Panthers’ Bennett replaces Lightning’s Cirelli on Canada’s Olympic team

Canada’s men’s hockey team is making a change for the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic tournament, naming Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett to the lineup as an injury replacement for Tampa Bay Lightning center Anthony Cirelli. 

Bennett, widely regarded as one of the most significant snubs from the initial roster, represented Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025 and kept the total of 4 Nations roster players on the Olympic team to 20. 

Cirelli, 28, sustained an injury in the Lightning’s 6-5 win over the Boston Bruins in the Stadium Series on Feb. 1, exiting the game after taking a hard hit from Bruins forward Mark Kastelic at centre ice in the first period. Bennett, meanwhile, is deemed healthy enough despite exiting Monday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres with an upper-body injury.

Expected to play a bottom-six role on Canada’s high-octane offense, Bennett will likely slot in where Cirelli had been poised to see most of his minutes. At the 4 Nations, Bennett elevated his game in a few select moments and has done so with the Panthers, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy in the club’s back-to-back Stanley Cup championship in 2025. 

With a 4 Nations gold medal and two straight Stanley Cups, general manager Doug Armstrong is bringing in a player who knows winning as much as Cirelli’s two cups and 4 Nations, both under head coach Jon Cooper. 

A native of East Gwillimbury, Ontario, Bennett has 19 goals and 42 points in 55 games in the 2025-26 NHL season, a more significant output than Cirelli’s 15 goals and 35 points in 49 games. 

With his nomination to the men’s hockey team, he also maintains Ontario’s lead as the most represented Province at the Games, with 58 athletes of Canada’s 206-person team across all sports.

As of initial reports, the Canadian Olympic Committee and Hockey Canada had not confirmed the replacement. Cirelli is set to be the second Olympic-nominated athlete to miss the Games for Team Canada, following snowboard cross athlete Tess Critchlow, who pulled out due to injury on Monday. 

Canada’s men begin the Olympic hockey tournament on Feb. 11 against Czechia, while Olympic competition begins Wednesday with mixed doubles curling, ahead of Friday’s opening ceremony.