Season of the stick: How politics are overlapping with the NHL playoffs

What's with hockey and this election?

It's clear much of the nation is in the grip of playoff fever, just as the federal election reaches its final days. 

A critical French-language leaders' debate was moved up by two hours for Montreal hockey fans. Quebec's Premier Francois Légault chose to attend the Habs game, rather than watch a debate seized with issues central to his own province.

"We don't take ourselves too seriously," said Williamsburg, Ont., hockey lover Barry Strader upon hearing the debate had been time-shifted.

"It's a debate ... but there's hockey, too. It's our lifeblood."

• Time changed for French-language leaders' debate due to Montreal Canadiens game
• Talkin' hockey and the election 

That's not all: Liberal Leader Mark Carney took a skate with his team, the Edmonton Oilers, and upped the Canadiana ante with a campaign ad featuring Mike Myers proving his Canuck cred by knowing the defender cuts off the pass in a two-on-one.

There's also the Elbows Up! phenomenon — a nod to Gordie Howe — which been central to the pushback against American taunts and tariffs. 

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump has suggested former hockey great Wayne Gretzky would make a fine governor of the "51st state."

A 'politics-free zone'

At a late-season Ottawa Senators game, fans at the Canadian Tire Centre had mixed views about the overlapping Venn diagram of hockey and politics.

"This should be all about hockey," said Abe Osman. "Politics is somewhere else. This is a hockey arena."

"I think people prefer [hockey] to be a politics-free zone," said Jake Bryson, 25. "People are focused on this as a way to ... distance ourselves from the stress of the political world."

"Politics can sometimes be a negative feeling," added 28-year-old Pallab Saha, wearing a Thomas Chabot jersey. "It drives people down."

Michel Diotte also shies away from mixing hockey and talk of the campaign.

"[That's] because we're here for fun, not for politics," said Diotte, who travelled to Ottawa from New Brunswick with his wife and 19-year-old son, a first-time-voter.  

Talk politics — but only 'between the whistles'

The final four regular season games were inconsequential for the Senators, who clinched a playoff berth on April 8. For some fans like Derek Nighbor, that meant there was extra bandwidth to talk politics.

"[But only] in between the whistles," said Nighbor, who ran as a Liberal candidate in the 2003 Ontario election.

Nighbor recalled how, during that campaign, he shook a lot hands at the local arena in Pembroke, Ont.

"I did many, many years ago when I was in partisan life. I loved doing it at the Pembroke Lumber Kings games," he said. "To do a bit of politics while watching the Kings play was always pretty fun."

First-time voters like Bryson, a pro golfer and part-time bartender who's spent most of the past decade in the U.S., were easy to find at the Senators' penultimate regular season game. 

Bryson admitted at the game that he wasn't quite ready to cast a ballot.

"I'm getting there. I know there's a little bit of time left to get dialled in," he said.

"I'm pretty stoked," added Max Axani, who flew in from Kamloops, B.C., to both visit friends and catch the Sens. "I'm not really huge into politics but I'm pretty stoked."

Connor Bailey is more low-key about the election, which he says he's been following "a little bit, here and there."

"I'd rather just sit in front of the TV and watch hockey," said Bailey, a 20-year-old mechanic, adding it's a lot to keep up with the issues.

"I like the 'Axe the Tax,'" he said, referring to the slogan of the Conservatives and their leader, Pierre Poilievre. "I do like Pierre."

Housing a big issue at the arena

Before the puck dropped, and in between periods, several fans shared their thoughts on the big election issues, including housing affordability.

Axani, the stoked fan from Kamloops, lives with his parents but pays them below-market rent. "It's a decent deal. I can't complain."

"It's particularly hard to save up a lot, when rent is costing me so much," said Renée Rosteius, 22, who's living in an apartment in Revelstoke, B.C., but like Axani was in Ottawa visiting family. "I would like to see something be done about that"

Housing is also top of mind for Tom Gagnon, 24, a plumber from Kanata, who just bought a home with his brother.

"It was not easy to find something at all. It was very hard. Especially something that was affordable," said Gagnon. 

Brooke Elliott, 22, said she's looking for a political party that can tackle the economic turmoil caused by U.S. tariffs.

"I'm just graduating university now, so I'm looking for jobs, particularly in the environmental field — which is not, given the current political climate, a priority," said Elliott.

One break in the action gave some fans a chance to make their predictions — both for the post-season and for the federal election.

"I think Liberals are still going to [win], but it's going to be close," said Anthony Robitaille. "For hockey? I think Winnipeg is going to go far."

Gagnon also expects the election will be "really tight." As for the NHL playoffs?
    
"Round one? Ottawa for sure," he said though the Battle of Ontario has him expressing a sentiment that could also apply to federal politicians as the campaign enters the final period.

"It's high-risk, high reward."