It was medals galore for the U.S. winter Olympic teams. American athletes across many sports brought home 33 medals, which is the second-highest total of any country. Women secured 21 of those medals.
These athletes dedicate their lives to perfecting their craft for a shot at securing a medal.
We reflect on the 2026 Winter Olympics while we look toward Women’s History Month and highlight the hard work and dedication these women athletes displayed in Italy these last couple of weeks.
Ketra Armstrong, a professor of sport management at the University of Michigan, joined the show to reflect on the accomplishments of the women on Team USA.
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The Detroit Red Wings haven’t qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs since 2016. It’s the longest postseason drought in franchise history.
But they’re on the verge of snapping that streak.
The Wings stand in third place in the NHL’s Atlantic Division as they enter the final 24 games of the regular season.
The golden boy returns
The last time they reached the playoffs, Dylan Larkin was a rookie. Today, he’s the team captain. He’s also an Olympic champion.
The U.S. men’s national hockey team beat Canada 2-1 in overtime in the gold medal game of the 2026 Winter Games in Italy. Larkin was on the ice when teammate Jack Hughes scored the game-winning goal.
Detroit Free Press hockey writer Helene St. James spoke with Larkin after the emotional contest.
“It was probably a good 45 minutes after the game ended,” she says. “He was still in his skates, still had is medal around his neck, and he’s like, ‘I’m not taking either off.'”
Larkin scored two goals in six Olympic games and won the most face-offs of any player. St. James says the emotional lift of winning gold could carry him and the Wings through the final third of the season.
“I know how excited he is, ” she says. “He just wants to lead the Wings into a playoff spot and end that nearly 10-year playoff drought.”
Raymond shines for Sweden
Larkin wasn’t the only Red Wing at the Olympics. Lucas Raymond played for Sweden. Moritz Seider competed for Germany. Neither team made it past the quarterfinals. Lucas was the third-leading scorer at the games with one goal and eight assists.
Because their Olympics ended early, St. James says Raymond and Seider should have some extra rest before the season resumes.
How far they go depends on their health.
“This is when the games get really tough,” she says. “There’s no leeway to take anything easy.”
The Red Wings might not be the only ones who get a golden bounce. Many of the players on the U.S. team came up through the national development program in Plymouth. That includes Jack Hughes and goalie Connor Hellebuyck. St. James says Hellebuyck deserves as much credit for beating Canada as anyone.
“He singlehandedly kept his teammates in it in the second and third periods when the shot disparity was so much in the Canadians’ favor,” she says.
Hellebuyck stopped 41 shots against Canada. President Donald Trump hailed the Commerce Township native as a hero during his State of the Union speech. Trump also said he planned to award Hellebuyck the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Generation inspiration
St. James says winning gold is good press for the national development team and youth hockey in general, both boys and girls. The U.S. also beat Canada 2-1 in overtime in the women’s gold medal game. Farmington Hills native Megan Keller scored the game winning goal.
The American women dominated the Olympics, outscoring their opponents 33-2.
“I don’t know how both games cannot inspire young children to want to take up the game,” St. James says.
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The Wings have won 33 of 58 games this season, putting them among the top five teams in the NHL’s Eastern Conference. Eight teams from each conference will qualify for the postseason.
As a player, Steve Yzerman captained the Wings to three Stanley Cups. Since becoming general manager in 2019, he has struggled to build a consistent winner.
Before the season, Yzerman signed free agent goaltender John Gibson. The 12-year veteran had played his entire career with the Anaheim Ducks before coming to Detroit.
The results were disastrous at first. Gibson gave up five goals in his first game against the Montreal Canadiens. Head coach Todd McLellan pulled him out of the net in the second period. Gibson allowed four or more goals in eight of his first 14 games.
Detroit Free Press sportswriter Helene St. James says Gibson has settled down since then.
“The goaltending has been tremendous,” she says. “Ever since he found his groove, they’ve had a chance to win every single night.”
Gibson has not allowed more than four goals in any game since Dec. 2, 2025 and has collected four shutouts.
Credit the coach, too
St. James also credits McLellan for the Wings’ success so far. Yzerman hired McLellan during the 2024-25 season after firing Derek Lalonde. She says McLellan has made the team tougher.
Helene St. James is an author and Detroit Free Press hockey writer
“Not just physical toughness, but mental toughness,” St. James says. “That has made all the difference.”
While the Wings look like a playoff team, they have shown some cracks heading into the Winter Olympics in Italy. They have lost five of their last seven games, including a 5-0 drubbing by the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 31 at Little Caesars Arena. Two days later, the Wings beat the Avs 2-0 in Denver.
St. James says Yzerman could trade younger prospects or draft picks to get a top forward or defenseman. But she cautions they won’t become a Stanley Cup contender just by adding one player.
“They do not want a rental,” she says. “They don’t want to give up a lot of future [talent] just to improve immediately, unless it’s a player who’s going to stick around.”
The Wings were interested in getting former University of Michigan star Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks, but Hughes’s agent indicated he wasn’t willing to sign a long-term contract with Detroit. Yzerman passed and the Canucks ended up trading Hughes to the Minnesota Wild in December.
Avoid deja vu
Most of Detroit’s players will have a chance to rest during the Olympics. Three of their stars will compete for their countries in Italy, including Dylan Larkin (USA), Lucas Raymond (Sweden), and Moritz Seider (Germany).
Larkin and Raymond played in the Four Nations tournament in 2025. St. James says both players struggled when they returned to the Wings, who lost 15 of their final 24 games and missed the playoffs.
She says the Wings don’t want that to happen again.
“Every one of those [Olympic] games is basically a [playoff] game seven,” she says. “You’re asking them to fly across the Atlantic and play a lot of games in a short amount of time.”
Canada is favored to win the gold medal in Italy. St. James says losing could also take an emotional toll on the players.
Fans will find out when the Wings return to NHL action against the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 26.
Trusted, accurate, up-to-date.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
It’s a tough journey to become a professional athlete nowadays, especially for Hockey players, so athletes pursue training programs at a pretty early age to maximize their potential. Plymouth, Michigan has a premiere facility. The city is home to the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. Over the years, players who train there have gone on to represent the U.S. in the Men’s World Championships, the Four Nations Face-off, and the Olympic games. Several alums are suiting up to play in this winter Olympics in Italy this year.
Assistant Executive Director for the development program, Scott Monaghan, joined the show to explain the work it takes to develop young hockey players.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.
WDET strives to cover what’s happening in your community. As a public media institution, we maintain our ability to explore the music and culture of our region through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
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