Team USA Scrambles for Reinforcements After Devastating Quinn Hughes News

With the Four Nations Finale right around the corner, anticipation is building for Team USA vs. Canada in a big way, with many expecting Quinn Hughes to potentially join the United States for the Championship Game.

His potential admission to the team came with the condition that another defenseman would have to go down however, and according to Pierre LeBrun, this has all led to Hughes now making it official; he won't travel to Boston to join the team in any capacity.

This unfortunately wasn't his call however, as he wasn't medically cleared, and given that the Canucks desperately need their captain for their upcoming Stanley Cup Playoffs push, it's safe to say that the team and the fans would much prefer he stay out of such a physical tournament, especially given that he was ruled out for injury reasons beforehand.

According to LeBrun, Team USA is looking into other options, as illness continues to be present in camp, and if a defenseman were to go down in the next 24 hours, they'll still need to find a replacement, much like Canada did with Thomas Harley when he replaced Cale Makar against the United States.

With McAvoy also out, this is a major blow to Team USA, with Matthew and Brady Tkachuk as well as Auston Matthews all reportedly dealing with niggling injuries, and with the team looking to back up their performance against Canada, they'll need all hands on deck if they are to be crowned Four Nations Champions.