The Olympics haven’t even started yet, but Team Canada is making a line change.
Sam Bennett was added to the Canadian men’s hockey roster for the Milan-Cortina Olympics, replacing Tampa Bay Lightning forward Anthony Cirelli, who suffered an injury this past weekend.
Hockey Canada made the announcement on Tuesday afternoon.
Bennett, a two-time Stanley Cup champion and the reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner with the Florida Panthers, steps onto the roster after being a notable omission when the team was announced in December.
Cirelli suffered an injury during Sunday’s Stadium Series game against the Boston Bruins when he took an open-ice hit from Mark Kastelic and left the game in obvious discomfort.
Jon Cooper, the head coach of both the Lightning and Team Canada, said that injury was “kind of a stinger” after the game.
Isn’t Sam Bennett hurt too?
The decision to replace Cirelli is somewhat questionable for one big reason: Bennett also recently suffered an injury, leaving Monday night’s game.
Bennett left Florida’s loss to the Buffalo Sabres with an upper-body injury, but head coach Paul Maurice said he is day-to-day and could play Wednesday against the Bruins. Bennett also missed practice on Tuesday morning.
Bennett, 29, is on track for a career-best season. He has scored 19 goals and 23 assists for 42 points in 55 games. His previous best was last season, when he put up 51 points in 76 games.
The 28-year-old Cirelli, on the other hand, has just 35 points in 49 games this season.
Both players represented Canada during last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.
The NHL wraps up its pre-Olympic schedule on Thursday, before sending players over to Italy to compete in the Games for the first time in 12 years. NHL players haven’t skated in the Olympics since the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.
Team Canada’s first game at the Olympic tournament is on Feb. 12 against Czechia.
While there have been ominous reports about the state of the newly constructed rink, Games organizers have made assurances that the arena will be prepared to host matches starting this week.