Team USA reminiscent of 1996 World Cup of Hockey squad: Granato

NHL players are competing at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, the first time in 12 years that they’ve been on this global stage. In order to provide an inside look at the experience, NHL.com has enlisted former Olympic players, coaches and others around the game to share their insights. Today, Team USA icon Tony Granato, who played at the 1988 Calgary Olympics, was an assistant at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, and served as the head coach at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.

As we get ready for Team USA’s opening game of the Olympics against Team Latvia at Santagiulia Arena on Thursday (3:00 p.m. ET; Peacock, USA, ICI TOU.TV, CBC Gem, SN, RDS), there’s been a lot of discussion about whether this is the best, if not the deepest, roster to represent the Red, White and Blue on this world stage.

Let’s put some things in perspective here.

First off, the "Miracle on Ice" team that won gold at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics is in a class by itself. It was the ultimate David vs. Goliath. Upsetting the mighty Soviets the way they did was inspiring and caused the sport to explode in popularity in the United States.

But for me, at least to this point, the greatest Team USA, in terms of talent, skill and grit, was the 1996 World Cup of Hockey squad that won that tournament.

In the best-of-3 final, the U.S. dropped the first game to Canada before winning the final two, each by the score of 5-2, each in the hostile environment of the Bell Centre in Montreal. They did it with talent, they did it with grit, they did it with heart, they did it with the whole package.

Yes, there is a common thread between that team and the 2026 team: the Tkachuk family. Keith Tkachuk was a heart-and-soul player for the 1996 edition. Now, his sons Matthew Tkachuk and Brady Tkachuk are serving the same roles in Italy.

That 1996 team, they just refused to give an inch against what was supposed to be a better Canadian team. And obviously it took great goaltending, but it also took a team that was willing to take some bumps and bruises in order to find a way to get it done.

Keith was far from the only player on that team that played with an edge. Guys like Chris Chelios and Bill Guerin played with an attitude, which allowed them to go into a tough environment like Montreal and succeed.

Now, Guerin is the general manager of the U.S., a role he served at the 4 Nations Face-Off last February. And you can see in the way the team is built that he’s addressed not just having a roster with skill, but with other competitive elements as well.

I know Matthew and Brady have said they watched highlights of that 1996 tournament, and I think that you see the same type of competitiveness and intensity with this Olympic team. They showed it in the 4 Nations with the way they played.

Now it’s all about getting across the finish line.

The U.S. has come so close. They got to the gold medal game in Salt Lake City in 2002 before losing to Canada. They made it to overtime of the gold medal game in Vancouver in 2010 before losing again to Canada on Sidney Crosby’s "Golden Goal." In 2014, we had a really good team but lost 1-0 to Canada in the semifinal. And then, in the 4 Nations, Canada defeated the U.S. 3-2 in overtime on a goal from Connor McDavid.

To me, the 4 Nations and the intensity the U.S. played with, it had the same flavor to how the 1996 team played. And I think it was a preview of what we have to look forward during the next two weeks at the Olympics.

To be able to take that last step in Italy, to be able to get it done and win gold is something that, I think, will kind of allow USA Hockey to say, “OK, we finally got there.”

But here’s the thing: Is it gold-or-bust for the U.S.? Is that the mentality the team has to have?

In my opinion, I don’t think it is.

As much as we all want to win, whether you're Canada, whether you're the U.S., whether you're Sweden, Finland or others, this tournament is still hard to win no matter how good your team is. There’s no guarantee that Canada and the U.S. will meet in the gold medal game, or at any other point in the tournament for that matter. In a short event like this, I know it’s a cliche, but anything can happen.

I would be really proud to have the U.S. win. Would it be a failure if they don’t? I can't say that.

Do I think we'll win? Yes, I do. I think this year we’ll win. But again, I look at Canada's roster, I look at the Swedes, I look at Finland, I look at Czechia, and I say, “these teams could win, too.”

That’s what’s going to make these next couple of weeks so fascinating.