Team Canada is looking for a defenceman.

The Vegas Golden Knights <a href="https://x.com/GoldenKnights/status/1883642745132380596">announced</a> on Monday that Alex Pietrangelo has withdrawn from the 4 Nations Face-Off in February to &#8220;tend to an ailment and prepare for the remainder of the regular season.&#8221;
The 35-year-old two-time Stanley Cup champion was able to play 24:22 in Vegas&#8217; win over the Florida Panthers later that night despite the mystery ailment but, regardless, there&#8217;s now an opening on Canada&#8217;s blueline.
Head coach Jon Cooper will have no shortage of quality options to choose from when looking for a replacement. MacKenzie Weegar of the Calgary Flames has a similar two-way skillset, Chris Tanev of the Toronto Maple Leafs is a battle-tested veteran who brings a shutdown presence, and Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings has a wealth of experience playing at the international level.
Those were the top three options listed by <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/ranking-team-canada-4-nations-face-off-replacements-alex-pietrangelo-weegar-doughty-bouchard-tanev">Daily Faceoff&#8217;s Matt Larkin</a> when it comes to who Team Canada is going to bring on board to replace Pietrangelo. Fourth on the list is Edmonton Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard&#8230;
<blockquote>
&#8220;What if Canada is better off not replacing Pietrangelo’s skillset directly? It has Colton Parayko and Travis Sanheim and thus doesn’t necessarily need another big, long guy who can man the PK. Might Canada be better off with a right-shot defenseman who drives offense more than Petro does at this stage of his career? If so, can the front office please revisit Bouchard? He should have made the team and should rank higher on this list, but I’m keeping him this low based on the fact <a class="text-secondary underline underline-offset-2" href="https://x.com/SportsnetSpec/status/1883666796026433594" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" hreflang="en">those in the know have expressed little confidence he’ll get the call.</a> I’ll continue to call BS on the narrative that he’s not good enough defensively. Yes, he’s turning the puck over quite a bit more this year, but his pairing with Mattias Ekholm remains elite at both ends of the ice, holding down roughly 60 percent of the 5-on-5 scoring chances and expected goals. Bouchard leads all NHLers in shots of 90 mph or more, and the idea that he’s carried by elite players is silly in the Team Canada context, because who the hell do you think he’d be playing with in the tournament?&#8221;
</blockquote>
After Edmonton&#8217;s Stanley Cup Final run in the spring, Bouchard seemed like a lock to play for Canada at the 4 Nations. <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/oilers-spotlight-zach-hyman-one-of-best-forwards-since-team-canada-snub">The same was the case for teammate Zach Hyman</a>, but both Oilers were left off <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/zach-hyman-evan-bouchard-and-stuart-skinner-left-off-canadas-4-nations-face-off-roster">Canada&#8217;s roster</a> because of slow starts to their respective seasons.
Bouchard has <a href="https://oilersnation.com/stats">eight goals and 37 points through 50 games this season</a> along with a goal differential of <a href="https://www.naturalstattrick.com/playerteams.php?fromseason=20242025&amp;thruseason=20242025&amp;stype=2&amp;sit=5v5&amp;score=all&amp;stdoi=oi&amp;rate=n&amp;team=EDM&amp;pos=D&amp;loc=B&amp;toi=0&amp;gpfilt=none&amp;fd=&amp;td=&amp;tgp=410&amp;lines=single&amp;draftteam=ALL">48-to-35</a> at even strength. Those are very strong numbers at a glance, but it&#8217;s shy of what was expected for Bouchard coming into a contract season. The former London Knight finished fifth in Norris Trophy voting with 82 points in 81 games last year and had a historic playoff run with 32 points in 25 games.
With puck-movers like Cale Makar and Shea Theodore available, Canada opted to go with steadier and more physical defensive options such as Colton Parayko and Travis Sanheim rather than Bouchard. If Cooper wants to add more offence, Bouchard is the best option to get the call. If he&#8217;s looking for a reliable veteran, Doughty or Tanev would be the likely choices.

Team Canada is looking for a defenceman.



The Vegas Golden Knights <a href="https://x.com/GoldenKnights/status/1883642745132380596">announced</a> on Monday that Alex Pietrangelo has withdrawn from the 4 Nations Face-Off in February to "tend to an ailment and prepare for the remainder of the regular season."

The 35-year-old two-time Stanley Cup champion was able to play 24:22 in Vegas' win over the Florida Panthers later that night despite the mystery ailment but, regardless, there's now an opening on Canada's blueline.

Head coach Jon Cooper will have no shortage of quality options to choose from when looking for a replacement. MacKenzie Weegar of the Calgary Flames has a similar two-way skillset, Chris Tanev of the Toronto Maple Leafs is a battle-tested veteran who brings a shutdown presence, and Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings has a wealth of experience playing at the international level.

Those were the top three options listed by <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/ranking-team-canada-4-nations-face-off-replacements-alex-pietrangelo-weegar-doughty-bouchard-tanev">Daily Faceoff's Matt Larkin</a> when it comes to who Team Canada is going to bring on board to replace Pietrangelo. Fourth on the list is Edmonton Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard...
<blockquote>
"What if Canada is better off not replacing Pietrangelo’s skillset directly? It has Colton Parayko and Travis Sanheim and thus doesn’t necessarily need another big, long guy who can man the PK. Might Canada be better off with a right-shot defenseman who drives offense more than Petro does at this stage of his career? If so, can the front office please revisit Bouchard? He should have made the team and should rank higher on this list, but I’m keeping him this low based on the fact <a class="text-secondary underline underline-offset-2" href="https://x.com/SportsnetSpec/status/1883666796026433594" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" hreflang="en">those in the know have expressed little confidence he’ll get the call.</a> I’ll continue to call BS on the narrative that he’s not good enough defensively. Yes, he’s turning the puck over quite a bit more this year, but his pairing with Mattias Ekholm remains elite at both ends of the ice, holding down roughly 60 percent of the 5-on-5 scoring chances and expected goals. Bouchard leads all NHLers in shots of 90 mph or more, and the idea that he’s carried by elite players is silly in the Team Canada context, because who the hell do you think he’d be playing with in the tournament?"
</blockquote>
After Edmonton's Stanley Cup Final run in the spring, Bouchard seemed like a lock to play for Canada at the 4 Nations. <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/oilers-spotlight-zach-hyman-one-of-best-forwards-since-team-canada-snub">The same was the case for teammate Zach Hyman</a>, but both Oilers were left off <a href="https://oilersnation.com/news/zach-hyman-evan-bouchard-and-stuart-skinner-left-off-canadas-4-nations-face-off-roster">Canada's roster</a> because of slow starts to their respective seasons.

Bouchard has <a href="https://oilersnation.com/stats">eight goals and 37 points through 50 games this season</a> along with a goal differential of <a href="https://www.naturalstattrick.com/playerteams.php?fromseason=20242025&amp;thruseason=20242025&amp;stype=2&amp;sit=5v5&amp;score=all&amp;stdoi=oi&amp;rate=n&amp;team=EDM&amp;pos=D&amp;loc=B&amp;toi=0&amp;gpfilt=none&amp;fd=&amp;td=&amp;tgp=410&amp;lines=single&amp;draftteam=ALL">48-to-35</a> at even strength. Those are very strong numbers at a glance, but it's shy of what was expected for Bouchard coming into a contract season. The former London Knight finished fifth in Norris Trophy voting with 82 points in 81 games last year and had a historic playoff run with 32 points in 25 games.

With puck-movers like Cale Makar and Shea Theodore available, Canada opted to go with steadier and more physical defensive options such as Colton Parayko and Travis Sanheim rather than Bouchard. If Cooper wants to add more offence, Bouchard is the best option to get the call. If he's looking for a reliable veteran, Doughty or Tanev would be the likely choices.

Evan Bouchard among possible replacements for Team Canada after Alex Pietrangelo withdraws from 4 Nations Face-Off

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