2026 Olympic Odds: Will Jordan Binnington remain Canada’s starting goaltender at Milano Cortina?

Team Canada ran it back with the same three goaltenders they used in the 4 Nations Face-Off for their summer Olympic orientation camp, but there could be cracks in that trio as the NHL season goes on.

Here’s the top contenders to be Canada’s starter for the 2026 Olympics.

Jordan Binnington

Binnington will be a lock for the team. The 32-year-old has a wealth of experience as a Stanley Cup champion and he just backstopped Canada to 4 Nations gold last year, starting all four games and posting a 2.38 goals-against average and .907 save percentage.

However, Binnington’s poor start to the season could cost him the starter’s role at the Olympics. He’s 3-4-2 on the year with a bloated 3.08 GAA and .868 SV while St. Louis languishes near the bottom of the NHL standings.

You can’t overlook Binnington’s history with Team Canada GM Doug Armstrong, who is also the Blues’ GM. That history and Binnington’s past success will get him on the team, but he’ll need to show more to be the starter.

Logan Thompson

After being snubbed at last year’s 4 Nations and not receiving an invite to the Olympic orientation camp in the summer, Washington Capitals netminder Logan Thompson has emerged as a contender to start for Canada early in the season.

The 28-year-old is easily the hottest Canadian goalie to start the year, leading the NHL in both GAA (1.51) and SV (.935). Those numbers are miles better than Canada’s 4 Nations goalies, Binnington (.886 SV), Adin Hill (.888 SV) and Samuel Montembeault (.855 SV).

Thompson was already a controversial exclusion from the 4 Nations team last year. He ended up finishing the year with 31-6-6 record, posting a 2.49 GAA and .910 SV while leading Washington to the best record in the Eastern Conference.

He should make the Olympic roster and he’s in a position to be the starter.

Adin Hill

Vegas Golden Knights backstop Adin Hill’s spot on Team Canada could be in danger for multiple reasons. First, he simply hasn’t been good enough. In five starts, he has a 1-0-2 record with a 2.73 GAA and .888 SV.

Even more worrisome, however, is the status of his health. Hill hasn’t played since exiting Vegas’ Oct. 18 win against Calgary with a lower-body injury. He’s listed as week-to-week, which doesn’t give him a lot of runway to prove he’s ready to start for Canada when he eventually returns.

Samuel Montembeault

Montreal’s Samuel Montembeault is another 4 Nations guy that could miss out on the Olympics. He’s been completely outperformed by his Canadiens partner, Jakub Dobes, this year, going 3-3-1 with a 3.67 GAA and .855 SV.

To put it in perspective, those numbers would rank him as the 11th-best Canadian goalie in the NHL this season, with a minimum of five games played. That’s not good enough to make the Olympic team, let alone start.

2026 Team Canada

If I had to guess Canada’s depth chart in net at the moment, I would go Thompson at No. 1, Binnington at No. 2 and a wide open race for the third spot.

Despite the question mark in net, Canada remains a +175 favourite on the 2026 Olympic odds to win gold at Milano Cortina, with a little less than two months before the deadline to submit rosters.

Rounding out the top three Olympic favourites are Team USA, the 4 Nations runner-ups, at +200 and Sweden at +500.