With national playdowns complete, expect some tinkering on domestic curling scene

Ryan Fry's decision to step back from the competitive game could be the first domino to fall in what's shaping up to be an intriguing spring on the domestic curling scene.

Changes are coming on the high-performance front as new Curling Canada director David Murdoch aims to strengthen the elite program for this quadrennial and provide a next-gen boost for the ones that follow.

With the recent provincial and national playdowns essentially ending the campaign for all but a handful of top rinks, some player and lineup announcements have already been made and there will be more to come.

Teams will also soon learn about qualification steps for the Olympic Trials. It's all part of a long process as curlers strive for the ultimate goal of representing Canada at the 2026 Milan Games.

"Right now I think Canada is in a great position because we have arguably the best players in the world still competing and still playing and still training," Fry said Wednesday. "But I do think to get to a certain level in three years from now, what we're doing now is not going to be good enough.

Fry won Olympic gold at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia with skip Brad Jacobs while Jennifer Jones guided the women's team to the top of the podium.

International programs improved in the two quadrennials that followed. One of Murdoch's goals will be to establish the best pathway to success for a Canadian program that has posted middling international results in recent seasons.

"There's good things and there's maybe things that we want to tweak or maybe there's things that we want to change," Murdoch said at a recent media availability. "And speaking to the athletes too, I think they're quite receptive to that because they want success.

"They want to be the