Team Canada adds divisive player to Olympic roster after Anthony Cirelli injury

When putting together their team for the 2026 Olympic Games, Team Canada had some major decisions to make, and while the roster still appears to be the strongest in the tournament, there were certainly some questionable decisions.

Most of those decisions came down to Jon Cooper being the Head Coach, with the Tampa Bay Lightning bench boss going with several of his players, rather than the superior players from other teams.

One of those players was Anthony Cirelli, and while he was set to play a role in the bottom-six, he has reportedly been ruled out for the tournament following an injury sustained in the recent Stadium Series matchup with the Boston Bruins.

That brought plenty of speculation as to who his replacement would be, and now, NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman has confirmed that back-to-back Stanley Cup winner Sam Bennett will be the player added to this roster just days away from the tournament.

While some don't like the way Bennett goes about his game, after the performance in the recent Stanley Cup Playoffs and his play at the Four Nations Face Off, it's hard to argue that he's built for a tournament like this.

Ultimately, there were several ways to go for Team Canada here, but given the similar play styles of Bennett and Cirelli and the experience that the Panthers forward had in 2025 with Team Canada, it was the best possible move for the team following the Cirelli injury.

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