Yzerman can relate to Team Canada GM Armstrong when it comes to picking roster 

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- If anyone understands what Doug Armstrong is going through, it’s Steve Yzerman.

Armstrong, the St. Louis Blues general manager, is the Canada GM for the Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina 2026. He and his staff are finalizing their roster, which is due Dec. 31.

Yzerman, the Detroit Red Wings GM, was the Canada GM for each of the past two Olympics with NHL players. (His official title was executive director.) Canada won gold in Vancouver in 2010 and Sochi in 2014.

In Canada, hockey means so much, and it’s gold or bust. The second-guessing never ends.

“For all of us on the outside looking in, it’s easy to pick a team,” Yzerman said with a laugh at the NHL Board of Governors meeting this week. “When you’re sitting there (as the GM), like, obviously the goal is to win, and anything short of winning, you picked the wrong team. And even when you win, you probably still picked the wrong team.

“But it’s just hard, because any way you look at it, you’re leaving off really good players.”

Yzerman understands the situation on many levels. He also knows what it feels like to be an elite player left off a Canada roster, how thin the margins are in the Olympics and what it’s like to lose as well as win. All of that plays into the pressure of picking the roster.

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Twice, in 1987 and 1991, Canada cut Yzerman for the Canada Cup. He had 90 points (31 goals, 59 assists) in 80 games in 1986-87 and 108 points (51 goals, 57 assists) in 80 games in 1990-91 for the Red Wings. Still, his country had no spot for him in either tournament.

Yzerman played for Canada in the first two Olympics with NHL players, in Nagano in 1998 and Salt Lake in 2002.

In Nagano, after winning its first three games, Canada ran into goalie Dominik Hasek in a shootout in the semifinals and lost to the Czech Republic 2-1. Stunned, Canada lost to Finland 3-2 in the bronze medal game the following afternoon.

“It seemed like everything was in harmony,” Yzerman said. “All of a sudden, you get in against the Czechs, and you lose in a shootout. Now we’re playing at noon the next day, and we’re like …

“You didn’t take anything for granted, but you’re humming along. Everything’s going good. You lose in a shootout. Now you’ve got to blow the whole program up again.”

Canada won gold in Salt Lake, but only after winning one of its first three games and defeating Finland 2-1 in the quarterfinals.

It didn’t win a medal in Torino in 2006. Even when it won gold under Yzerman in the next two Olympics, there were tense moments.

In Vancouver, Canada lost to the United States 5-3 in the preliminary round and needed to play in the qualification round to make the medal round. It defeated Slovakia 3-2 in the semifinals and the U.S. 2-1 in overtime in the final.

Seconds before center Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal, goalie Roberto Luongo had to make a big save on U.S. forward Joe Pavelski.

In Sochi, Canada dominated Latvia in the quarterfinals but won 2-1. Then it dominated the U.S. in the semifinals but won 1-0.

“You never know what happens in one game,” Yzerman said. “Any of these single-game elimination tournaments, anything can happen, and you can have the best laid plans.”

Canada won the 4 Nations Face-Off last season. But it lost to the United States 3-1 in Montreal on Feb. 15 and needed overtime to defeat the U.S. 3-2 in the final in Boston on Feb. 20. Before center Connor McDavid scored the winner, goalie Jordan Binnington had to stop multiple U.S. scoring chances.

Yzerman said he thinks that tournament was important for Armstrong and his staff.

“I think that 4 Nations helped a little bit for them to … see how some line combinations work, how guys fit with certain players, who could play at that pace or whatnot, who can adjust to different things,” Yzerman said. “That’s helpful for them.

“But again, it’s really a challenge when you sit there and you discuss a team and where [certain players are] going to play. ‘OK, we need this or that on our team.’ And you say, ‘Oh, my God, if we do that, we’re leaving this out. How do we do that?’ It’s tough to get down to that final roster.”

Even when you lead Canada and win, you feel relief more than joy.

“As stressful and nerve-wracking and whatever it is, you enjoy it,” Yzerman said. “But once it’s over, yeah, relief is a good word for it all.”

Yzerman said United States GM Bill Guerin is in the same predicament because of the strides the U.S. has made.

“The expectation is to win,” he said. “If you don’t win, you’re disappointed. You feel like you didn’t get the job done, you know? So, if winning is the only standard, it’s just relief. You didn’t excel. You just did what was expected.”