{"id":363060,"date":"2025-12-18T21:19:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T21:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/363060\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T21:19:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T21:19:11","slug":"team-canada-down-to-about-five-roster-decisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/363060\/","title":{"rendered":"Team Canada down to about five roster decisions"},"content":{"rendered":"

TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun discusses Canada\u2019s men\u2019s Olympic roster refinement down the stretch, the chances of Matthew Schaefer<\/a> being their eighth defenceman, if Jordan Binnington<\/a> is still a lock and NHL teams calling on Phil Danault.<\/p>\n

GINO REDA: We\u2019re now down to less than two weeks before the final roster is announced for the Canadian Olympic team.<\/p>\n

Who is still on the bubble? Could Matthew Schaefer<\/a> really make the team? And could Jordan Binnington<\/a> actually get bumped? Here\u2019s our Insider Pierre LeBrun to discuss these topics and more.<\/p>\n

Pierre, what are you hearing about the final number of spots still available on Team Canada right now?<\/p>\n

PIERRE LeBRUN: Gino, first let me tell you that Team Canada\u2019s management group will have another call to discuss all of this on Thursday night.<\/p>\n

It won\u2019t be their last call. The deadline, of course, Dec. 31, is when they\u2019ll announce their roster.<\/p>\n

My understanding is that they\u2019re down to about five roster decisions. Two up front, two on defence, and one in goal, where they are down to four goalies.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start up front, Gino. This is where there\u2019s the potential for the most movement from the 4 Nations roster.<\/p>\n

Remember, Gino, we\u2019ve talked about this a lot. The 4 Nations roster matters a lot to Team Canada, as far as guys needing to lose their job to guys pushing.<\/p>\n

But the four forwards I\u2019m told that have absolutely been identified as guys that have pushed hardest to make the Olympic team are Macklin Celebrini<\/a>, Tom Wilson<\/a>, Bo Horvat<\/a>, and Nick Suzuki<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I think Celebrini and Wilson are on. I think then that\u2019s a question for Team Canada to decide can they take both Horvat and Suzuki, or one or the other? I think one of the reasons why these things are still uncertain is that there are other debates.<\/p>\n

For example, if you are taking Tom Wilson<\/a>, and I think they are, can you have Tom Wilson<\/a>, Sam Bennett<\/a>, and Brad Marchand<\/a> all on the Olympic team, or as someone close to it described to me, can you take two of those three or one of those three? So, that still is a conversation internally with Team Canada.<\/p>\n

And then, of course, there\u2019s Connor Bedard<\/a>, who, absolutely, his stellar play pushed him up the ranks, made him a constant conversation with Team Canada. Obviously, his injury hurts now, but there\u2019s still some, I think, that say \u2018Why not take him as a 14th forward and let him work his way up?\u2019 But I think, at this point, it\u2019s more realistic that he\u2019s probably just on the outside looking in.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind, Gino, at all three positions there is going to be a group of reserve players in case of injury that may get the call just like Marty St. Louis did in 2014 when Steven Stamkos<\/a> got hurt.<\/p>\n

I absolutely believe that if Bedard doesn\u2019t make the team outright on Dec. 31, that he absolutely will be on that group of reserves. No question.<\/p>\n

REDA: Okay, so let\u2019s go to the blueline now. You mentioned Canada is still trying to decide about two spots on defence.<\/p>\n

Matthew Schaefer<\/a> is only 18. He could actually still be playing at the World Juniors this Christmas if the New York Islanders<\/a> let him go, but they\u2019re obviously not going to do that.<\/p>\n

But could he really, actually make this Olympic team as a kid?<\/p>\n

LeBRUN: He could. That\u2019s not to say he will, but he remains still in these final conversations, I\u2019m told, with Team Canada.<\/p>\n

I think the conversation within them is, do they take him as their eighth defenceman and see where he fits from there? He\u2019s just been so good and they keep waiting for him to hit a wall as an 18-year-old, and he hasn\u2019t hit that wall.<\/p>\n

One name that has been written off by many is Evan Bouchard<\/a>. By the way Gino, I\u2019m told his name now has resurfaced in these conversations at the 11th hour because he\u2019s been a lot better over the final month.<\/p>\n

So, I think it\u2019s between Schaefer and Bouchard, probably for that eighth spot. Having said that, someone else close to the situation told me on this day, it\u2019s also not out of the question that they just bring back all eight defencemen they had at the 4 Nations, that that is one of the debates they are having.<\/p>\n

But at the end of the day, I think there are three players that played at the 4 Nations that are vulnerable here because they\u2019ve been up and down this year: Thomas Harley<\/a>, Colton Parayko<\/a>, and Travis Sanheim<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a world in which one or two of those three guys, perhaps, get replaced for the Olympics. Again, not decided. That\u2019s why there\u2019s a call on Thursday night. That\u2019s why there\u2019s still decisions to be made between now and Dec. 31.<\/p>\n

REDA: Alright, let\u2019s get to the goalies, and this one\u2019s juicy, my friend. Jordan Binnington<\/a> was a rock star at the 4 Nations against Team USA.<\/p>\n

For a long time, we figured he was a lock to make the team and he\u2019s probably a lock to at least get the starting job to open the tournament. But could he actually get bumped now, Pierre?<\/p>\n

LeBRUN: Listen, I think the chances are not great that he gets bumped. But what I will tell you is that it is a real conversation now that his struggles continue.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re down to four names for Team Canada in goal. The four names are Binnington, Logan Thompson<\/a>, Darcy Kuemper<\/a>, and Mackenzie Blackwood<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The other three goalies I mentioned are playing well this year, in particular Logan Thompson<\/a>, but Binnington is not and so, at the very least, it has been a conversation of late within Team Canada that we need to look at this.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, my sense is they still will take Jordan Binnington<\/a> based on the body of work and then choose between two of those other three names. But the mere fact now that it\u2019s more of a conversation than it was a month ago tells you that there\u2019s some concern.<\/p>\n

REDA: Alright, change of topic before I let you go. Just heading into the Christmas trade freeze tomorrow night at midnight, and the Los Angeles Kings<\/a> are getting a lot of last-minute calls, Pierre?<\/p>\n

LeBRUN: Yeah, they\u2019re getting calls on Phillip Danault<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Listen, it\u2019s been out there over the last week. Allan Walsh obviously brought a lot of light to it when he said that his client, Phillip Danault<\/a>, had not asked for a trade. But that doesn\u2019t mean that he won\u2019t get traded, and the fact is the Kings are getting lots of calls on him.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a complicated situation. I mean, he\u2019s not a rental player. He\u2019s got another year on his deal at $5.5 million. And for the Kings, it\u2019s not like they\u2019re a seller. They\u2019re a perennial playoff team and they intend to be in the playoffs again.<\/p>\n

So, if they trade Phillip Danault<\/a>, my understanding is they\u2019ve told other teams, \u2018We need help, we need offence. We don\u2019t want draft picks and prospects that can\u2019t help us today.\u2019 They would rather make a deal where it\u2019s a traditional hockey deal where they get help now.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know how easy that is to do, especially in the next 24 hours. It might be something that needs to play out here between now and March 6, but they\u2019re getting calls on him.<\/p>\n

Among the teams that have called \u2013 Montreal Canadiens<\/a>, New Jersey Devils<\/a>, Utah Mammoth<\/a>, a long list of teams. I mean, all of the teams that you can think of that need help at centre have obviously checked in with L.A. because it\u2019s so rare for centres to be available.<\/p>\n

He has zero goals on the season. His role has been reduced, Gino, but centres just don\u2019t get dealt, so that\u2019s why there\u2019s still lots of attention on him.<\/p>\n

REDA: Great point. Alright, that\u2019s the early edition of IT.<\/p>\n

The full version of Insider Trading with Pierre and C.J. is coming up on the early edition of SportsCentre.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun discusses Canada\u2019s men\u2019s Olympic roster refinement down the stretch, the chances of Matthew…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":363061,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[4759,5,42191,33301,37074,4,47698,44152],"class_list":{"0":"post-363060","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-apple-news","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-jordan-binnington-sports-hockey-player-player-nhl-api-8476412","11":"tag-macklin-celebrini-sports-hockey-player-player-nhl-api-8484801","12":"tag-matthew-schaefer-sports-hockey-player-player-nhl-api-8485366","13":"tag-nhl","14":"tag-phillip-danault-sports-hockey-player-player-nhl-api-8476479","15":"tag-tom-wilson-sports-hockey-player-player-nhl-api-8476880"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115742661975825014","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=363060"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363060\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/363061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}