Need a curling fix after the Winter Olympics? Then get ready for the Montana's Brier, the Canadian men's curling championship, which starts Friday at the Mary Brown's Centre in St. John's, N.L.
The winner of the 10-day tournament will represent Canada at the World Men's Curling Championship, March 27 to April 4 in Ogden, Utah.
Here are the top storylines to keep an eye on.
GUSHUE'S LAST DANCE
It'll be an emotional farewell on home ice to one of the game's greats as Brad Gushue announced back in September that this season would be his last.
The accolades speak for themselves: Olympic gold medallist, world champion, a record six-time Brier champion as a skip and a 15-time Grand Slam of Curling title winner.
Gushue is beloved from coast to coast, but his hometown of St. John's takes it to the next level. The place will be packed to the rafters just as it was in 2017 when Gushue finally won his first Brier title.
While the Brier will be his final event on Canadian ice, you can bet Gushue will leave it all on the line as he aims for a seventh title and the opportunity to represent Canada at another world championship.
Gushue kept to a tight schedule this season and is a lowly No. 32 in the world rankings and No. 14 on the Canadian Team Ranking System (CTRS) standings. His team didn't make any finals on tour and wasn't among the top 12 invited to the Crown Royal Players' Championship. Still, the stars are aligned for one last hurrah.
OLYMPIC HONEYMOON OR HANGOVER?
There's no rest for the world's best as Brad Jacobs, fresh from winning Olympic gold last weekend at Milano Cortina 2026, now gets set to defend the Brier title his team claimed a year ago in Kelowna, B.C.
Jacobs and his Calgary-based club, featuring Marc Kennedy, Brett Gallant and Ben Hebert, get thrown right into the action in Draw 1, taking on short-handed P.E.I.
Yes, Gushue made the turnaround from the Winter Olympics to the Brier in 2022 — and won the Canadian championship — but his team had an extra week of rest and recovery between tournaments. Experience and skill should be enough to carry Team Jacobs through pool play of the Brier. After that, watch out if they find a second wind.
Jacobs, ranked No. 2 in the world and No. 1 on the CTRS, is in Pool A with Gushue — ensuring at least one more "Battle of the Brads." Remember the last time they met at the Mary Brown's Centre? It should be electric, although probably not as hostile, unless they face off again in an elimination game and somebody gives up a stolen point to keep the hammer coming home. But how likely is that to happen?
REDEMPTION FOR DUNSTONE?
Matt Dunstone has been struggling since a heartbreaking runner-up result to Jacobs at the Olympic trials. His Winnipeg-based team went winless through the HearingLife Canadian Open in December. Although Dunstone hit the reset button to start the new year fresh and picked up a few wins at the Crown Royal Players' Championship last month, it wasn't enough to qualify for the playoffs.
Dunstone is a two-time finalist at the Brier, most recently losing to Jacobs in last year's final as well, but this could be his time if he returns to form.
His team is No. 5 in the world rankings, No. 2 on the CTRS behind Jacobs, and reached three consecutive Grand Slam finals in the fall with a title win at the AMJ Masters.
Team Dunstone second E.J. Harnden announced in December that he will be stepping back from competitive curling at the end of the season and, like Gushue, will be looking to go out on top.
COULD THERE BE A SURPRISE FROM POOL A?
Three teams from each pool advance to the championship round. Jacobs and Gushue are the clear-cut favourites in Pool A, but that leaves room for a third team to sneak in.
Ontario's Jayden King is making his Brier debut after defeating incumbent Sam Mooibroek in the provincial final and has soared to No. 18 in the world rankings, No. 6 on the CTRS, this season. King had a strong run in the KW Fall Classic in the fall with an upset win over Niklas Edin in the semis before losing to Joël Retornaz in the final.
Saskatchewan's Kelly Knapp, No 35 in the world and No. 16 on the CTRS, also has potential. Knapp was a quarterfinalist at the HearingLife Canadian Open Tier 2 event and topped Rylan Kleiter in the SaskTel Tankard final.
It's been 20 years since Quebec's Jean-Michel Ménard won the Brier. As Ménard plans to step back after this season, wouldn't it be something if he went on a heater?
WHO WILL ADVANCE FROM POOL B?
Dunstone should be the top pick in Pool B, followed closely by Saskatchewan's Mike McEwen. After going 1-8 through the last two Grand Slam events, McEwen bounced back with a runner-up result at a tour event earlier this month in Martensville, Sask. McEwen, who was a finalist at the Brier in 2024, is No. 15 in the world rankings and No. 5 on the CTRS.
Alberta's Kevin Koe is in the twilight stage of his career, but the 51-year-old still has the magic touch. There's no one more dangerous than Koe when the thinking time clock is winding down and there's a shot for the win. Key to Koe's club is third Tyler Tardi, who earned Olympic gold as the alternate on Team Jacobs.
Manitoba's Braden Calvert has been on the outside for years and this could be his moment to show what he's got. Calvert won three events on tour this season and defeated Jordon McDonald twice in the Page playoffs during provincial playdowns en route to the Manitoba title.
