Brayden Point's injury renewed speculation about Canada's next men up for the Olympics. Adam Proteau lists one player per position he thinks should be the top replacements.
Tampa Bay Lightning center Brayden Point left Monday's game with what appeared to be an injury to his right knee.
Point is on Canada's roster for next month's Olympics. Lightning and Team Canada coach Jon Cooper told reporters on Tuesday that Point will be out week-to-week, putting his chances of playing in Milan in mid-February in jeopardy.
That's reignited speculation about who should be the next men up for Team Canada if injuries force players out of action.
New York Islanders center Bo Horvat is also injured but is expected to return in time for the Olympics. Colorado Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews is out with an upper-body injury, and the birth of his fourth child could come around the same time as the tournament. And Washington Capitals right winger Tom Wilson is out day-to-day.
We've got plenty of NHL hockey to be played before the pre-Olympic break kicks in Feb. 6. And the injury bug shows no sign of taking time off in the next four weeks.
With that in mind, which players should be the next men up for the gold medal-favorite Canadian team? If someone goes down to injury, you can bet there's still robust competition to be an injury replacement.
We're looking at one forward, one defenseman and one goaltender currently not on Team Canada who ought to be the first players called if an injury befalls a current team member.
Remember, these are this writer's picks, and while you may not agree with all, some or any of our picks, we think we all can agree there's not going to be much of a drop-off in play with any replacement players for Canada.
Forward
Our pick: Mark Scheifele, C, Winnipeg Jets
Who we considered: Connor Bedard, C, Chicago Blackhawks; Sam Bennett, C, Florida Panthers; Wyatt Johnston, C, Dallas Stars
The lowdown: You can't go wrong with any of the players we've listed above. Bedard is a budding superstar, but at 20 years old, he's got to bide his time and be ready in case Canada has multiple injuries.
Meanwhile, the choice to drop Bennett – a member of the Canadian team at the 4 Nations Face-Off – was controversial to many. But with Tom Wilson and Brad Marchand, Team Canada already had sandpaper players, and they flat-out outplayed Bennett this season. So he'd be behind Bedard.
But our first choice to be No. 2 behind Schiefele is Dallas' Johnston, who is having a marvellous year. Johnston eventually will be on Team Canada in tournaments down the road, but for now, he, too, has to bide his time.
And that's because Scheifele is our pick to be the first forward up in case of injury.
Scheifele has 22 goals and 52 points in 44 games this year, and he's challenging his career highs of 42 goals and 87 points.
Scheifele has also been nearly a point-per-game player in the Stanley Cup playoffs, so he comes through in key situations. And at 32 years old, Scheifele is still in his prime. He should have no problem playing the wing if that's the opening that arises as well.
It wouldn't be shocking if the Canadians have Bennett and Bedard as the top choices, especially with the former being a Conn Smythe Trophy winner and the latter being a high-level scorer. But Scheifele is our choice to be Canada's next forward.
Defense
Our pick: Matthew Schaefer, D, New York Islanders
Who we considered: MacKenzie Weegar, Calgary Flames; Evan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers; Jakob Chychrun, Washington Capitals
The lowdown: Schaefer has been spectacular in his first NHL season.
The 18-year-old has 12 goals and 29 points, and he's bound to be at many best-on-best tournaments in the future, so why not start now? He plays with confidence, dynamism and maturity, and with the Canadians bringing eight defensemen, they can use Schaefer when needed without relying on him too much.
Weegar has been a rock in Calgary, and he can give you major minutes, as he's averaging 23:24 of ice time. And both Bouchard and Chychrun could easily step in and produce tons of offense from the back end.
But it all comes back to Schaefer. The kid is showing why the Islanders are thrilled to have him, and he may get near the 50-point mark. He's a keeper, and he needs to be the first replacement player on 'D'.
Goaltender
Our pick: Mackenzie Blackwood, Colorado Avalanche
Who else we considered: Nobody
The lowdown: Not much to debate here. Blackwood has a .924 save percentage and a 2.07 goals-against average as part of the best team. He also has 10 goals saved above expected, according to moneypuck.com.
Blackwood is injured at the moment, but he'll likely be healthy by the Olympics.
There are really few high-quality goalies, and that's reflected in this category. Canada has only a handful of elite goalies, and if one does get injured, Blackwood is really the only replacement. Sorry, Scott Wedgewood, Tristan Jarry and Jet Greaves.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.