- Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey opened up on the shoulder injury that ended his 2026 Olympics after one game
- He called watching Canada lose the gold medal game to the U.S. without him a “helpless, brutal feeling”
- Read below for Morrissey’s full reflection and the Barn Burner interview
Josh Morrissey finally opened up about the injury that wrecked his Olympics.
The Winnipeg Jets defenseman went down in Canada’s opening game against Czechia back in February and never made it back onto the ice. Canada rode all the way to the gold medal game before losing to the United States in overtime, and Morrissey watched the entire run from the sideline with a bad shoulder.
Morrissey talked about the injury on FlamesNation’s Barn Burner podcast this week, as transcribed by Daily Faceoff, and he did not hide how much it stung.
“Obviously it hurt not playing. It killed not being able to be out there and feel like you could help the guys in the final. A helpless, brutal feeling, but definitely hoping that there will be more opportunities to represent Canada and have another shot at it.”
The injury hit early, during the first period of Canada’s 5-0 win over the Czechs. Jets beat writer Murat Ates flagged it live and pointed out how cruel the timing was:
Morrissey said the one saving grace was that it never looked like a long-term problem, so he never fully checked out. He and the medical staff tried everything to get him back for the second half of the tournament. It just never got to the point where he could play at the level the moment demanded.
It was the second straight best-on-best event that ended early for him. Morrissey was part of Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off winning group a year earlier but did not finish that tournament healthy either.
Watch Morrissey’s full sit-down with the Barn Burner crew:
The Olympic disappointment capped a mixed year. Morrissey put up 55 points in 77 games, but the Jets followed a Presidents’ Trophy season by missing the playoffs. He also spent the summer weighing in on the wave of stars asking out around the league.
The 31-year-old still wants another crack at a best-on-best gold. Next time, he wants to be on the ice for the medal games instead of watching them from the bench.
