The NHL will soon go on break for the 4 Nations Face-Off, and clubs are attempting to deal with the balance between finishing this stretch of games strong and keeping stars healthy.
One of those stars, Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby, has been dealing with an upper-body injury and missed his first game of the season on Friday because of it.
Crosby was selected to captain Team Canada’s roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off, but despite having skated for the last several days, he’s in danger of missing the rare international tournament.
Per multiple reports, Winnipeg Jets star forward Mark Scheifele has been “placed on alert” to potentially replace Crosby on Team Canada if he’s unable to fully recover in time for the Feb. 12 start of competition.
TSN’s Darren Dreger noted Scheifele could also replace another member of Team Canada if Crosby is well enough to play but any other injuries pop up.
Scheifele’s 63 points this season (31 goals, 32 assists) are good for 11th in the league. Crosby’s 58 (17 goals, 41 assists) places him in 18th.
With or without Crosby on the team, pundits found it astonishing that Scheifele’s play this year didn’t earn him a roster spot to begin with.