Avalanche Star Slammed Over Breaking Long-Standing Tradition on Team Canada

As Mitch Marner slotted onto Team Canada's top line at their first practice for the 4 Nations Face-Off and Sidney Crosby confirmed he would be playing after an injury scare, much of the talk on social media on Monday was about Cale Makar and Drew Doughty.

Makar, who was named as an alternate captain for Canada, will dawn his number 8 that he wears with Colorado. Meanwhile, Doughty was named as the replacement for the injured Alex Pietrangelo on Monday and conceded to wearing number 89 for what could be his last go with the red and white.

The news was revealed by TSN's Pierre LeBrun as he posted a picture of Doughty sitting under his stall with nameplate and jersey number.

The comment section under LeBrun's post had many slamming Makar for not doing the traditional thing and relinquishing his number to the more seasoned Doughty.

From calling him 'classless' to saying they lost respect for Makar, there were many detractors who had a hard time adjusting to Doughty's new number. However, on a poll posted under the initial photo, fans appear to be almost split on the matter with 53% saying Makar should have given Doughty his traditional number while 47% believe Makar did the right thing.

We don't know what happened behind closed doors, if Makar had a conversation with Doughty about the number - or if he was even allowed to entertain the idea of changing numbers given the fact that rosters were submitted and jerseys were being produced to be sold prior to Doughty being added to the roster.

However, as much as I believe in the tradition of the veteran should get his number, in this instance, Doughty was a last-minute addition and it was likely too late for them to make an adjustment. Had Doughty been an original member of the team, I'm sure Makar wouldn't have made a fuss about having to change his number.

On the flip side, this should be seen as a changing of the guard so-to-speak as Doughty, if healthy, will likely only have the 2026 Olympics left in his international career, while Makar is just beginning his and will take over for Doughty as the 'X-factor' on the Team Canada blueline for years to come.