Ranking the top candidates to win the Stanley Cup after an Olympic gold medal

There have been eight hockey players who have won an Olympic gold medal and a Stanley Cup in the same season. Ken Morrow was the first. After winning gold with the "Miracle on Ice" team for the U.S., he joined the New York Islanders and became part of that dynasty, including winning a Cup in 1980.

In 2002, the second Olympic Games in which active NHL players were able to participate, Steve Yzerman and Brendan Shanahan won gold with Canada, then a Cup with the Detroit Red Wings a few months later.

Eight years later, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Jonathan Toews pulled off the feat with Canada and the Chicago Blackhawks.

The most recent occurrence was 2014, accomplished by Jeff Carter and Drew Doughty, with Canada and the Los Angeles Kings.

Team USA ended its Olympic gold drought on the men's side this year, and plenty of those players are on NHL teams currently in a playoff spot.

So which players who won Olympic gold in February could also join this prestigious "double champ" club of winning gold and silver within the span of a few months in the same season? (I'm not counting Matthew Tkachuk here, who won the Cup Olympic gold in technically the following season).

Here's my list:

1. Brock Nelson, C
Colorado Avalanche

The Avs are often (but not always) the best team in the NHL. If the playoff bracket goes chalk and they survive that grueling second-round matchup against Minnesota or Dallas, they are in pole position to win their second Cup of the 2020s.

2. Jack Eichel, C and Noah Hanifin, D
Vegas Golden Knights

The Golden Knights have an easier path on paper than the Central "multiple final bosses" gauntlet, which is why I put them at the top of my list. They could face Anaheim in the first round then Edmonton in the second (or vice versa).

Perhaps playing against a motivated Connor McDavid isn't ideal ... but again, those top three teams in the Central are all a tall task.

3. Jake Guentzel, F
Tampa Bay Lightning

If the Lightning stay atop the Atlantic Division (despite massive competition from Buffalo and Montreal), they could face one of Ottawa/Detroit/Philadelphia/Columbus/Washington in the first round, then either the Canadiens or Sabres in the second.

Tampa Bay has again proved itself to be a strong team, with a strong candidate for the Hart Trophy (and Art Ross leader) in Nikita Kucherov, who many overlooked being this good before the season started.

4. Matt Boldy, F, Brock Faber, D, Quinn Hughes, D
Minnesota Wild

It would be cool to see this trio go back-to-back, but do the Wild have enough to get past the battle-tested Stars in the first round?

I'm making this pick in this position more for impact during the Olympics than my confidence in the Wild getting to the Stanley Cup Final (which is still fairly high).

5. Jake Oettinger, G
Dallas Stars

Though Oettinger wasn't very active in games en route to gold, he was still very much part of the team and earned a medal.

The Stars are the most complete team in the NHL, according to many. Is this their year?

6. Jackson LaCombe, D
Anaheim Ducks

The first two rounds of the playoffs won't be a pillow fight, but they probably will feel like it compared to the Central.

That gives the Ducks a little bit of an edge being on that side of the equation, though LaCombe and his teammates are still below the Wild and Stars.

7. Jaccob Slavin, D
Carolina Hurricanes

Carolina head coach Rod Brind'Amour again brings his team to the playoffs, and could keep that "win at least one playoff series" streak alive.

But is this the year the Canes finally make it back to the Cup Final for the first time since 2006 ... and win?

8. Charlie McAvoy, D and Jeremy Swayman, G
Boston Bruins

McAvoy has had an incredible journey this season; he has been a frequent visitor to the Bruins' team dentist thanks to multiple facial injuries. He's durable and tough.

That passionate, tear-filled speech before the Four Nations final turned into a poetic gold medal at the Olympics a year later. Can his journey culminate with a Cup?

9. Tage Thompson, C
Buffalo Sabres

The Sabres are my sentimental pick on the list. Imagine what the atmosphere will be like for the first home game of the playoffs this spring after missing the postseason for 14 years.

Then imagine what the first home game of the Cup Final, the first since 1999, would be like. It might be one of the greatest crowds in sports of our generation.

10. Clayton Keller, F
Utah Mammoth

It's likely Utah faces Edmonton in the first round, and the Oilers have been dominant in the opening round -- mostly because they've been bullying L.A. for the past four years.

Bear in mind that the Mammoth have more regulation wins this season than the top three Pacific Division teams, so if there was a team to "cross divisions" in the postseason and make the conference finals, they are a strong candidate.

Honorable mention: The rest!

This is a group that includes defenseman Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets, center Dylan Larkin of the Detroit Red Wings, Jake Sanderson (D) and Brady Tkachuk (F) of the Ottawa Senators, along with forward Kyle Connor and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets.

These teams are either just barely in (in the case of Ottawa), or on the bubble.

If the Jets get in, will Hellebuyck turn back into the unbeatable force he was during the Olympics?

Jump ahead:
Games of the week
What I loved this weekend
Hart Trophy candidates
Social post of the week
Stick taps

Biggest games of the week

Given how tight the Eastern Conference wild-card race is, the focus is on those teams

The Red Wings face off against two fellow wild-card contenders, the Blue Jackets on Tuesday followed by the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.

And the Washington Capitals are also back in the race. They play a home-and-home series against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday and Sunday that probably will decide their fate.

Hart Trophy contenders if the season ended today

The scoring race remains tight with fewer than two weeks remaining. McDavid is on top, with 126 points in 77 games, including 10 in his past five.

Kucherov has 125 in 70 games, including six in his past five, and Nathan MacKinnon has 122 points in 74 games, including seven in his past five.

All three play on current division leaders, though the Avs have the edge over the Lightning and Oilers.

These three have been atop my list for a while now, but is there a chance Macklin Celebrini gets back in the mix?

Celebrini definitely has a case in the "most valuable to his team" part of the definition. Celebrini is fourth in the NHL in scoring with 105 points. The next best on the Sharks is Will Smith, with 54. Celebrini has scored or assisted on 46% of the Sharks' goals this season, tied for the highest rate by a teenager in NHL history -- with Wayne Gretzky.

Not bad.

What I loved this weekend

For the first time since 2011, the Buffalo Sabres are in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

As noted above, this fan base deserves this opportunity after sticking with the team for so long. The atmosphere is going to be electric.

The team posted a video after clinching its playoff spot. It featured the voice of legendary broadcaster Rick Jeanneret, who died in 2023:

This thing of ours is forever, Buffalo. pic.twitter.com/pUzOX32ake

Social media post of the weekend

PK Subban always brings it when it comes to fashion, and he is also great at poking fun at himself, whether it's on the broadcast or on social media. I never thought I'd see PK's threads being compared to McLovin, but here we are.

He needs to unbutton one more button 🫣 #toughbounce https://t.co/2aBx2K2x7D

Also, do we have an update on the woman who gave birth at the Oilers game on Saturday?

A baby is currently being born at Rogers Place... in the middle of the Oilers game 👶 pic.twitter.com/02Tcg1GN2d

Stick taps

Wyatt Ross is an aspiring sports broadcaster about to enter college. He spent the past several years as a NHL youth reporter (interviewing such players as Auston Matthews and Sidney Crosby), serving on the NHL's Power Players Youth Advisory Board.

I met him while hosting the NHL's youth innovation competition in Florida in January, where he served as a judge.

Ross visited ESPN this weekend to further get inspired along his burgeoning career journey.

I'm impressed by his passion for sports (particularly hockey and college football), his thoughtful questions (both at the innovation competition to all the teams that presented and also career questions to me and others) as well as his confidence and conviction at such a young age. A shoutout to his wonderful parents, Michael and Jennifer, who support his dream and take him wherever he needs to go, even all the way to Bristol, Connecticut, for a day. Go get 'em, Wyatt!