NBC Sports NHL analyst Pierre McGuire‘s early Canada Olympic roster prediction for the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, now that the NHL and NHLPA are one step closer to participating after skipping PyeongChang 2018 ...
Goalies
Jordan Binnington (St. Louis Blues, 27)
Carter Hart (Philadelphia Flyers, 21)
Carey Price (Montreal Canadiens, 32)
Also in the hunt: Braden Holtby (Washington Capitals, 30), Marc-Andre Fleury (Vegas Golden Knights, 35), Matt Murray (Pittsburgh Penguins, 26)
OlympicTalk notes: It will be difficult for anyone to supplant Price, the best goalie from the 2014 Olympics with a .59 goals-against average, .972 save percentage and shutouts of the U.S. and Sweden in the medal round. That said, Binnington bettered Price’s stats the last two seasons and won the Stanley Cup as a rookie in 2019. Canada’s goalie depth is such that the 2017 Stanley Cup winner and both 2018 Stanley Cup finalists are in the “also in the hunt” tier.
Defensemen
Thomas Chabot (Ottawa Senators, 23)
Drew Doughty (Los Angeles Kings, 30)
Kris Letang (Pittsburgh Penguins, 33)
Cale Makar (Colorado Avalanche, 21)
Josh Morrissey (Winnipeg Jets, 25)
Colton Parayko (St. Louis Blues, 27)
Alex Pietrangelo (St. Louis Blues, 30)
Morgan Rielly (Toronto Maple Leafs, 26)
Also in the hunt: Brent Burns (San Jose Sharks, 35), Aaron Ekblad (Florida Panthers, 24), Ryan Ellis (Nashville Predators, 29), Dougie Hamilton (Carolina Hurricanes, 27), Shea Theodore (Vegas Golden Knights, 24)
OlympicTalk notes: Mark Giordano and Burns won two of the last three Norris Trophies, and Shea Weber is a two-time Olympian and all-tournament player in 2010, but they will be 38, 36 and 36 come the Olympics. Only Al MacInnis (2002) and Ray Bourque (1998) have been in that age range on Canadian Olympic teams in the NHL era. Enter the new generation, led by Makar and Chabot.
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Forwards
Patrice Bergeron (Boston Bruins, 34)
Anthony Cirelli (Tampa Bay Lightning, 22)
Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins, 32)
Sean Couturier (Philadelphia Flyers, 27)
Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche, 24)
Brad Marchand (Boston Bruins, 32)
Mitch Marner (Toronto Maple Leafs, 23)
Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers, 23)
Ryan O’Reilly (St. Louis Blues, 29)
Brayden Point (Tampa Bay Lightning, 24)
Mark Scheifele (Winnipeg Jets, 27)
Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning, 30)
Mark Stone (Vegas Golden Knights, 28)
John Tavares (Toronto Maple Leafs, 29)
Also in the hunt: Mathew Barzal (New York Islanders, 23), Taylor Hall (Arizona Coyotes, 28), Jonathan Huberdeau (Florida Panthers, 27), Alexis Lafreniere (QMJHL, 18), Tyler Seguin (Dallas Stars, 28)
OlympicTalk notes: Eleven of the 14 forwards on the predicted team play center in the NHL, but Canada is known for versatility in meshing superstars. Another center, Jonathan Toews, is one of Canada’s greatest all-time international forwards. But he will be 33 come the Beijing Games, trying to make the most competitive team in the Olympics at its deepest position. Crosby, who will be 34 come 2022, might be looking at his last Olympics. But a fourth team in Italy in 2026 would be storybook, given he was controversially left off the 2006 Torino Games roster at age 18 (and Canada ended up losing in the quarterfinals).
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