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Czechia, France, Latvia Announce 2026 Olympic Rosters

By | at January 6, 2026 8:35 am

Today, the IIHF revealed three additional rosters for next month’s Olympics in Milano-Cortina, Italy. Czechia, France, and Latvia have now locked in their 25-man groups. We’re still waiting on five countries – Denmark, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, and Switzerland – to confirm their rosters.

Czechia

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Goaltending will be the Czech squad’s anchor as they look to medal for the third time since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992. While Vladař would likely have been the third-stringer had this roster been released a year ago, his emergence as a top-tier starter in Philadelphia this season may give him the inside track on the No. 1 job.

Hertl and Zacha will anchor Czechia’s top lines from the middle while Nečas and Pastrňák give them one of the tournament’s most formidable one-two punches on the right side. Even among their non-NHL talent, it’s a comparatively deep forward group that gives them a medal chance. Plenty of names playing overseas have NHL experience, and the only two who don’t (Flek and Stránský) are currently the top goal-scorers in their respective leagues.

Defense – particularly their left-shot rearguards – is where things stand to get hairy for the Czechs as they attempt to unseat the nucleus of Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the U.S. for a medal. They might do well to shift a righty to their off side to give them a more dynamic two-way element than what shutdown NHL veterans Kempný and Šimek have to offer. Ticháček, 22, may be the most talented offensive producer Czechia’s defense has to offer – even ahead of their clear No. 1 in Hronek – but at 5’9″ and 170 lbs, size is a concern as he goes up against the most difficult competition of his life.

France

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If not for the host country, Italy, fielding a club, France would be the favorite to finish with the worst record in the tournament – especially as they face arguably the toughest competition out of anyone with Canada, Czechia, and Switzerland in Group A. That’s not to say they’re devoid of NHL-caliber talent, though.

Texier and Bellemare, now 40 years old with 700 games of NHL experience, will anchor their forward group. Whether they share a line remains to be seen as France weighs whether having them each anchor their own unit may be more beneficial as they attempt their only realistic potential upset against the Swiss. Da Costa, still an All-Star caliber player in Russia at age 36, spent parts of four seasons with the Senators in the early 2010s.

Defense is their weakest position. Only Auvitu has any NHL experience, and three-eighths of the group are from France’s own Ligue Magnus, one of the lowest-caliber top divisions in Europe.

The crease will feature the 21-year-old Keller, a Capitals seventh-rounder in 2023 who’s yet to sign his entry-level deal. He played briefly for their ECHL affiliate this season before heading to Switzerland’s top league, where he has a .900 SV% in nine starts.

Latvia

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Perhaps no hockey country’s stock is rising quicker than Latvia’s, which upset their way to a bronze medal at the World Championship in 2023 and has had its fair share of memorable moments at the junior level in recent years as well. They only have three Olympic group stage wins in history – two in 2002 and one in Sochi in 2014 – but are a clear-cut favorite ahead of Denmark in Group C and should be on relatively equal footing with Germany to finish second behind the United States.

Easily the strongest roster they’ve ever sent, half their forward group are playing in the NHL or AHL while under contract with a parent club. Among the European league talent they’re drawing from, two of those names – Balcers and Daugaviņš – have NHL experience. With a pair of NHLers in net as well and a third-stringer in Gudlevskis with NHL experience, they’re well-positioned to make noise.

Like the other two rosters locked in today, defense is their weak spot, but they have two NHL veterans in Balinskis and Rubīns. The most intriguing talent to watch, perhaps on the entire team, will be Šmits. The 6’3″ lefty is fresh off his 18th birthday and is a slam-dunk top-20 pick in the 2026 draft. He’s coming off a stellar World Juniors showing that saw him record five points in five games.

7 comments Newsstand Olympics Team Czechia Team France Team Latvia

Team Sweden Announces 2026 Olympic Roster

By | at January 2, 2026 10:10 am

After the other medal frontrunners unveiled their Olympic rosters earlier today, Team Sweden has also formalized the 25 players it’s taking to Milan, Italy, in February. Their full roster can be found below.

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Like Canada and the United States, Sweden’s roster is made up entirely of NHLers as the players make their first Olympic appearance since 2014. Headed to do battle with Finland, Slovakia, and the host Italy in Group B, they’re well-positioned as the favorite with one of the tournament’s deeper blue lines and highest-ceiling creases.

In goal, Gustavsson was Sweden’s starter at last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off and is likely ticketed for the No. 1 role again. He’s joined by two new faces, Markström and his teammate Wallstedt, who replace the struggling Samuel Ersson and Linus Ullmark from one year ago. The veteran Markström’s porous .884 SV% in 20 appearances for New Jersey this year indicates the Minnesota tandem, each of whom has saved more than 10 goals above expected (per MoneyPuck), will be leading the way.

Dahlin and Hedman will be the left-side anchors of Sweden’s top four group on defense after being locked in as two of their initial six players over the summer. Every single name on the list is a bona fide top-four piece for their NHL club – something only them, Canada and the US can say – with an appropriate mix of younger talent like the up-and-coming Broberg, while boasting two of the NHL’s best shutdown defenders in Brodin and Forsling. The only player not returning from the 4 Nations group is the Oilers’ Mattias Ekholm. He’s been replaced by Ekman-Larsson and Broberg as the Swedes added an eighth defender as permitted under IIHF rules.

Up front, Nylander will be the centerpiece of Sweden’s offense. The Toronto star has missed some time recently with an injury, but with 41 points in 33 games this season, he leads Swedish NHLers in points per game.

Both their forward and defense groups boast arguably the tournament’s most cohesive two-way identity. They boast multiple veteran, well-regarded all-situations centered like Eriksson Ek and Wennberg – although the latter’s linemate in San Jose, William Eklund, is a glaring omission, while more bottom-six/penalty-kill oriented options like Holmberg find themselves included.

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Team Finland Announces 2026 Olympic Roster

By | at January 2, 2026 10:08 am

Finland has become the second country to announce their Winter Olympic roster on Friday. The roster closely aligns with Finland’s lineup at the 2025 4 Nations tournament, with some notable additions from across the hockey world. The full roster is as follows:

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The biggest difference between Finland’s 4-Nations and Olympic rosters is the addition of star defenseman Heiskanen, who was unavailable for last year’s international tourney. He may be the country’s best representation on the NHL stage, offering top-level play on both sides of the puck. Heiskanen has 35 points in 41 NHL games this season and scored a career-high 73 points in 79 games in the 2022-23 campaign. He will be leaned on as a top player for the Finnish side, and could lead the team in average ice time.

Finland has also added Lehtonen and Canadiens rookie Kapanen – two interesting additions as the country looks to add a bit more bolt to their lineup. Lehtonen is a journeyman of international hockey. He has played in five top leagues and recently found a home with the Lions in Switzerland’s National League, where he won league championships in 2024 and 2025. He currently has 16 points in 32 games this season and offers downhill offense at the expense of robust defense. Centerman Kapanen has found a similar downhill drive in his first NHL season. He has 12 goals and 21 points in 40 games for Montreal, with no signs of slowing down. Kapanen was a revelation as a young player in Finland’s Liiga, where he totaled 65 points in 124 games and three seasons.

The Finns will return their 4 Nations roster otherwise, set to lean heavily on Aho, Rantanen, and Hintz as the explosive pieces of an otherwise fundamental offense. It was Granlund who led that team in scoring, though, with four points in three games – double the scoring of Finland’s top offensive pieces.

Second and third on the 4 Nations team in scoring were Patrik Laine (three points) and Aleksander Barkov (two points), who will both miss the Olympic Games due to injury. Barkov, one of the NHL’s premier two-way centers, had to undergo ACL and MCL surgery after a preseason injury. Laine is also on the mend after undergoing surgery in October.

With the slightly shorthanded roster and brave additions of an NHL rookie and Swiss-league defender, the Finns will step up as a team to watch this tournament. They don’t seem to offer the firepower of Sweden, the USA, or Canada, but could surprise with a significant defense addition supporting a goaltending room that struggled at the 4-Nations.

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Team USA Announces 2026 Olympic Roster

By | at January 2, 2026 8:34 am

USA Hockey has officially announced its 25-man roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy. The roster was contested until the final days and features a few players who didn’t appear with the U.S. at the 2025 4-Nations Face-Off. The full roster is as follows:

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As expected, Team USA is bringing a star-studded front to what’s sure to be a closely contested Olympic Games. Their strongest pillar stands in the net, where reigning NHL MVP Hellebuyck will be making his Olympic debut. Helleybuyck has fallen to a .907 save percentage in 22 games this season – but his track record of dominant play stretches back years. He has recorded a save percentage north of .910 in each of the last eight seasons, including five years north of a .920. He’s held onto those routinely league-topping numbers while playing upwards of 60 games a season.

Helleybuyck could back a potentially explosive offense. The States tied for the most goals at the 4 Nations tournament while leaning on Guentzel, Eichel, and the Tkachuk brothers to strong-arm the offense, while smooth-moving Werenski led the tourney in scoring with six assists. Boldy and Matthews were also key pieces of the 4 Nations offense, each netting three points.

Notably, the United States did not have former Norris Trophy winner Quinn Hughes at the 4 Nations tournament. Hughes missed the tournament due to injury and was replaced by Sanderson, who did enough to earn an Olympic berth. But Hughes’ impact could be a tourney-winning X-factor. The 26-year-old has 30 points in 27 games this season and is only two years removed from a 92-point campaign with the Vancouver Canucks. He is among the – or perhaps thee – best offensive defensemen in hockey and should gel well in his first return to international play since 2019.

Speaking of 2019 – USA Hockey will finally see the fruits of the historic 2019 USNTDP class with this tournament. Jack Hughes and Boldy were stars on that lineup and have only emerged further since breaking into the NHL. Both players offer unwavering offensive impact – but the question will be whether the States feel cheeky enough to play the two together. Their chemistry in junior hockey was unrivaled in the few games they played alongside each other, though Hughes would end up taking on Cole Caufield as his de facto linemate. Still, Hughes and Boldy were the keys to the NTDP offense that season, and have now earned the right to wear the crest at the top level.

The rest of the roster is, generally, rounded out by USA mainstays like the hard-nosed McAvoy, top-end goaltenders Oettinger and Swayman, and – surely to some fans’ dismay – the winning veteran presence of Nelson. All four players were a part of the USA’s 4 Nations squad and will return to their depth roles in this tournament.

There are some new faces in the mix, though. Rather than bring Chris Kreider, the USA has opted to bring high-scoring Sabres forward Tage Thompson and reliable front-man in Utah, Clayton Keller. The two undoubtedly earned their stay during the USA’s 2025 World Championship Gold Medal run that saw Keller score 10 points and Thompson score nine in 10 games. They were two heartbeats of the lineup and should continue to offer versatile impact without the need for top minutes.

With this lineup in place, Team USA will take its stand as a true medal favorite for the 2026 Olympic Games. Their toughest test will come at the hands of Canadian and Swedish offenses capable of pouring on the scoring. Team USA found as much out at the 4 Nations, where Canada emerged with the tourney win. But with a robust goaltending room and multiple additions to fortify their scoring, the American side should bring an explosive boost to the Winter Games.

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International Notes: Schaefer, Jarvis, Vaakanainen, Hutson

By | at January 1, 2026 8:00 pm

Although he was ultimately left off Team Canada’s roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics, rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer will have an opportunity to play if needed. Earlier today, Andrew Gross of Newsday reported that Schaefer is on Team Canada’s standby list and will play if the team runs into injury trouble.

Even being on the standby list is a testament to how the recent first overall pick has played for the New York Islanders this season. He’s leading the team in defensive scoring by a significant margin, recording nine goals and 25 points in 40 games while averaging nearly 24 minutes of action per game. Furthermore, his defensive metrics are notably mature for his age, with a 50.7% CorsiFor at even strength and 90.1% on-ice save percentage at even strength.

Still, it’s curious that Hockey Canada has opted for Schaefer being the next man up rather than Washington Capitals blueliner Jakob Chychrun. The former 16th overall pick has been one of the most underrated defensemen in the league this season, scoring 15 goals and 30 points in 40 games while managing a 23:16 ATOI. Additionally, Chychrun’s underlying metrics are better than Schaefer’s, with a 56.0% CF% and 91.8% oiSV% at even strength.

Other international notes:

  • Schaefer isn’t the only skater from the Metropolitan Division to find himself on Team Canada’s standby list. Seth Jarvis, who skated for Team Canada in last year’s Four Nations Face-Off, is also on Team Canada’s standby list, according to Sportsnet’s Eric Engels. Although arguments could be made for other forwards, it’s difficult to say Jarvis hasn’t earned it with 19 goals and 29 points in 34 games this season for the Carolina Hurricanes.
  • Moving to Group B of the upcoming international tournament, the New York Rangers will have a defenseman on the standby list — this time for Team Finland. According to Mollie Walker of the New York Post, Urho Vaakanainen will be available for Team Finland if they run into injury trouble. Vaakanainen played in three games for Finland last season at the Four Nations Face-Off, going scoreless with a -5 rating.
  • In the World Juniors Championship, the United States is expected to return an important defenseman for their upcoming quarterfinal matchup against Finland. This afternoon, Mike G. Morreale of the NHL wrote that Cole Hutson, who hasn’t played since being hit in the head with a puck in the round robin matchup against Team Switzerland, is expected to return to the lineup tomorrow. The Capitals prospect has already registered two assists in two games with a +5 rating.
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Pacific Notes: Jarry, Hyman, Vatrano, Chiarot

By | at January 1, 2026 6:00 pm

It appears the Oilers won’t have to wait too much longer to get their new starting goalie back.  Head coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters following last night’s game (video link) that they’re hoping to have Tristan Jarry back around mid-January.  That would mean he’ll miss another couple of weeks but ideally not much more than that.  Diagnosed as out week-to-week just before the holiday break due to a lower-body injury, Jarry was injured in just his third game following last month’s swap.  Connor Ingram has played well in three of his four games in Jarry’s absence and will now have a couple more weeks to make the case that he should take over as Edmonton’s backup moving forward over Calvin Pickard.

More from the Pacific:

  • While Hockey Canada didn’t reveal any of its players on their standby list for next month’s Olympics when they announced their roster yesterday, Oilers winger Zach Hyman is on that list, according to Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. Hyman missed the start of the season while recovering from wrist surgery but has been productive in his limited action, collecting 12 goals and 10 assists in 22 games, 16 of which have come in his last 11 outings.  That made him a candidate for the team given his chemistry with linemate Connor McDavid but he’ll now need someone to miss due to injury to have a chance to make it.
  • Unsurprisingly, following Wednesday’s announcement that Frank Vatrano will miss six weeks due to a fractured shoulder, the Ducks have moved him to injured reserve, notes Derek Lee of The Hockey News (Twitter link). Anaheim had been carrying a full 23-player roster so they now have an opening to recall someone from AHL San Diego, a move that could be made relatively soon.
  • Earlier this week, Canucks prospect Gabriel Chiarot was traded in the OHL with Kitchener announcing that they acquired him from Brampton in exchange for eight draft picks. The 19-year-old was a sixth-round pick by Vancouver back in June, going 175th overall.  He has 15 goals and 10 assists in 33 games so far this season.  Chiarot turns 20 in mid-September, meaning he is eligible to play full-time in the minors in 2026-27 so this could be a particularly expensive rental if the Canucks decide that moving to the next level is better than an overage season in junior.
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Team Canada Announces 2026 Olympic Roster

By | at December 31, 2025 11:09 am

Hockey Canada has formally announced its 25-man roster for the NHL’s return to Olympic action. They’re the first major power to announce its roster for the event in Milan, Italy, trimming it down and altering it from a preliminary list of 42 players they released back in August.

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The tournament’s most star-studded roster includes the vast majority of the players who took home Canada’s first true best-on-best championship since their gold medal at the 2014 Olympics at last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off. That includes all eight defensemen – there are no changes on the Canadian blue line from one year ago.

The biggest changes are in the crease. Binnington, who was Canada’s starter at the 4 Nations, may not hold the same path to the No. 1 job as he did 12 months ago but has done enough internationally to maintain his spot on the roster. His .870 SV% and 3.44 GAA with -9.7 goals saved above expected (MoneyPuck) in 23 games have him positioned as one of the NHL’s worst starters in 2025-26, but after posting a .907 SV% at the 4 Nations and a .944 SV% at the 2025 World Championship, he’d made himself an effective lock on the roster.

Joining Binnington between the pipes are Kuemper and Thompson, both of whom finished in the top four in Vezina Trophy voting last year and have both kept up their momentum into 2025-26. Thompson’s 22.9 GSAx leads the league heading into the New Year, while Kuemper has logged a pristine .917 SV% and 2.19 GAA in 23 starts for Los Angeles. They replace Adin Hill (Golden Knights), who’s spent most of the season on injured reserve, and Sam Montembeault, who’s lost his grip on the Canadiens’ starting job to Jakub Dobes.

There’s also some significant turnover among Canada’s forward group. Out from the 4 Nations roster are Sam Bennett, Travis Konecny, and the injured Seth Jarvis. Inserted into the group – as Canada can carry another forward to the Olympics – are Celebrini, Horvat, Suzuki, and Wilson.

Once again, it will be Canada’s forward group that will form its identity. They boast the league’s three leading scorers in MacKinnon, McDavid, and the 19-year-old Celebrini – arguably the front-runner for the Hart Trophy at the halfway point of the season. But beyond that, general manager Doug Armstrong opted to leave a good portion of the country’s top scorers this season at home, at least initially. Three players who are currently top 20 in the league in points – Wyatt Johnston, Mark Scheifele, and Connor Bedard – did not make the team.

It will be Canada’s reluctance to completely lean into its young talent, including Bedard and Calder Trophy frontrunner Matthew Schaefer on defense, that dominates the discourse in the coming days. Of course, injuries over the next month could pave the way for both to join their country in Milan. For some, it will be reminiscent of the 2006 Olympics, the last time Canada failed to medal with NHLers on its roster, when it opted to leave young offensive firepower in Sidney Crosby, Jason Spezza, and Eric Staal and was shut out by Russia in the quarterfinals.

37 comments Newsstand Olympics Team Canada

Golden Knights’ William Karlsson Won’t Be Healthy For Olympics

By | at December 30, 2025 8:02 pm

Bad news has come through for a potential core memebr of Team Sweden’s 2026 Winter Olympics squad. Despite hoping to return before the tournament, Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson won’t be healthy enough to play per TSN’s Darren Dreger. Karlsson is recovering from a lower-body injury sustained in Vegas’ November 8th loss to the Anaheim Ducks. He appeared in 14 games and scored seven points before the injury.

Karlsson has run into a streak of bad injury luck stretching back to the start of last season. He didn’t make his season debut until Vegas’ ninth game of the 2024-25 season and fell back out of the lineup for 21 games in late January. Those absences, and 23 missed games this season, give Karlsson more than 50 absences since October 2024.

That injury luck has left Vegas with a major hole in their center position. Tomas Hertl has stepped up to help fill the hole – posting a 58.0 faceoff percentage on 584 faceoffs. That success rate puts Hertl near the bottom of the top-10 faceoff takers this season. Hertl also has 29 points in 37 games this season, putting him on pace to narrowly pass his 61 points last season. Those impacts have helped Vegas lean on Colton Sissons and Brett Howden as their bottom-six centers. Both have posted faceoff percentages north of 50 percent though they only have five and 11 points respectively.

Karlsson is routinely challenges 50 points  when he’s at full health. He scored 30 goals and 60 points in 70 games during the 2023-24 season, the highest marks he’s reached since posting career-highs with 43 goals and 78 points in 2017-18. Karlsson was scoring well below his career-average to start this season. Now, he won’t be able to right that ship until Vegas returns from the NHL’s Olympic break on February 25th, at the soonest. That return date would force Karlsson to miss 20 more games.

More than hurting Vegas’ lineup for the start of the new year, this news will pull Karlsson’s first chance to play for Sweden’s Olympic roster. He has seldomly played for his country over the course of his NHL career, largely thanks to Vegas’ success in the postseason. An appearance at the 2025 World Championship, where Karlsson posted one point in four games, was his first international tournament since the 2017 World Championship. Karlsson has won a Gold medal at the World Championship and World Junior Championships with Team Sweden.

The former SHL ‘Rookie-of-the-Year’ would be a reliable center for Sweden in the Olympic games, even though he has only scored four points in 14 World Championship games in his career. Sweden leaned on Mika Zibanejad, Joel Eriksson Ek, Leo Carlsson, and Elias Lindholm as their centers at the 2025 4-Nations Face-Off. This news could help cement those four down the middle when Sweden heads to the Olympic games in Milan.

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Golden Knights’ Adin Hill Out Week-To-Week, William Karlsson Targeting Olympic Return

By | at December 24, 2025 9:17 am

The Vegas Golden Knights received two important injury updates on Tuesday. Most pressing, goaltender Adin Hill was designated as week-to-week by head coach Bruce Cassidy, per Jesse Granger of The Athletic. Cassidy also said that forward William Karlsson is expected to be back in the lineup before the two-week break for the Winter Olympics in February.

Hill has been out of the lineup since sustaining a lower-body injury in the first period of Vegas’ October 20th win over the Carolina Hurricanes. He has carried a week-to-week designation for much of the time since then, though that’s turned into a two-month absence that appears set to drag on even further. Cassidy shared that Hill is “getting closer”. That confidence, pitted against a mention on the Olympics’ in Karlsson’s timeline, could be enough insinuation to hope that Vegas can get their starting goaltender back before January ends.

Karlsson has also missed a substantial amount of time already. He sustained a lower-body injury in Vegas’ November 8th loss to the Anaheim Ducks that earned a spot on long-term injured reserve. Karlsson has now missed 50 games since the start of the 2024-25 season – continuing a stretch of routine absences that extends back to the 2019-20 season.

Both Hill and Karlsson have strong Olympic hopes in mind. Hill was one of three goaltenders invited to Team Canada’s preliminary camp, suggesting that he’s a shoo-in to head to Milan. Hill joined Canada at the 2025 Four-Nations Face-Off but didn’t play in any of the four games. His only experience representing his country came in 2021, when he won one game and set a .909 save percentage in three games at the World Championships.

While Hill pushes for a backup role, Karlsson could carve out a solid role for Team Sweden. The 32-year-old center did not represent Sweden at the 2025 Four-Nations tournament, and has only played in four World Championship games dating back to 2018 – though that is often thanks to his NHL team sticking in the playoffs for too long. When he does adorn the tre kronor, Karlsson finds strong impact, with four points and one Gold Medal in 14 World Championship games across his career. He will be one of Sweden’s top center options as they assemble their Olympic roster.

More than their Olympic hopes, both players will hope they can quickly get back on ice with a Vegas team that ranks top in the Pacific Division. Karlsson maintained a key role in the lineup this season and scored seven points in his first 14 games of the season. Hill was an initial favorite for the starter’s crease, but began to share it with Akira Schmid and Carl Lindbom after posting one win and a .888 Sv% in five games. Since his injury, Vegas has also signed Carter Hart, bringing even more competition into the goalie room. It seems the Golden Knights will be set to sort out that goalie crowd early in the new year, with a similar logjam coming for their center depth soon after. The Golden Knights rank 16th in goals-for and eighth in goals-against in the NHL at Christmas break.

0 comments Bruce Cassidy Injury NHL Newsstand Olympics Players Team Canada Team Sweden Vegas Golden Knights

Rangers’ J.T. Miller Out Week-To-Week

By | at December 22, 2025 9:20 am

12/22/25: The Rangers dropped their first game since Miller’s injury by a 2-1 score to the Nashville Predators yesterday, but after the game The Athletic’s Vince Z. Mercogliano provided some additional reporting on Miller’s status. He wrote that Miller is out “with a suspected right-shoulder injury” and cited a league source who “stressed [Miller would] be back before the Olympic break in February and available to play for Team USA if selected.”

That’s something that was indicated yesterday in the original coverage of Miller’s injury, but today it’s only been further underscored that Miller’s availability for the upcoming Olympic tournament does not appear to be in much doubt.

What appears to be in a little bit more doubt is Miller’s odds of selection for the tournament, rather than his chances of being healthy. The Athletic’s Peter Baugh covered the topic last week, listing Miller at the time as “likely” to be selected, adding that the fact that Team USA head coach Mike Sullivan is also the Rangers head coach “certainly doesn’t hurt his chances.”

12/21/25: The injuries continue to pile up for the New York Rangers. Captain J.T. Miller is expected to miss a few weeks with an upper-body injury sustained on Saturday, per NHL.com’s Dan Rosen. The injury occured on a reverse hit from Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Nick Seeler that seemed to catch Miller near his right shoulder. Despite the multi-week timeline, the Rangers aren’t concerned that this injury will effect Miller’s availability for the Winter Olympics. That’s great news, as he’s sure to be a prime option to assume a center role in Team USA’s bottom-six.

Miller has helped buoy the offense in the wake of injury to defenseman Adam Fox and illness to star winger Artemi Panarin. The captain has four points in his last five games and 22 points in 35 games this season. He ranks fourth on the Rangers in scoring behind Panarin, Fox, and Mika Zibanejad. Panarin returned to the lineup on Saturday, though Fox is still on the mend. That will continue the rotating door of star injuries in New York, who will have to now lean on Panarin and Zibanejad to boost a Rangers offense that has only scored two goals in their last three games.

Miller’s Olympic availability will be a central story as he recovers from this new injury. He played in all four games at the 2025 Four-Nations Face-Off but didn’t manage any scoring. That was just the first time that Miller has joined USA’s Men’s team for an international tournament – though he did play one game with Team North America at the 2017 World Cup, with no scoring. The 32-year-old center has been an electric scorer in the NHL, though, with 354 points in 314 games since 2022. That includes a 99-point season and a career-high 103-point season, both recorded during his six years with the Vancouver Canucks. He is now back where he started his career, and will look to rise back to that point-per-game scoring on the other side of an end-of-year injury.

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