said it was a well-deserved honor. Sanderson looks like he’ll start the 4 Nations as the United States’ seventh defensemen, with anticipated seventh defenseman Noah Hanifin elevated to the third defense pair with Brock Faber.
“Quinn’s such a special player,” Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said. “It’s really unfortunate that he was unable to go. And I know he’s at home and he wanted to be here. It’s hard on him, but he’s looking after his body, and he’s just unable to go. So it’s just an unfortunate situation, and you’re going to look at guys like Zach Werenski to step up. But we’re going to miss (Hughes’) offensive abilities and how he moves the puck.”
Hughes has medaled in four international tournaments. He won silver in the 2019 World Junior Championship, bronze in the 2018 World Junior Championship and World Championship and gold in the 2017 World Under-18 Championship.
Jack said when the decision was finally made, Quinn texted him, “Sorry. I was so pumped,” and Jack texted him back, “We’re both gonna play a long time.”
The good news is the NHL is committed to the 2026 and 2030 Winter Olympics, and the hope is there will be World Cups into the future starting in 2028. Jack Hughes recalled that last year, the Hughes Bros also couldn’t play together during All-Star Weekend because he was hurt.
“At some point, we’ll play a … maybe the third year,” Hughes said. “Last year was All-Star Game. Didn’t happen. This year, this. So hopefully Olympics next year we’ll get it done.”
Matthews playing with Guentzel and Hughes
From well before the roster was finalized in early December, the U.S. coaching staff and management team had been tinkering with line combinations.
There have been several iterations, but coach Mike Sullivan plans to open Thursday against Finland with this:
“That’s a starting point,” Sullivan said. “We’re looking to build some chemistry. We’re looking for complementary skill sets. We’re looking for balance throughout our lineup. And then we’re also looking for certain roles or identities that each line might play with in order to help us have success.
“This is just my experience of putting together line combinations over the years in the NHL: Sometimes you think on paper that these combinations should work based on complementary skill sets or what each respective player brings to the table, and then, for whatever reason, it doesn’t. And so there’s always going to be … a human element that’s hard to predict. So we’re going to feel it out.
“What I will tell you is that we’re looking for complementary skill sets. We’re looking for speed on every line. If we’ve got guys that have affinity to score goals, we need people that can get the puck and distribute.”
One of the most intriguing lines in Monday’s practice was U.S. captain Auston Matthews centering Jake Guentzel and Jack Hughes.
“(Matthews and Hughes) are two elite offensive players. I think Auston is a guy that is a pure goal scorer. That’s not his only attribute, but he certainly excels at that attribute, and I think Jack Hughes is a guy that is as good as anyone at distributing pucks, and he has such great offensive instincts. He’s elusive. He has the ability to create time and space. And he can get people to puck in the key areas. That tandem could potentially have complementary skill sets. We’ll wait and see.”
The United States opens play against Finland on Thursday night. Because they have one more day to prepare than Canada and Sweden, they did not yet work special teams Monday.
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Accepting your role
Not everyone can be a top-six forward or be on the No. 1 power play. Heck, not everyone can play.
That was obvious Monday when the United States unveiled a fourth line that included Larkin. Chris Kreider, who scored 127 goals from 2021 to ’24 for the New York Rangers, looked slated to open the tournament as a healthy scratch.
“I’m just honored to be here and really happy,” Larkin said. “I’m one of the guys that will do anything to help the team and try and win. I’m probably going to be playing down the lineup, where I’m not used to that. But it’s something that I accept doing anything for the team.”
Sullivan said this is the biggest challenge.
“The reality is when you look at these teams, they’re all dream teams, so to speak,” Sullivan said. “Most of them are used to being on the first power plays of their respective NHL teams, or they’re used to being the go-to guys in all the key situations. And the reality is when you put 20 something of them in the same dressing room, not everybody can be that guy.
“And so that’s going to be important element is just a certain selflessness, a certain level of humility and self-sacrifice for the group. And I think that goes a long way to build the chemistry and the team atmosphere that we’re looking for.”
Tkachuk brothers separated
One of the intrigues heading into the tournament was if the Tkachuk brothers would be linemates. But to start, Matthew Tkachuk will skate with Jack Eichel and Kyle Connor and Brady Tkachuk will skate with J.T. Miller and Matt Boldy.
“We’re not taking this moment for granted or lightly at all,” Matthew Tkachuk said. “We know with our situations — me in Florida and him in Ottawa — that we’re most likely not going to play with each other in the NHL itself, so this was our best bet. We just both want to play really well.”
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You can also probably expect some run-ins Saturday night when Tkachuk faces his hard-nosed Florida Panthers teammate, Canada’s Sam Bennett.
“That’s the beauty of this tournament,” Bennett said. “As close friends as you are, we’re all competitive athletes and want to represent our country proudly. You’re gonna have to push those friendships aside for a week here and do whatever it takes to win.”
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(Photo of Auston Matthews and J.T. Miller: Vitor Munhoz / Getty Images)
