Last season, one of the highlights for hockey fans across the league was the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off. The mid-season tournament featured Canada, the USA, Finland and Sweden and helped add more chapters to historic international rivalries. The event also included some intriguing storylines, with the biggest being the absence of Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes.

Despite the fact that Hughes was injured and had missed four games, there was at least hope that he would be ready for the tournament. In the end, the American defenceman was unable to participate, which left a hole on Team USA's blue line. In a recent interview on 32 Thoughts, Hughes spoke about his injury and what happened leading up to the tournament. 

"Yeah, it was frustrating, because I I heard it and why I tore a ligament my hand in December, and I was playing with a cast in January, which the cast was amazing, shout out Dr Hotchkiss in New York. But it was fine. I was able to play with that, and I was playing really well in January. And then I got elbowed by Dadonov against Dallas. I think it was like January 31, and I thought I got the wind knocked out of me. I thought it was nothing or whatever. Then I went on, skated again. I couldn't move. And that's when I was like, Oh, that may be a little bit more than, like, something happened there. And then I went on for warm-ups two days later, and I couldn't really move again. So I was like, maybe this is something more. And then we got that line whatnot, and had the oblique tear, but I still thought maybe, like, it was still eight, nine days away. I think the first game was the 13th, so I think everyone was showing up in ninth, but first game was 13. So the sixth and seventh, I was like, I don't feel great, but you don't know how you're gonna feel on the 13th, but I didn't want to show up. And I'm like, Yeah, Billy, Billy, I'm good. But then on the 13th, I'm like, Hey, I can't play. And then that hurts the USA, or I can play, and then I get hurt, or I hurt it more because I'm not ready, and then I come back to the Canucks, and I can't play. So it was a tough spot to be in, but I decided that as the captain of the Canucks, and we were, I think, at that point, maybe in the playoffs, that I wanted to make sure I was healthy and ready to go for them. But then it was, Charlie got hurt, and the whole thing with Harley. So they were like, Hey, do you want to come play? I'm like, of course. Like, I'll play, but I haven't been on the ice for like, 20 days. And Jimmy was like, I don't think you're going to be able to play in that intensity, but whatever the NHL was like, you can't play because Harley, someone was sick or, like, Cale was injured, and then something else happened, Morrissey got injured, whereas we just had one guy out, so they were like, you can't play. So that was kind of everything that happened."

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The story around Hughes' absence quickly became a conspiracy theory because of Team USA Head Coach Mike Sullivan. In a press conference, Sullivan said, "Quinn Hughes is coming", which sent shock waves through the hockey world. There was also some confusion in Vancouver as Hughes was skating at Rogers Arena in a non-contact jersey. 

At the time, there were rumours that the Canucks were the ones who prevented Hughes from joining Team USA at the tournament. Brady Tkachuk even went as far as to accuse Vancouver of preventing Hughes from attending, saying, "Little shady business to begin with; we all know who they were cheering for." In the end, the rumours appear to be false as Hughes explained what really happened.

"I don't think they did  want me to play just because they wanted me to be fresh, right? And they knew I wasn't 100% so, I mean, I can't really blame them for that... No, I'll just leave it at that. They didn't block me. They didn't. That's the truth. Jim and Patrick were very respectful."

Hughes also made it clear that he did everything he could to try to play in the tournament. Not only was this an opportunity to represent his country, but it was also a chance to play with his brother and friends. Hughes also spoke about how missing the opportunity was frustrating, especially considering how Vancouver finished in 2024-25. 

"I was skating every day hard. I was skating hard. I was pushing it hard. I think our last game was against Toronto on Saturday. I was out there, but then I was out there the ninth, pushing it hard. And I remember calling Billy, like, three times. Billy was like, I need an answer. I'm like, I don't know Billy. And he's like, give me a call in 30 minutes. And we did this two more times because I really wanted to go. I mean, opportunity to pair Jack opportunity, Brady and Matthew, Larks (Larkin), one of my closest friends. And then, like, Charlie, and then all these other great players I wanted to play, but I didn't want to show up and not be able to play after game one, be like, Ooh, I made a mistake, and I'm injured, and now I had to call up Jim Rutherford and be like, hey, I might have to miss a couple weeks here. Probably, yeah, but it's frustrating in hindsight, because we ended up missing the playoffs. So in the summer, you're like, damn, missed a cool experience there. But I still don't think I'd change a thing."

While Hughes did miss the 4 Nations, he will have an opportunity to represent Team USA in a few months. The Canucks captain has already been named to the American roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics and will have his eyes set on capturing Gold. Based on the projected roster, Hughes will be a key part of Team USA and will be in contention for the tournament's all-star team. 

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