Star player's Olympic snub sparks outrage as analyst blasts Team Canada
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Daniel Lucente
Feb 2, 2026 (11:19)
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Photo credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
Evan Bouchard is stacking points, and David Staples says Team Canada just embarrassed itself by leaving the Edmonton Oilers blueliner home.
Staples didn’t whisper it either, he called the omission "a disgrace in hockey assessment," and he framed it like Canada is playing with fire at the Olympics.
Team Canada locked in its men’s roster on December 31, 2025, keeping the same eight defensemen from the 4 Nations group.
Since that roster reveal, Staples pointed out Bouchard has matched the combined point total of six of those eight Canadian defensemen.
And it’s not like Bouchard is riding a small heater, he’s sitting at 15-45-60 in 56 games in 2025-26.
The timing makes it sting, because Bouchard just ripped the Washington Capitals for a 3-goal, 6-point night on January 24.
That’s the exact kind of right-shot cannon you want on the man advantage when games get tight and nerves get loud.
Evan Bouchard has a Team Canada-sized case
Oilers fans are furious, and honestly, a lot of neutral fans are too, because the snub looks stubborn more than smart.
Canada’s current blue line is loaded, but it’s also built around familiarity, not upside, and Staples is basically daring Hockey Canada to admit it can still improve.
The hard truth is simple, if an injury hits before the February 4 roster freeze, the debate turns into a decision.
Staples’ point is that leaving Bouchard out isn’t "safe," it’s risky, because you’re choosing reputation management over raw impact.
If Canada wants that gold to feel inevitable again, it might need to swallow pride and make room.
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| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 2|173 ANSWERS Star player's Olympic snub sparks outrage as analyst blasts Team Canada Should Team Canada add Evan Bouchard if a defense spot opens up? | ||
| Yes | 98 | 56.6 % |
| No | 75 | 43.4 % |
| List of polls | ||