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Why Recency Bias Shouldn’t Derail Drew Doughty’s Olympics Case

Originally posted on NHL Trade Talk | By Nate Duffett | Last updated Jan 26, 2026 9:30 AM ET

Some armchair general managers were already downplaying Drew Doughty‘s place on Team Canada when they announced the Olympic roster . It mostly came from New York Islanders and Edmonton Oilers fans, who couldn’t understand why they kept Matthew Schaefer and Evan Bouchard at home . In the end, Doug Armstrong and his management staff felt that Doughty’s leadership was more important than a bit more offense.

It’s easy to see why. Bouchard’s defensive play is questionable at best, and he wasn’t going to go to Milan and dethrone Cale Makar on Canada’s first power-play unit. The same goes for Schaefer, who is unproven as a defender, and his strengths would be hiding behind Makar and Josh Morrissey. There can be an argument that Canada could’ve taken one of the two defenders to sit in the press box in case of injury, but the eight defensemen chosen deserved the call.

There were plenty of questions about Canada’s defense corps at last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off. Some decisions raised some eyebrows, but the eight defensemen who played games for the country at that event were as solid as anyone could’ve hoped. Letting the same group try to run it back in Milan was well-deserved.

Doughty Offers Unique Intangibles for Team Canada

Doughty isn’t going to the Olympics to lead the tournament in scoring. His leadership from the right side and in the dressing room will be just as valuable for Jon Cooper as anything else. Doughty also showed an ability to elevate his game in last year’s tournament when the team needed him. Using plus/minus as a way to discredit Doughty is also tough, given how the Los Angeles Kings have been struggling recently.

In those 11 games, Evan Bouchard has 17 points, is +8 at 5 on 5 and +16 all situation (he plays PK1 in addition to PP1). https://t.co/LnIbUKqWSO
— OriginalPouzar (@coopsie39) January 25, 2026

It’s easy to disapprove of Doughty when you aren’t looking at the bigger picture. Canadian hockey fans would’ve been quick to wish for the veteran defenseman when Bouchard or Schaefer started swimming in the defensive zone against the elite teams in that tournament. If creating a roster for best-on-best hockey was all about points and plus/minus, there’d be no need for a management staff, and rosters from every country would look much different.

This article first appeared on NHL Trade Talk and was syndicated with permission.

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