Elliotte Friedman gives honest opinion on Quinn Hughes' ineligibility to play for Team USA in 4 Nations championship game 

By Abhishek Dilta

Modified Feb 19, 2025 04:02 GMT

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Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman shared his thoughts on Quinn Hughes' ineligibility to play for Team USA in the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off championship game.

Hughes was initially named to the Team USA roster but suffered a lower-body injury during a league game against the Dallas Stars in January. Following the injury, the Vancouver Canucks announced that he would not participate in the 4 Nations.

With Charlie McAvoy unavailable due to an upper-body injury, Hughes could travel to Boston for the championship game if needed. However, he cannot play for the Americans unless another defenseman gets injured before the final.

Friedman expressed his concerns in his blog, suggesting that the current eligibility rules may be too strict. He acknowledged the rationale behind the policy of not allowing roster additions unless there's an emergency, but he argued that the tournament's unexpected success makes this standard impractical.

"Let everyone be eligible to play. I understand the idea going into this event: no additions unless there's an emergency. No issues with this, in theory, but this incredible tournament — wildly exceeding expectations — shows this to be an impossible standard," Friedman wrote.

"We’ve seen these rules modified on the fly, so this isn’t uncharted territory. Both Canada and the USA would benefit. Two days off. Plenty of time to gameplan and adjust. This tournament is already a win. A huge success," he added.

Quinn Hughes currently remains on standby for the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off. According to reports, he was still in Vancouver with the Canucks on Tuesday, and it remains to be seen whether he will be available for Thursday's final against Canada.

The championship game is scheduled to take place at TD Garden in Boston, with the puck drop scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET.

Quinn Hughes opens up about possibility of making 4 Nations final

The Canucks captain shared his thoughts on the possibility of participating in the championship game.

He acknowledged the current rules that prevent him from playing unless another player gets injured, emphasizing that he does not wish for anyone to suffer an injury. Hughes expressed his mixed emotions about watching the tournament from the sidelines.

"It's been fun to watch. Hard for me to watch. I’m close with a lot of those USA guys and proud of how they've been playing. And the six [defencemen] that have been there, of course, I want them to play. But in saying that, it's obviously been hard for me. I'm a competitor, and I feel like I want to play and need to be there,” Hughes said.

If Quinn Hughes still can't make Team USA's roster, Jake Sanderson will likely take his place on the blue line for the championship game.