It’s nearly time to formally announce the Canadian Olympic players that’ll compete for (their) gold in the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

We revealed our picks for the U.S. team earlier this week. Now, it’s time to justify our picks for Team Canada.



Nick Cotsonika, Yahoo NHL writer

John Tavares-Sidney Crosby-Steven Stamkos

Chris Kunitz-Ryan Getzlaf-Corey Perry

Matt Duchene-Jonathan Toews-Claude Giroux

Logan Couture-Joe Thornton-Martin St. Louis

Patrice Bergeron, Patrick Sharp

Duncan Keith-Drew Doughty

Jay Bouwmeester-Alex Pietrangelo

Marc-Edouard Vlasic-Shea Weber

Brent Seabrook, P.K. Subban

Carey Price

Roberto Luongo

Josh Harding

Brutal. Just brutal.

The Canadians are so stacked that great players will be left off the roster, especially up front, especially in the middle. Crosby, Getzlaf and Toews are locks to be the top three centermen. Thornton should be right with them – still elite at both ends of the ice. Other centermen can move to the wing. Tavares has played left wing on big ice before – in Switzerland during the lockout last season, most recently – and Stamkos could be lethal on Crosby’s right wing if recovered from a broken leg. Duchene has the speed Team Canada officials have said they want for this tournament. Giroux has bounced back from a poor start. Coach Mike Babcock knows Couture well, having faced his San Jose team in the NHL often, and Couture knows Babcock’s system well, because Sharks coach Todd McLellan once was Babcock’s assistant in Detroit.

Some would leave Kunitz off the team, but he belongs on one of the top two lines. He has played and produced at the highest level with Crosby in Pittsburgh and with Getzlaf and Perry in Anaheim. There is a reason he clicks with great players on winning teams – he did it with Evgeni Malkin, too – and he doesn’t get enough credit for what he has done on his own. Martin St. Louis is on the bubble, partly because of his age and his size and the big ice, but he won the NHL scoring title last season and has kept producing with Stamkos injured this season. He’s a fiery veteran whom executive director Steve Yzerman knows well as the GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Crosby will be captain, or maybe Toews, but St. Louis could be captain, too. How do you not put him on the team? Bergeron brings faceoff prowess and shutdown defense. Sharp edges other elite forwards because he can play all three forward positions – important flexibility in case of chemistry and injury problems.

Toughest omissions: Jamie Benn, Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin.

The top two defensive pairs are set in stone. Vlasic cracks the top six and pairs with the likes of Weber because he is someone Babcock can trust – an important issue. The Canadians have a ton of firepower already. Their relative weakness is in goal. There will be little practice time, and the medal round will be single elimination. Babcock doesn’t need more offense at this point. He needs safety. Which brings us to P.K. Subban. He is the reigning Norris Trophy winner and belongs on the team, but will he crack the lineup in the medal round? Seabrook lands the other depth spot because of his skill and experience.

Price has played well enough to earn the starting spot in net at this point. Luongo, in goal for gold in Vancouver, belongs as the backup. The third spot should go to Harding if healthy and ready, not for his made-for-TV Olympic story in battling MS, but purely for his performance this season.

Sean Leahy, Puck Daddy editor

Chris Kunitz-Sidney Crosby-Steven Stamkos

Logan Couture-Jonathan Toews-Matt Duchene

Patrick Marleau-Ryan Getzlaf-Corey Perry

Patrice Bergeron-John Tavares-Martin St. Louis

Matt DuchenePatrick Sharp, Joe Thornton

Duncan Keith-Drew Doughty

Jay Bouwmeester-Shea Weber

PK Subban-Alex Pietrangelo

Brent Seabrook, Dan Boyle

Roberto Luongo

Carey Price

Mike Smith

Here's the "A" team. If they fail to win gold, GM Steve Yzerman's roster selections will be thoroughly examined and criticized, but it isn't like he'll be lacking talent; which is why chemistry might be the thinking in putting together his Canadian squad. That's where the Kunitz/Crosby, Toews/Sharp and Getzlaf/Perry combos come in. The Duck and Blackhawk pairs were likely heading to Sochi anyway, but Kunitz's inclusion has been a hotly debated topic.

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