Insider Elliotte Friedman explained why Team Canada chose Seth Jarvis instead of Zach Hyman to fill in for Brayden Point, even though Friedman thought Hyman would be a better pick.
In his latest post on the 32 Thoughts Blog, Friedman mentioned that Hyman would have been a great fit to take over for Brayden Point, but the general managers for Canada felt more comfortable with Seth Jarvis since they knew him well.
Since Brayden Point played with Connor McDavid in the 4 Nations tournament, I assumed Zach Hyman would step in for him. When I found out it was Seth Jarvis, I remembered that Jon Cooper had talked about staying loyal to the players who helped win that tournament.
You’ve got a GM of a crappy team, he’s on a CRAPPY team, overseeing Team Canada and running it like a union! – Stauffer https://t.co/r7as9ayAt6 pic.twitter.com/avsGay62gY
— Oilers All Day (@OilersEvery_Day) February 2, 2026
“Let’s be real, this matters. You’ve spent 12 days together, dealing with not just what happened on the ice but also everything off the ice and the challenges. Knowing each other is very important… Would we have liked to keep the team from the 4 Nations and just add two more players? Definitely. Because when you win with people, you trust them and want to keep fighting for them. ”
– Elliotte Friedman, 32 Thoughts
Bob Stauffer is really frustrated with Team Canada’s GM.
It’s clear that Bob Stauffer wasn’t happy about Evan Bouchard not making it onto Team Canada. Many believe Bouchard has been performing much better than some of the defensemen selected, such as Drew Doughty and Colton Parayko.
People are debating if Zach Hyman would have been a smarter choice over Seth Jarvis to replace the injured Point.
Friedman mentions that loyalty and knowing the players from the 4 Nations tournament were really important to Canada’s coach Jon Cooper and GM Doug Armstrong, but it seemed a bit like favoritism.
However, this isn’t just an All-Star game, even if the last competition was amazing. The Olympics are something completely different, and while loyalty is nice, actually knowing how to play together is crucial when making the best team.
And nobody knows how to work with McDavid better than his teammate Hyman. They regularly play on the same line, can easily find each other on the ice, and have great teamwork.
Even more importantly, they like playing together. Hyman’s scoring when playing alongside McDavid is exceptional. In a short tournament like the Olympics, there’s no time to develop that connection right away.
I think loyalty shouldn’t have been a factor in this situation. The focus should have been on the proof of McDavid and Hyman with the Oilers.
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