Multiple Florida Panthers players make USA Olympic team

USA Hockey made it official Friday, locking in the men's roster for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. It's the first time NHL players suit up for the U.S. at the Olympics since 2014.

The headline is still star power, but the backbone feels nastier than past builds.
With Matthew Tkachuk and Seth Jones both in, you're talking about a Cup-tested edge that travels.

Jones is the loudest talking point on the blue line because he replaces Adam Fox, and that choice will get picked apart all winter. NHL.com lists Jones with the Florida Panthers, and calls the swap «most scrutinized» for any country.

The numbers back up why the coaches trust him, even if the debate stays hot. Jones has 24 points in 39 games this season, and both ESPN and PuckPedia match those totals.

Money-wise, it's just as big, because he's still a $9.5 million cap-hit defenseman on paper. ESPN and PuckPedia also note Chicago retained $2.5 million, leaving Florida with a $7 million hit.

Team USA opens Group C against Latvia on Feb. 12, then gets Denmark and Germany right after. That's a quick read on whether the breakouts stay clean when forechecks get desperate.

You can already hear fans grinning at the idea of Tkachuk chirping in the crease while Jones eats hard minutes behind him. It's not subtle hockey, and that's exactly why it works in a short tournament.

He also piled up 23 points in 23 playoff games on Florida's 2025 Cup run, and both the Panthers' notes and NHL.com list the same 8-15-23 split. That's the kind of clutch résumé Team USA has leaned on forever.

The contract detail fits the picture too, because Tkachuk is a $9.5 million cap-hit winger through 2029-30. Spotrac and PuckPedia both list the eight-year, $76 million deal, which tells you how teams value that chaos.

Now the chess part starts, how Mike Sullivan builds a power play that actually lives in the paint, and how the defense moves pucks without gifting odd-man rushes. If Jones settles the back end, Tkachuk can tilt every shift.