Whom should Canada choose for its goalie trio at the 2026 Olympics?
The Olympic roster deadline is not even three weeks away now, and Canada’s goalie situation remains a total mess. The 4 Nations Face-Off trio consisted of Jordan Binnington, Adin Hill and Sam Montembeault. Hill is hurt, while Binnington and Montembeault have struggled badly this season.
Roundtable: pretend you’re Doug Armstrong and fix Canada’s goaltending problem. Who are your three picks for the Olympics?
MATT LARKIN: Jordan Binnington, Logan Thompson, Mackenzie Blackwood. That’s it: I’m tired of excluding Thompson because of the reported bad blood between him and Canada assistant coaches Bruce Cassidy and Pete DeBoer stemming from Thompson’s tenure with the Vegas Golden Knights. Is Thompson really going to disrupt a dressing room with Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon in it? Come on. Thompson has been Canada’s best goalie for the past 14 months. He’s the Vezina Trophy frontrunner. You simply have to bring him at this point. Imagine the heat the Canada brass will take if they snub him and lose the Olympics because of their goaltending.
ANTHONY TRUDEAU: Logan Thompson, Darcy Kuemper, Mackenzie Blackwood. If I’m Armstrong, the only reason I’m sending Binnington to Italy during a lost season (.875 save percentage) is to boost his trade value for the Blues. I enjoy Binnington’s shtick as much as the next guy, but he’s the poster child of the volatile goalie trope. Loyalty to his 4 Nations heroics, which were limited to one (critical) game, doesn’t make sense at the ultimate “What have you done for me lately?” position. Darcy Kuemper’s .919 SV% since the start of last season is actually higher than Thompson’s (.915) and anyone else not named Hellebuyck or Vasilevskiy. If Canada wants a more experienced foil for Thompson and Blackwood (21 combined playoff starts), Kuemper (36 playoff starts, 2022 Stanley Cup), not Binnington, is the play.
PAUL PIDUTTI: Logan Thompson, Jordan Binnington, Darcy Kuemper. I’m aligned with Anthony on Binnington’s shaky play, expressing concerns about his fading performance and dicey ‘clutch’ reputation in this piece earlier in the week. But from my own junior hockey days, I can appreciate that Team Canada will select Binnington strictly for some psychological value in having him there with his 4 Nations Face-Off teammates. My approach to their schedule: play Thompson (your best goalie) against Czechia in the opener; play Binnington against Switzerland. Assuming Thompson wins, it’s his net to end the round-robin (a lay-up vs. France) and thereafter. If Thompson looks overwhelmed, Binnington is a comfy old sweater in the closet that the group won with before. If both look bad, Kuemper is the emergency, low-maintenance veteran that can play that last round-robin game and steer the ship. Stuff happens at these short events and Canada doesn’t have Martin Brodeur or Roberto Luongo around these days.
MIKE GOULD: Logan Thompson, Darcy Kuemper, and Scott Wedgewood. I see Thompson and Kuemper as locks. Then … look, I get why people are picking Blackwood, I really do, and I’m certain Doug Armstrong would probably rate him over, say, Wedgewood, but the premise of the question is that I’m Doug Armstrong, so I get to pick the third guy. Wedgewood has been extremely underrated his whole career, including his two separate tenures with my beloved ‘Yotes, and his results since arriving in Colorado speak for themselves. I think he’s the real deal, and if I were Armstrong, I’d defer to the hot hand who’s been leading the charge for the league’s best team. Beyond the three I mentioned and Blackwood, there really aren’t many guys who I would consider. Adin Hill is hurt, Tristan Jarry is far too volatile, Stuart Skinner is notoriously unreliable, and Jordan Binnington just gives me a headache. So, there.
STEVEN ELLIS: Logan Thompson, Scott Wedgewood and MacKenzie Blackwood. Don’t overthink it. Don’t go with a guy just because they won a big game before. Every player who has gotten to the big leagues has played in a pressure-packed situation at some point. I defended Binnington at the 4 Nations Face-Off because his high-danger save percentage was actually quite good. But Thompson has been the best Canadian goalie the past two years, and Wedgewood and Blackwood have been dominant together for the Avalanche. I can’t convince myself to bring Blackwood and not Wedgewood, though – Wedgewood deserves all the praise for his play this year.
SCOTT MAXWELL: Logan Thompson, Darcy Kuemper and MacKenzie Blackwood. For as much of a crisis has been made about Canada’s goaltending, it’s really not in that bad of a state right now. Thompson actually is fifth in 5v5 goals saved above expected among all goaltenders since the 2022-23 season, and two of the goalies ahead of him aren’t even eligible for the Olympics (Ilya Sorokin and Igor Shesterkin). Kuemper has been similarly effective, has that championship experience that Canada covets so much in Binnington and Hill, and has proven to be a quality keeper playing behind a good system with the Los Angeles Kings. Same thing with Blackwood: the Colorado Avalanche are a talented team, and Canada will be too. Blackwood will know how to play behind both.
_____
POST SPONSORED BY bet365
_____