The political backdrop of 4 Nations tournament was hard to ignore
Canadian fans get a moment of catharsis after months of Trump’s threats and taunts
There was no shortage of storylines during the NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off — but when the league announced the international competition last year, it likely didn't anticipate that politics would take centre ice.
Heading into the final game, Canada's head coach Jon Cooper acknowledged the political backdrop but downplayed its significance.
"Before that puck drops, I don't think anybody will be thinking anything outside of this hockey game, other than winning," he said.
Although players and coaches attempted to avoid questions about the ongoing political tensions between Canada and the United States, Canadian sports writer Gare Joyce said the political context would have been "unavoidable."
"If you could get inside the minds and hearts of those Canadian players, they were probably wrapped up in it," Joyce told CBC News.
In the months leading up to the faceoff, U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened numerous tariffs on Canada and continually talked about making the country the "51st state." Trump's taunts only spurred what is already considered a fierce rivalry, leading to fans jeering anthems, a fight-filled first game and shots fired on social media.
"[The Canadian players] would have had friends and family in Canada whose lives — their financial well-being — is going to feel an effect if and when heavy tariffs dropped," Joyce said.
Speaking to CBC News Network's Morning Live before Thursday's game, sports commentator Ron MacLean agreed that the players would be aware of the politics but would have to focus on hockey.
"Your focus has to be so razor-thin in an event like this. You can't really allow yourself the white noise," MacLean told
"But it's all around us. There's no question about that."
Fans on both sides of the border were certainly aware of the political tensions.
Canadian fans jeered at the U.S. anthem during the tournament's initial games in Montreal — carrying over a trend from previous NHL and NBA games in the wake of Trump's tariff threats. U.S fans returned the favour before the final showdown in Boston on Thursday.
Asked if the booing of the American during the games in Montreal provided extra motivation to the U.S. team, forward Matthew Tkachuk mostly avoided the question.
"I didn't like it and that's all I got," he said.
MacLean said he thought the fans "just want to be heard." Joyce said booing was "primal scream therapy" for Canadians.
Former NHL player Chris Pronger, who twice won Olympic gold for Canada, told CBC News Network that the political tensions "added another layer" to Thursday's final game.
"The Canada-U.S. stuff that has been going on over the last month, month and a half — it was great to see for the country, for the players … the theatrics and whatnot. It just makes for great TV, it makes for great social media," Pronger told host Andrew Nichols.
The NHL says 16.1 million people tuned in across North America to watch the final showdown between the U.S. and Canada — making it the second-most-watched hockey game in a decade.
Thursday's ratings topped the 10 million people tuned in to watch the preliminary Canada-U.S. game last Saturday. After the Montreal crowd booed the American anthem and loudly belted out O Canada, the game itself got off to a chaotic start with three fights in the first 10 seconds.
Canadian forward Brandon Hagel dropped the gloves right off the hop during Saturday's game against the United States. He threw up his arms multiple times to fire up the spur the crowd on.
"I did it for the flag and not for the cameras," Hagel would later say.
Trump takes shot on social media
U.S. general manager Bill Guerin told Fox News earlier this week that he hoped Trump would attend the final game and credited the president for the heightened intensity in the teams' first meeting.
Trump did not attend but called the U.S. hockey team on Thursday to wish players good luck.
Team USA received a call from the President this morning to wish them luck ahead of tonight’s <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/4Nations?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#4Nations</a> championship game. <a href="https://t.co/he1kIgUVGW">pic.twitter.com/he1kIgUVGW</a>
—@usahockeyThe president posted on Truth Social on Thursday that he would be watching the game and again referenced his desire to make Canada the 51st U.S. while also taking a shot at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
"If Governor Trudeau would like to join us, he would be most welcome. Good luck to everybody, and have a GREAT game tonight. So exciting!" the president wrote.
Canadian politicians also wished their team good luck in their own ways.
"The entire country is cheering you on Canada. Let's show the world what Canadian hockey is all about!" NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh wrote in a post on X, with a photo of himself in a Connor McDavid jersey.
"Go make us proud, Team Canada. Let's bring it home!" Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre wrote on X, working in one of his own political slogans.
Gretzky draws some ire
Trump's tariff threats and comments seemed to have soured some Canadians' mood toward one of Canada's former hockey heroes: the Great One himself.
Wayne Gretzky — who, apart from being the NHL's all-time points leader, helped Canada to victory over the Soviet Union in 1987 and selected the 2002 Canadian team that beat the U.S. for gold in the Salt Lake Olympics — was Canada's honorary captain during the pregame ceremony on Thursday night.
That choice drew the ire of some onlookers due to Gretzky's recent association with Trump. The hockey legend attended Trump's inauguration and his election night party.
TSN reporter Dave Naylor called out Gretzky's recent affiliation with the U.S. president in a post on X.
"Just going to state this matter-of-factly … the honorary captain for Canada in this game publicly supports a political leader whose position is that Canada should not exist as a nation," he wrote.
Freelance hockey writer Ken Campbell said choosing Gretzky was "tone deaf," while University of Ottawa professor Thomas Juneau said it was a "lousy choice."
Jeering of the Canadian anthem by American fans wasn't the only politically charged moment during Thursday's singing of O Canada.
Chantal Kreviazuk, the Canadian Grammy Award-winning singer, changed the lyrics to "that only us command" instead of "in all of us command" to protest Trump's talk of making Canada a state.
After Canada had emerged victorious in a 3-2 overtime win, Trudeau fired off a sassy tweet that appeared to be directed at the U.S. president.
"You can't take our country — and you can't take our game," he wrote.
You can’t take our country — and you can’t take our game.
—@JustinTrudeauA fan posted a photo on Reddit of Canadian goalie Jordan Binnington making a stop with a caption reading "Canada's border czar" in an apparent reference to Trump's complaints about the Canada-U.S. border as one of his reasons to impose tariffs.
Joyce said the win might have been momentarily cathartic for Canadians worried about tariffs, but that ultimately it wouldn't change the political landscape.
"For fans it's one for the ages, but I don't know that it changes anything," he said.
Despite the coach's attempts to downplay the political tensions before the game, Cooper acknowledged that Thursday's win meant something more for Canadians given the political context.
"Canada needed a win, and the players [bore] that on their shoulders and they took it seriously," he said in his post game press conference.
"This one was different. This wasn't a win for themselves. This was a win for 40-plus million people. And the guys knew it, and they delivered."
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With files from The Canadian Press
