Team Canada Sochi 2014: Why Martin St. Louis Replaces Steven Stamkos

Well, here we go again.

After a full month of agonizing over the Team Canada Men’s Hockey team roster for the Sochi Olympics, a handful of Canadian superstars have another shot to make the squad now that Steven Stamkos has been ruled out with his broken leg.

It’s a major blow to the Team Canada roster, but if any team in the world can fill Stamkos’ spot, it’s this group. Original roster snubs Martin St. Louis, Claude Giroux, and James Neal are considered the frontrunners to get the call, but Joe Thornton, Tyler Seguin, Taylor Hall and Eric Staal might also be in the mix.

Check out our 2014 Sochi Olympics interactive calendar to keep track of Team Canada in Eastern Time!

It’s a complex situation for Steve Yzerman and Canada’s management team.

“The whole long list is alive,” Ralph Krueger, a Team Canada consultant, told reporters. “We spoke about this scenario. I think you need to see all the players again and there’s no batting order here. It’s really remixing the team and the lineup and then looking at the best possible player for that spot. There’s no bad player left on the long list and there’s no bad player on the team.”

They’re not necessarily looking for somebody who can fill Stamkos’ role as a sniper – well really, who could? – but will more likely select a player who could play a number of different roles. Offensive upside is a major plus, sure, though it’s not the only factor in this equation.

Team Canada has many options for this roster spot and any of the aforementioned players could easily step in and play significant roles on the team.

That said, the only choice here is Martin St. Louis.

UPDATE: Team Canada announced at 11 a.m. EST Feb. 6 that Martin St. Louis will replace Steven Stamkos on the Team Canada roster.

He has been the heart and soul of the Tampa Bay Lightning since Stamkos’ injury, shouldering the load while his club remains in second place in the Atlantic Division. St. Louis has 16 points in 14 games since the original roster was announced and has the speed to make explosive plays on the large international ice surface. He has Olympic experience, a Stanley Cup, and an Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s top scorer on his resume.

Plus, when it really comes down to it, can Yzerman bring himself to crush his captain’s Olympic dreams twice in one month without expecting issues in the Lightning dressing room? St. Louis is a pro among pros, but even he has to have a breaking point.

It was obvious how much being left off the roster hurt him last month and it might be even worse this time around. Most of the other players on the short list have lots of time ahead of them to play for Team Canada. At 38 years old, this is St. Louis’ last shot.

Do the right thing, Yzerman. Marty is your man.

Team Canada is set as a +143 favorite to win the gold medal in Sochi and they are a -10870 favorite in their first game against Norway on Feb. 13.