Legendary goalie Brodeur among ex-Olympians who don't see Canada's netminders as a weakness

The last time NHL players competed at the Olympics in 2014, Canada rolled out a goaltending group headlined by one of the calmest players to ever work between the pipes: Carey Price.

He was backed up by Roberto Luongo and Mike Smith. The well of talent in net was so deep then that Braden Holtby and the recent Stanley Cup champion, Corey Crawford, were left at home as Canada went on to win gold in Sochi, Russia.

Before that, Canada had future Hall of Famers Patrick Roy, Ed Belfour and Martin Brodeur stopping pucks at the Olympics.

As NHL players make their long-awaited Olympic return at Milano Cortina 2026, Canada will roll with a trio led by 4 Nations Face-Off starter Jordan Binnington, along with Logan Thompson and Darcy Kuemper.

Canada will face Czechia to start the preliminary round on Thursday (10:40 a.m. ET), followed by Switzerland on Friday (3:10 p.m. ET) and France on Sunday (10:40 a.m. ET). You can watch all the Olympic hockey action on CBC and CBC Gem.

Many people see goaltending as a weakness on the star-studded Canadian team — a potential road block between Canada and the gold medal.

But Brodeur, who knows a thing or two about backstopping Canada to gold, isn't buying it.

"I don’t see it as a weakness," the two-time Olympic gold medallist told CBC Sports. "There’s winning pedigree. They’re goalies with experience. They’re big factors in each of the teams that they’re playing in."

That doesn't mean he hasn't taken note of the concern around the development of goaltenders coming out of Canada.

"There’s something going on, for sure," Brodeur said. "If you look at every other country, it was pretty clear who the goalies were going to be. And obviously from just the past experience of the Olympics, while the pros were there, it was kind of pretty obvious who the goalies were going to be. You could pick any of those and you’re pretty confident. Now, it’s a little different."

It bothers Brodeur, who retired in 2015 and is now the executive vice-president of hockey operations with the New Jersey Devils.

"I don’t like it," he said. "I don’t like to talk about it. Everybody’s asking the same questions.

"It’s the same thing for players coming out of Quebec. It’s the first time we’re not going to have a French Canadian player on the Olympic team. It’s kind of sad because we take a lot of pride in being a good province for hockey."

One thing that could be a strength for Canada's goaltenders? The experience of playing well when things get tense. All three Canadian goaltenders have Stanley Cup rings, something no other country can boast.