With the official announcement today that the NHL players would not participate in the men's Olympic tournament, speculation is well underway to form the new teams in each country. Obviously, this will greatly affect the quality of the game, just like at the last Olympic Games in Pyeongchang in 2018.
However, it will give other athletes a golden opportunity to represent their country. Among the potential candidates to represent Canada, there are a good number of former Montreal Canadiens players.
Names such as Eric Staal, David Desharnais, Jordan Weal, Daniel Audette and Morgan Ellis are expected to defend the colours of Canada under the orders of Claude Julien.
There is also Magnus Nygren who belonged to the Habs, he who had been selected in the fourth round at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. The latter could defend the colors of Sweden. However, he does not look favourably on the situation, saying that he would like to play in as normal conditions as possible.
Of course, this lineup will be much less exciting than we had initially imagined, but it will allow us to reconnect with some players of the past.