Mike Sullivan takes firm stand for Team USA’s NY Rangers with clear message after 2026 Winter Olympics

It wasn’t always easy, but Mike Sullivan and Team USA are now Olympic gold medalists. In reality, Sullivan won’t receive a medal, as the Winter Olympics only award that honor to athletes. Still, his name will go down in the history books as the man who led the Stars and Stripes to their third Olympic crown.

On the other hand, those who won’t wear a medal around their necks—or receive any recognition—are the players who were on the bubble and ultimately failed to make the team.

Much of the controversy stemmed from Sullivan’s decision to name New York Rangers forwards J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck to Team USA, leaving behind stars with better numbers. After the win over Canada, Sullivan addressed that long-standing point of debate with a blunt admission about how Team USA assembled its roster.

“The team was built with personality in mind,” Sullivan told reporters after the gold medal ceremony, via The New York Post’s Mollie Walker. “There are whiskey drinkers and milk drinkers, and we got a lot of whiskey drinkers.”

Who was Sullivan sending a message?

After his statement, fans across the NHL couldn’t help but wonder whether Sullivan had just taken a rather direct shot at the players who didn’t make the cut, despite their strong performances during the 2025–26 season. Sullivan didn’t give out any names, but if the shoe fits, some may wear it.

While Miller and Trocheck posted far from mind-blowing numbers in the Winter Olympics, Sullivan always made it clear the two brought passion, identity, and chemistry to the lineup. All of the three can’t be expressed in stat sheets, but they can be equally as important as goals, assists, and points.

By calling Miller and Trocheck to Team USA, players like Cole Caufield and Jason Robertson—undersized stars with skill and scoring touch for days—were left on the outside looking in. Both young forwards shine night in and night out in the NHL. However, at the Olympic level, the game is far more physical, and that appears to be what cost them their seat on the plane to Milan and a spot on the bench at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.

Sullivan’s bold call pays off

Hindsight is 20/20, and Sullivan’s call has now proven beneficial. Had Nathan MacKinnon found the back of the net on a wide-open chance or Devon Toews cashed in on a loose puck in the blue paint, the story would look very different.

Instead of popping champagne and raising a glass, Sullivan might have been met with rotten tomatoes and a deafening chorus of second-guessing. Just like Team USA’s upstairs neighbors now face questions about why Connor Bedard didn’t play for Team Canada in the Winter Olympics.

Team USA’s experience in Italy is yet another reminder that history is written by the victors. As the 2026 Winter Olympics chapter comes to an end, it’s clear the pen and paper are firmly in the grasp of the bald American eagle.