The NHL Olympic break is this week, and Canucks fans couldn’t be more excited. It hasn’t been the most entertaining on-ice product since the Calendar flipped to 2026, with a 2-12-3 record in the new year. Many are looking forward to seeing NHL players back in the Olympics, cheering on their country as the best players represent their nation in pursuit of gold.

However, with the condensed schedule, injury risk is higher. And the injury bug struck a Tampa Bay Lightning forward, who will keep him out of the 2026 Winter Olympics for Team Canada.

On Tuesday morning, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shared the news that Sam Bennett would be replacing Anthony Cirelli for Team Canada.

Cirelli, 28, was injured at the tail end of the first period of the Stadium Series game against the Boston Bruins. Carrying the puck through the neutral zone, Cirelli got hit, shoulder to shoulder, by Bruins forward Mark Kastelic at centre ice. The Etobicoke, Ontario native was folded over in pain on the Lightning bench and was unable to finish the game.

One night later, Bennett was forced to leave Monday night’s contest against the Buffalo Sabres, also late in the first period. While there is still no update on the extent of the injury, Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice said, “We’ll just leave it as upper-body. We’ll get a better handle on it tomorrow.” However, there appears to be anything concerning for his potential availability for the Olympic Games.

Both Bennett and Cirelli were teammates on last year’s 4 Nations Faceoff for Team Canada. Bennett was considered one of the bigger snubs after the initial roster was announced, considering his performance at said tournament. After sitting out the opening game, Bennett dropped the gloves with Brady Tkachuk in the electric Canada vs. USA game. That earned him more runway in the lineup for the rest of the tournament, including the finals against the USA, where Bennett scored the tying goal midway through the second period.

Paired with teammate Brandon Hagel, Cirelli was used in a shutdown forward role. With his injury, Bennett, Bo Horvat and Nick Suzuki will be expected to carry the load as a bottom-six defensive centre role. Cirelli’s teammate, Brayden Point, has been out of the Lightning lineup since January 12 (nine games), but he has not been ruled out for the Olympics. We will monitor his status moving forward.

There are other injury/personal concerns for Team Canada.

Defenceman Devon Toews has returned from injury, but he has made it public that he would not leave his wife until the birth of their child. Their due date is set for nine days earlier, but if it runs longer, that could jeopardize his availability. Goaltender Logan Thompson was injured on January 27 against the Seattle Kraken and has since been placed on injured reserve. However, Capitals Head Coach Spencer Carbery told reporters on Monday that Thompson is ‘real close’ and could return for their finale before the Olympic break on Thursday against the Nashville Predators.

Some forward alternates if Point is to miss: Connor Bedard, Seth Jarvis, Mark Scheifele, Travis Konecny, Wyatt Johnston or Mat Barzal.

Some defenceman alternates if Toews is to miss: Evan Bouchard, Jakob Chychrun, Matthew Schaefer, or Noah Dobson.

Unfortunately, Cirelli isn’t the only originally named Olympian who will have to miss the Olympics due to injury. Here are the rest of the injury replacements as of this writing:

Team Canada: Sam Bennett in for Anthony Cirelli.

Team Finland: Joonas Korpisalo in for Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

Team Latvia: Rihards Bukart in for Rodrigo Abols and Anri Ravinskis for Eriks Mateiko.

Team Sweden: Marcus Johansson in for Leo Carlsson and Hampus Lindholm in for Jonas Brodin.

Team USA: Jackson LaCombe in for Seth Jones.

What do you think, Canucks fans? Which forward and or defenceman would you choose if Point or Toews were to miss the Olympics? Let us know in the comments below!