Team Canada's Case for Chris Kunitz at Sochi 2014 Olympics

If you look at the numbers alone, Pittsburgh Penguins winger Chris Kunitz will be a member of Team Canada’s hockey team for the Sochi Olympics when the team’s squad is announced Jan. 7. But, of course, it’s not nearly that simple.

Kunitz has spent the better part of his time with the Penguins riding shotgun on Sidney Crosby’s line, terrorizing opposing teams, game in and game out. This year Kunitz has 43 points in 42 games, good for fifth among Canadian skaters in the NHL after totaling 52 points in 48 games last year. So, as far as the numbers go, Kunitz is very much in the mix.

Still, many wonder if he’d even be in the conversation for a roster spot if he wasn’t playing with Crosby. That in itself might be a moot point, because it’s obvious the duo works well together and familiarity between linemates could be crucial in a short tournament.

“It’s easier when it’s only a seven-game tournament if you can go and have that chemistry right off the bat,” Kunitz told reporters about the possibility of playing with Crosby in the Olympics. “I think that once you can maybe read and react to where a guy is on the ice or have familiarity with where he’s going to be, it can just make maybe that split-second that can change something in a game.”

It’s a strategy Team Canada has dabbled in before. Canada loaded up on San Jose Sharks for the 2010 Olympics with Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Dany Heatley forming a line with mixed results. Then again, it’s almost a lock that Anaheim’s duo of Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf will play together this year and Kunitz and Crosby could be in the same boat.

Crosby scored seven points in seven games in Vancouver in 2010 and eventually won Canada the gold medal, but he might have been even better with stable wingers. Patrice Bergeron, Rick Nash, Eric Staal, Mike Richards, Jonathan Toews and Jarome Iginla all took turns on Crosby’s line then, so the stability Kunitz would provide might be a major factor.

The thing is, if Kunitz doesn’t contribute and a high-profile player is left home, Team Canada is going to catch a ton of flack. That said, every roster decision is going to be scrutinized, so that shouldn’t hold much weight.

As it stands right now, it sounds as if Kunitz will be a part of Team Canada’s 2014 Sochi Olympic team and I won’t second-guess that decision.

Canada is currently set as a +165 favorite to win the gold medal.