The Montreal Canadiens regular season schedule is out, and there is a large gap in the month of February for the Winter Olympics.
We have not seen NHL players participate in the Olympics since 2014, when Carey Price and Canada stormed through the tournament, shutting down the opposition and took home the gold.
The NHL decided not to send its players to South Korea in 2018 and gold was won by Russia. There is still no guarantee that NHL players will return to the Olympics in 2022 in Beijing, China, but it sounds like they are leaning in that direction.
If they do, how many Canadiens players will we see suiting up for their home country for a two week tournament? The Olympic qualifying tournament just wrapped up on the weekend and the final three teams to earn a trip to the Olympics were Denmark, Latvia and Slovakia. They will join the top eight IIHF ranked countries which includes Canada, USA, Russia, Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, Germany and Switzerland.
As the host country, China also earns an automatic bid into the tournament. That could get interesting. China is in Group A with Canada and the United States so we could see the biggest blowouts in Olympic history, especially since goal differential is a tiebreaker for standings in the quarterfinal.
After his terrific playoff performance, it is all but certain that Carey Price will be in goal when Canada plays its first elimination game. He will probably sit out the big game with China to rest up, though whoever is in net for Canada will be pretty rested after the final buzzer anyway.
Who from the Canadiens organization will be joining Price in Beijing?
Shea Weber would have had an outside chance if he were healthy. It is doubtful any other Canadiens join Price on the Canadian Olympic team. However, a repeat performance from Tyler Toffoli would have to earn him some consideration. The only players from Canada to score more NHL goals last season were Connor McDavid and Brad Marchand.
Also, Nick Suzuki’s two-way game and solid play in a run to the Stanley Cup Final will ensure Canadian management team has an eye on him early this season. But with so many terrific options down the middle, including McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby and Patrice Bergeron, it’s doubtful Suzuki can make this stacked team.
The Canadiens have a couple of intriguing options for Team USA as well. Cole Caufield stepped into the Habs lineup just in time for the postseason and played extremely well in their run to the Finals. He is a skilled right winger who can find the back of the net.
The problem for Caufield is, a lot of American wingers are skilled and can find the back of the net. Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat, Joe Pavelski, Brock Boeser, T.J Oshie and Phil Kessel will be vying for a spot on the team as a right winger. It’s probably not quite Caufield’s time to play in the Olympics.
Jeff Petry would be a solid veteran option for the Americans on defence. He finished third in scoring among USA born defenders last season, but was behind right hand shots Adam Fox and John Carlson. With Charlie McAvoy and Seth Jones also looking for a spot as a right shot D, it lowers Petry’s chances, but he could find his way on the team with yet another strong start for the Canadiens.
Finland is going to have a really strong forward group, but a couple of Habs could find their way onto the team. If everyone is healthy, the Finnish top six could include Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen, Mikko Rantanen, Alexander Barkov, Patrik Laine and Michael Granlund. That would leave Canadiens wingers Artturi Lehkonen and Joel Armia battling with Kasperi Kapanen, Joonas Donskoi, Kappo Kakko, Jesse Puljujarvi and Eeli Tolvanen for a bottom six role on the wing.
Finland always has a tremendous defensive team so although Lehkonen and Armia are strong in that department, it isn’t exactly a part of the game that Finland is lacking for options. Armia’s size and strength, Lehkonen’s speed and both of their strong defensive game make them a better pick for a fourth line spot than a skilled youngster like Kakko or Puljujarvi.
Looking at Russia’s team, it seems likely than Alexander Romanov makes the team. But no country has made more head scratching decisions over the years than Russia when picking Olympic teams. There is some tough competition higher up the lineup with Mikhail Sergachev, Dmitri Orlov and Ivan Provorov, but there is not a lot of depth.
Romanov will be in a battle for a top four spot with the likes of Nikita Zaitsev, Nikita Zadorov, Artem Zub and whatever defenders from the KHL make the team.
If I had to wager on how many Canadiens players will be in the next Olympics, the only player I’m certain we will see there is Carey Price. Alexander Romanov, Jeff Petry and Joel Armia all should crack their respective countries lineups.
Nick Suzuki, Tyler Toffoli, Cole Caufield and Artturi Lehkonen could be called upon if a number of injuries strike their respective countries team, but their chances are less likely than the four mentioned above.
I’d also campaign for Jake Allen to be included as Canada’s number three since he works so well as Carey Price’s backup and the state of goaltending in Canada is so poor at the moment. But I’m afraid it would come off as too homerish.
We will of course have to wait and see how things start off in the 2021-22 season and whether NHL players are even going to compete. But if so, I think we will see four Canadiens for sure at the games and maybe as many as seven if there are a few injured players that need to be replaced.