Florida Panthers centre Sam Bennett of Holland Landing, Ontario has been added to the Canadian Olympic men’s hockey team for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo. That is because he is an injury replacement for Tampa Bay Lightning centre Anthony Cirelli of Etobicoke, Ontario. Cirelli was injured on Sunday in a 6-5 Lightning win over the Boston Bruins. Cirelli was the recipient of a bodycheck by Mark Kastelic in the NHL Stadium Series.
Bennett is coming off a tremendous 2024-25 NHL season, and the fact that he was not on the original Canadian roster was a surprise to many. When the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup, it was Bennett who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Stanley Cup Playoff Most Valuable Player.
In 55 games for the Panthers this season, Bennett has 19 goals and 23 assists for 42 points. He is a -10 with 60 penalty minutes, nine power-play points, four game-winning goals, 143 shots on goal, 374 faceoff wins, 22 blocked shots, 101 hits, 18 takeaways, and 51 giveaways.
Now the question for Team Canada will be if Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brayden Point will be healthy enough to play. Point has not played for the Lightning since January 12 when he suffered an apparent lower body injury against the Philadelphia Flyers.
