‘Gold is absolutely on our minds:’ What Tkachuk, Hughes, Matthews, other U.S. stars are saying about the Olympics
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Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
Hall of Famer Mike Modano was a member of three U.S. Olympic men’s hockey teams. They were filled with NHL stars, but they managed to take home just one medal, a silver in 2002.
If the NHL sends its players to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, the Americans will have another team filled with familiar names: Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, the Hughes and Tkachuk brothers, and the deepest goaltending pool in the nation’s history.
When Modano looks at those players, he sees Olympic gold.
“God, that roster’s pretty solid. They’ll all be in their prime. They’ll all be very hungry,” Modano told ESPN. “I would say since the 1990s, that’s probably the best one we could have.”
The 2026 Olympics offer the moment USA Hockey has been waiting for since the “Miracle on Ice” in 1980, the last time the men’s national team won gold at the Winter Olympics.
It’s the moment when young players who first picked up a stick to be like Mike Modano or Patrick Kane have become established stars. When teams are drafting from regions seeded with talent from 30 years of NHL expansion. When the best-of-the-best American players are comparable to those on Canada, a country that has been the best-of-the-best for over 20 years in international competition.
“I think it’s probably the deepest player pool for Team USA. There are so many high-end superstars now that are American,” said Boston Bruins winger James van Riemsdyk, who represented the U.S. in the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.
The Sochi Games marked the last appearance for NHL players in the Olympics. The last “best-on-best” tournament for the U.S. was the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. An entire generation of American players have entered the NHL since then, ascending quickly to elite status.
They’ve never had the chance to represent their country on the Olympic stage. But they know the potential for this 2026 team. The potential for greatness.
The potential for gold.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and safety DeShon Elliott have agreed to a two-year, $12.5 million extension with $9.21 million guaranteed, a source confirmed to ESPN.
Elliott, 28, was one of the Steelers’ best run defenders last year with 2 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 4 tackles for loss and 108 combined tackles.
NFL Network first reported the deal.
A former sixth-round pick, Elliott spent his first four seasons in the league with the Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions before joining the Miami Dolphins for one year.
The Steelers signed Elliott as a free agent to a two-year deal before the 2024 season.
He has 395 tackles in 72 career games.
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Tisha Thompson
Ippei Mizuhara, the disgraced former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, is in federal prison in Pennsylvania, a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons told ESPN on Monday.
Mizuhara, 40, was ordered to surrender to federal authorities by Monday. He is in custody at Federal Correctional Institution Allenwood Low, a low-security facility, after being sentenced to 57 months in prison for stealing nearly $17 million from Ohtani.
Mizuhara was initially ordered to report to prison in March, but a federal judge granted the delay. The reasons for the delay remain under seal.
Mizuhara’s attorney declined ESPN’s request for comment, but previously stated that he expects Mizuhara, a Japanese citizen, to eventually be deported.
The Dodgers fired Mizuhara in March 2024 after an ESPN investigation revealed he sent millions in wire transfers from Ohtani’s account to an illegal bookmaker. He pleaded guilty to bank fraud and filing a false tax return in June 2024, admitting that he placed about 19,000 bets with the bookie over a two-year period and accumulated over $40 million in debt.
The bookmaker, Mathew Bowyer, pleaded guilty in August to running an illegal gambling business, money laundering and subscribing a false tax return. He is awaiting sentencing.
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