Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said an injury he’s been “dealing with for a while now” led him to withdraw from the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
Pietrangelo, who was set to represent Team Canada in the round-robin tournament from Feb. 12-20, did not provide specifics on what the injury was. He said he believes the two-week break will help him rehab and prepare for the Knights’ playoff push.
“I just think, in my head, talking with the team, the doctors, it gave me the best chance to stay on the ice healthy, especially for the second half of the year,” Pietrangelo said. “If I need to take more days before the first game after the break, that’s a long period of time to get rest and get rid of what I’m dealing with.”
The injury shouldn’t keep Pietrangelo out of the Knights’ remaining six games before the break, including their matchup with the Dallas Stars on Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed that Pietrangelo will not be punished for pulling out of the tournament. Players who back out of the NHL All-Star Game are forced to serve a one-game suspension.
Pietrangelo, who won gold at the 2014 Olympics, said “it sucks” he won’t get to wear a Team Canada sweater in a best-on-best tournament again.
“Representing your country is an honor,” said Pietrangelo, who added his family was excited to see him compete with some of the best players in the world. “It is what it is. Sometimes you’ve got to make tough decisions.”
Center William Karlsson is also expected to miss the tournament for Team Sweden with a lower-body injury. The Knights still have five players participating: Captain Mark Stone, center Jack Eichel, goaltender Adin Hill and defensemen Shea Theodore and Noah Hanifin.
Coach Bruce Cassidy, serving on Team Canada’s coaching staff as an assistant, said the injury will be a game-by-game call for Pietrangelo.
The 35-year-old leads the Knights in average time on ice (22:43) and has 25 points in 47 games.
“On the coaching staff for Team Canada, it’s a bummer. He’s a good player,” Cassidy said. “As the coach of the Vegas Golden Knights, an opportunity for him to rest and recover. He should be better off for it getting rest instead of playing.”
The Knights will try to build off of Sunday’s 4-1 win over the Florida Panthers by playing the Stars for the second time since Friday. They lost 4-3 in Dallas after allowing three goals in the second period.
Right wing Raphael Lavoie was called up from Henderson on Tuesday and will make his Knights debut on the fourth line. Lavoie scored the game-winning goal in the Silver Knights’ 2-1 overtime win against the Colorado Eagles on Saturday.
Projected lineup
Ivan Barbashev — Jack Eichel — Mark Stone
Victor Olofsson — Tomas Hertl — Pavel Dorofeyev
Tanner Pearson — Nicolas Roy — Keegan Kolesar
Jonas Rondbjerg — Brett Howden — Raphael Lavoie
Noah Hanifin — Alex Pietrangelo
Brayden McNabb — Shea Theodore
Nic Hague — Zach Whitecloud
Adin Hill
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.