Should Matthew Schaefer Have Made Canada's Olympic Team Over Drew Doughty?

Drew Doughty is not doing himself any favors with his play after being named to Team Canada for the Olympics.

Team Canada GM Doug Armstrong brought back the same defensemen who played at the 4 Nations Face-Off, including Doughty, despite some stellar performances this season from other players, such as New York Islanders rookie Matthew Schaefer.

Since Canada's roster announcement on Dec. 31, Schaefer has four goals and five assists for nine points in 12 games, giving him 13 goals and 34 points in 52 games this season.

Doughty hasn't recorded one point from Dec. 29 onward for the Los Angeles Kings. In the 12 games in that span, he's a minus-14, the second-worst plus-minus rating in the NHL. The 36-year-old has three goals and 13 points in 42 games this season.

So even though there's an 18-year difference between Doughty and Schaefer, who shoot different ways as well, it looks like the 2025 first overall pick would have been a better choice for the roster at this point.

Doughty's competitive pedigree is stunningly successful, winning the Stanley Cup twice, Olympic gold twice, the world juniors, 2016 World Cup of Hockey and 4 Nations Face-Off. Armstrong also told reporters that Doughty is an unbelievable competitor, and his passion is infectious.

That said, he's averaging 22:56 of ice time this season – the lowest total of his career. Schaefer is averaging 24:04. Even on the penalty kill, Schaefer has the edge with 1:18 of PK time per game, compared to Doughty's 1:04. Since Dec. 31, Schaefer's averaging 1:44, while Doughty's averaging 0:53 shorthanded.

Now, Armstrong has emphasized the importance of using right-handed defensemen on the right and left-handed defensemen on the left, even though some of his roster choices have played on the opposite side in the NHL.

That's why, when Philadelphia Flyers  D-man Travis Sanheim was named to Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off, he played on the left side despite spending time on the right side in Philly. Similarly, Vegas Golden Knights blueliner Shea Theodore is a left shot who has played on the right side in Vegas, but was slotted in as Doughty's partner at the 4 Nations.

Even when going back to the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, Armstrong chose Jay Bouwmeester to replace injured D-man Duncan Keith because they both shot on the left side. So if, hypothetically, roster changes were allowed, replacing Doughty with Schaefer would give Canada just two right-handed defensemen, and a right-shot such as Evan Bouchard would be a likelier replacement in this system.

The difficulty of playing on your off-side as a D-man is behind Armstrong's thinking on the subject, so it's understandable why Doughty got the nod over Schaefer.

However, just because we understand Armstrong's philosophy doesn't mean we agree with it.

Schaefer's all-around game already makes him a balanced defenseman who's producing more from the back end than Doughty is at this point in his Hockey Hall of Fame-worthy career.

And of course, every rule has an exception to the rule – and in this case, you can't tell us Schaefer would be any sort of a liability. He may have played only a handful of NHL games compared to most other Canadian Olympic candidates, but his breathtaking combination of vision and creativity makes him a special player who will only get better.

Schaefer will be a foundational component of Canada's defense corps for multiple best-on-best tournaments in the next decade-and-a-half or more, so why not get him accustomed to elite competition now?

Everyone can agree Doughty has had a phenomenal career, but Father Time chips away at all of us, and at 36 years old, Doughty is far from his prime – whereas Schaefer is only starting to unlock his incredible potential. You should want that potential on your Olympic team. Just look at 19-year-old San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini, who made Team Canada at the Olympics.

Thus, Schaefer should've made the cut for Team Canada's roster, and if the Canadians do have an injury, regardless of whether there's a left-shot or right-shot D-man who gets hurt, he should be the first name called to replace them.

And Doughty will have to roll back the years and help the Canadians win gold to make his inclusion over Schaefer the right decision.

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