Canada's Patrick Chan does not do the quad. He often does not do all of his other jumps clean either (a fall here, a bad landing there). And he takes advantage of every opportunity he has to let people know that his artistry is good enough to get him on the podium without a quad. So, the fact that CTV and other outlets are reporting that Patrick Chan is not doing a quad at the Olympics should not be a surprise.
Chan is in a class by himself as a skater, and he will receive very high scores even if he does make a mistake technically. I'm not sure he can beat Plushenko without a quad unless Plushenko falters, but I also don't think the quad is worth the risk for Chan, so I understand this decision.
My main concern for the men's competition at this Olympics is that it may turn into a not so evenly matched competition. Plushenko will do maybe three quads, AND he will get high presentation scores, but some of the other skaters will be so far back technically that they will have no shot. I'm kind of expecting it to be like that - which takes away a competitive element, as well as an element of enjoyment for someone like me who does not love Plushenko's skating. At the same time, you have to reward those technical elements, and what Plushenko can do is pretty amazing.
On the other hand, if a bunch of skaters who do not always land their quads, like a Lysacek or a Weir, throw them into their Olympic programs out of desperation to contend with Plushenko and they fail to land them, it makes an even more clear spot on that podium for a Patrick Chan, who will skate smart and milk all the points he can get out the scoring system. So maybe the competitive element will be there after all. We will likely have a lot of free skate strategerie to look forward to!