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Good morning, hockey folks. Today marks exactly four weeks until the NHL’s Olympic break and the opening ceremonies in Milan. Let’s get ready for the sprint.
Which NHL teams have the most Olympians?
With Slovakia naming its men’s team for the Games yesterday, we now have every roster (except for host Italy) and the full list of 146 NHLers scheduled to play in Milan next month.
While the average NHL club will have 4 1/2 players at the Olympics — and every team has at least one — they’re far from evenly distributed. These five teams have eight-plus Olympians, led by the Lightning, who are hockey’s United Nations with a remarkable 10 players skating for seven different countries:
Tampa Bay Lightning (10): Oliver Bjorkstrand, F (DEN), Erik Černák, D (SVK), Anthony Cirelli, F (CAN), Zemgus Girgensons, F (LAT), Jake Guentzel, F (USA), Brandon Hagel, F (CAN), Victor Hedman, D (SWE), Pontus Holmberg, F (SWE), J.J. Moser, D (SUI), Brayden Point, F (CAN)
Florida Panthers (9): Uvis Balinskis, D (LAT), Gustav Forsling, D (SWE), Seth Jones, D (USA), Anton Lundell, F, (FIN), Eetu Luostarinen, F (FIN), Niko Mikkola, D (FIN), Brad Marchand, F (CAN), Sam Reinhart, F (CAN), Matthew Tkachuk, F (USA)
Colorado Avalanche (8): Joel Kiviranta, F (FIN), Gabriel Landeskog, F (SWE), Artturi Lehkonen, F (FIN), Nathan MacKinnon, F (CAN), Cale Makar, D (CAN), Martin NeÄŤas, F (CZE), Brock Nelson, F (USA), Devon Toews, D (CAN)
Minnesota Wild (8): Matt Boldy, F (USA), Jonas Brodin, D (SWE), Joel Eriksson Ek, F (SWE), Brock Faber, D (USA), Filip Gustavsson, G (SWE), Quinn Hughes, D (USA), Nico Sturm, F (GER), Jesper Wallstedt, G (SWE)
New Jersey Devils (8): Jesper Bratt, F (SWE), Nico Hischier, F (SUI), Jack Hughes, F (USA), Jacob Markström, G (SWE), Timo Meier, F (SUI), Šimon Nemec, D (SVK), Ondřej Palát, F (CZE), Jonas Siegenthaler, D (SUI)
Two teams, meanwhile, have just one lone player going: the Chicago Blackhawks with Teuvo Teräväinen, F (FIN) and the New York Islanders with Bo Horvat, F (CAN). So, perhaps they’ll be more well-rested for a playoff push come April?
Here’s the full list of NHL Olympians as it stands now.
Don’t miss 👀🇨🇦: Canada is set to announce its women’s hockey roster at 3:30 p.m. ET today. Keep an eye on this page. The Team USA women’s roster, announced last week, is here.

Brady Tkachuk and the Senators have a tough road ahead. (Alex Goodlett / Getty Images)
The month’s toughest schedules
After last night’s busy 12-game slate, the NHL has 221 games left to play before the Olympics, meaning 17 percent of the entire campaign will take place in the next 28 days.
How does that compare to a “normal” season?
Well, NHL teams typically play an average of 3.08 games a week, spread over 6 1/2 months. These next four weeks, however, they’ll average nearly 3.45 games, meaning they’re playing roughly 12 percent more frequently than the norm and essentially every second night. Sidney Crosby rejoices.
The average club has seven home games and seven on the road in this stretch and 2.3 back-to-backs. Here’s the league ranked in terms of strength of opponent in this span:

Thanks to our guy Dom Luszczyszyn for compiling this list.
Eight NHL teams have 15 games to play by Feb. 5, and six are playing nine or 10 road games, some with multiple long trips mixed into a short window. So, this section of the schedule could be make-or-break for some clubs.
We’ve also already had an unusually high number of injuries this season; it’ll be worth watching if that grows over the coming weeks.

Macklin Celebrini. (Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)
MirTrivia Question
Simple-ish trivia for you today: In honor of Macklin Celebrini and Matthew Schaefer’s incredible first halves …
Who are the only two teenagers to ever win the Hart Trophy as league MVP and the only near-teenager to win the Norris Trophy as top defenseman?
Coast to Coast
📣 Another DGB banger: Eleven statistical droughts that feel impossible but apparently aren’t.
📰 With two goals in a win over Vancouver last night, Red Wings star Patrick Kane became the 50th player to 500 goals in NHL history — and only the fifth born in the U.S.
🤔 Julian McKenzie has an interesting read on the NHL’s new relaxed dress code and how players feel about it after a half season of fewer suits.
📺 “Heated Rivalry” star Hudson Williams says he’s received anonymous messages from closeted professional athletes, including hockey players, in the wake of the show’s recent success.
🏒 The Power Rankings guys return from a 21-day holiday hibernation to offer us some much-needed perspective.
🎤 On Thursday’s episode of “The Athletic Hockey Show,” Hailey Salvian and Sean Gentille debate the merits of Celebrini as a legitimate Hart Trophy candidate, and Peter Baugh joins to chat about the Rangers’ woes.

Andrew Mangiapane. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
New names in the trade rumor mill
Chris Johnston is a man of many trade boards these days, and his latest — released yesterday — has more intriguing insight into the names in play by the March 6 trade deadline.
A few notes from Chris on the top five newcomers on his list:
• No. 2: Andrew Mangiapane, Edmonton. “The fit hasn’t worked out in Edmonton, where Mangiapane has become a routine scratch amid a wildly unproductive start. … Mangiapane holds a full no-movement clause but will be open-minded about helping the Oilers find him a new opportunity.”
• No. 5: Artemi Panarin, N.Y. Rangers. “The Rangers’ leading point producer in all seven seasons since arriving on Broadway as a celebrated free agent in 2019, Panarin remains one of the NHL’s elite playmakers. … A collision of circumstances could create an environment where it happens here because the Rangers are weighing the merits of a retool and Panarin is a pending unrestricted free agent who is in line for another big payday.”
• No. 8: Luke Schenn, Winnipeg. “While Schenn is a sturdy veteran unlikely to recoup the assets Winnipeg gave up for him at last year’s deadline — they dealt a second- and fourth-round pick to Pittsburgh — he’ll carry value as a right-shot defenseman ideally suited for third-pairing duty.”
• No. 10: Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Carolina. “Kotkaniemi has lost his grip on an everyday roster spot with the Hurricanes, which makes him an intriguing trade candidate given the general lack of centers available leaguewide. … Kotkaniemi still has four seasons remaining on his contract beyond this one, albeit at a reasonable cap number.”
• No. 11: Robert Thomas, St. Louis. “Nothing is off the table in St. Louis, including a potential deal involving the team’s top-line center. How likely that is depends on how you interpret the fact that his name has started to circulate again in chatter with rival teams.”
You can read more on these players and the rest of CJ’s 35 names on the full list.

Sidney Crosby. (Claudio Bresciani / Getty Images)
MirTrivia Answer
Hope you didn’t overthink this one.
Back in 1979-80, Wayne Gretzky was just 19 when he won the first of eight Hart trophies in a row he’d win in his prime with the Oilers. And Sidney Crosby in 2006-07, also at 19, won the first of his two leaguewide MVPs.
Bobby Orr, meanwhile, is the youngest Norris winner. He won for the first time shortly after turning 20 in 1967-68.
It’ll be a tall task for Celebrini or Schaefer to win either award this season, but just being in the running is incredibly impressive. You can tell their hardware cases will get plenty of additions in the years to come.
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