海角社区官网

A spot on Canada’s blue line for the 4 Nations Face-Off has opened up with Vegas’s Alex Pietrangelo withdrawing to tend to an ailment he has been playing through.

is thought to be the favourite for the job if he can get back up to speed. He was to play his first game of the season Wednesday night. He suffered a sprained ankle in training camp.

Other candidates are Calgary’s MacKenzie Weegar and Seattle’s Brandon Montour. All are right-handed shots. Montour and Tanev are more rugged, defence-first blueliners; Doughty and Weegar are all-rounders with offensive upside.

Canada is going to look more like an amped-up NHL team, with defensive lines and defensive specialists, meaning there could be room for a player like Tanev.

鈥淗e’d be a great fit,鈥� Leafs coach Craig Berube said. “Looking at their lineup and what Tanev brings, you know, (Pietrangelo) brings a lot of that, too, with the penalty killing and the shutdown stuff. Tanev, that’s his baby. He’s very good at all that stuff.鈥�

leads the Leafs and is third in the league with 132 blocked shots.

鈥淗e’s a difficult guy to play against,鈥� Minnesota Wild coach John Hynes said. 鈥淗e’s a guy that you’re aware of as much as you’re aware of some of the offensive players.

鈥淗e defends hard. He’s got good size. He’s physical. He blocks shots. So he’s a guy that usually is going to get matched up against top guys.鈥�

If selected, Tanev would join Leafs teammate Mitch Marner on the Canadian team. 海角社区官网captain Auston Matthews is on the American team, William Nylander is playing for Sweden and injured defenceman Jani Hakanp盲盲 is with Finland,聽Hakanp盲盲 should be healthy in time for the Feb. 12-20 tournament in Montreal and Boston.

If Tanev is not selected, he will take his family on a sunny vacation. 鈥淏ut I’ll watch.”