Knights Star Alex Pietrangelo Withdraws From 2025 4 Nations Face-Off

Team Canada has lost an important presence on the back end for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off.

Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo has withdrawn from the world tournament “to tend to an ailment and prepare for the remainder of the regular season.”

With two Stanley Cups and an Olympic gold medal under his belt, Pietrangelo, 35, was one of Canada’s most seasoned veterans.

Pietrangelo has missed three of the Golden Knights’ 49 games this season. He has tallied three goals and 22 assists for a total of 25 points in his fifth campaign in Vegas after spending his first 12 NHL seasons with the St. Louis Blues.

The two-time All-Star selection was initially prideful to be selected as a member of Canada’s official roster in December after almost retiring only two seasons ago.

“Yeah, it’s been a long couple of years,” Pietrangelo said. “But sometimes when you’ve gone through adversity, it makes you take a step back and enjoy the small things. It makes all of this even more special.”

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While he is withdrawing to focus on his health and prioritize the NHL season, Pietrangelo reflected on how special the opportunity to be a part of the 4 Nations Face-Off was last month as well.

“When you have kids and you play in something like this, even playing in the League, they get to experience something a lot of kids will never get to,” Pietrangelo said. “They might not be able to understand it yet, but they will be able to look back down the road and see photos of themselves in the dressing room with the likes of Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby, amazing players like that. And they’ll get to see Daddy play for Canada.”

“You know it’s there. You know it would be a great opportunity. But I’m a big believer in if you believe in yourself and you just get out there and play your game, the rest will take care of itself,” Pietrangelo told the Las Vegas Review Journal.

Team Canada has yet to announce a replacement for Pietrangelo; the deadline to do so is Feb. 11.

Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Josh Morrissey, Travis Sanheim, Colton Parayko, and Shea Theodore are the remaining defenseman set to suit up for Canada on Feb. 12.

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