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With Charlie McAvoy in the hospital and officially ruled out of the 4 Nations Face-Off final on Thursday night, Vancouver Canucks defenseman and reigning Norris Trophy winner Quinn Hughes is on his way to Boston, head coach Mike Sullivan revealed during his media availability.
However, the superstar will only be able to play if one of America's 18 skaters are unable to suit up.
“According to NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly, Just like Harley and Canada, Quinn Hughes ‘is not in unless someone else is definitely out due to injury or illness,'” reported The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun on Tuesday. “Can’t practice with the team or play until that happens.”
Hughes was originally slated to be one of America's top defenseman at the 4 Nations, but he was forced to pull out of the tournament with an oblique injury. He missed each of the Canucks' last four games before the 13-day break.
Jake Sanderson originally replaced Hughes before the tournament started. He's in the midst of a breakout season with the Ottawa Senators, managing 35 points in 55 games. The most likely scenario is that Hughes will be unable to play, as all of Sanderson, Jaccob Slavin, Zach Werenski, Brock Faber, Noah Hanifin and Adam Fox all seem to be healthy.
That being said, besides maybe Werenski, there isn't a better American defenseman in the world than Hughes.
Quinn Hughes is one of the NHL's best players
After breaking out and being named the NHL's top defenseman in 2023-24, Hughes has been as good or better this season. The 25-year-old is up to 14 goals and 59 points in 47 games with the Canucks. Although he hasn't played a game since January 31, he would immediately elevate America's defensive unit ahead of the 4 Nations final.
Sullivan was non-committal when asked if Hughes could step right into the lineup on Thursday.
“We’re going to take each day as it comes,” said the Pittsburgh Penguins bench boss. “We’ll see what we have available to us. We’ll make decisions accordingly. I wish I could offer more on it – I just can’t.”
The United States only had 17 healthy players in Monday's loss to Sweden, with McAvoy, Auston Matthews and Matthew Tkachuk all missing the meaningless contest. Brady Tkachuk and Vincent Trocheck were both injured against the Swedes, although all of the aforementioned players except McAvoy are expected to suit up on Thursday night.
Still, adding Hughes to the defensive unit would be absolutely massive in one of Team USA's most important hockey games ever. It's hard to believe that he would be flying all the way from Vancouver to Boston just to watch the game from the press box.
It'll be intriguing to see if there are any more developments over the next two days; it's hard to see a world where a player as good as Hughes doesn't suit up.
Whether or not he plays, Thursday night is the biggest game at TD Garden since Game 7 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final — and undoubtedly one of the most significant in the history of USA hockey.
