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Sports and politics will collide tonight in Boston as archrivals Canada and the United States compete in the final of the 4 Nations Face-Off.
What might have been initially conceived as an exhibition international hockey tournament in advance of the NHL's return to Olympic competition in 2026 has turned into a must-watch event on both sides of the border due to political tension between the formerly friendly nations.
U.S. President Donald Trump has stoked resentment in Canada by threatening sweeping tariffs on Canadian products and repeatedly suggesting the U.S. should absorb Canada as a state.
In a Truth Social post early Thursday, Trump repeated his suggestion of Canada becoming a 51st state as he wished the U.S. hockey team good luck.
"I’ll be calling our great American Hockey Team this morning to spur them on towards victory tonight against Canada," he said, adding that he won't be at the game because he will be speaking with governors in Washington.
"We will all be watching, and if Governor Trudeau would like to join us, he would be most welcome," Trump said.
Trump followed through on his promise, speaking with the players for five minutes Thursday morning. The team attempted to connect through Zoom but ultimately used U.S. general manager Bill Guerin's phone on speaker for the conversation.
"It was cool, right? It's the president of the United States," U.S. defenceman Brock Faber said. "When you're a kid, you don't really think that that's ever going to be a possibility, but it's really cool."
Faber said Trump's message was simple: "Just have fun, enjoy it. It was pretty quick, but just enjoy the pride of wearing the red, white and blue."
U.S. forward J.T. Miller echoed the sentiment.
"It was pretty cool. So awesome to hear the support," said Miller. "It's a pretty big deal for him to take time out of his schedule to talk to us for five minutes, and just another one of those things where we're kind of pinching ourselves this tournament. It's been really fun so far, and seeing the support from everybody up to the president, it's been pretty wild."
According to U.S. defenceman Zach Werenski, Trump did not mention the 51st state suggestion during the call but did share golf stories.
Canadian sports fans have responded to the tensions by booing the U.S. anthem at several sporting events, including the Americans' 3-1 win over Canada on Saturday in Montreal in the round-robin portion of the competition. That game featured three fights in the first nine seconds, setting the tone for what is sure to be a physical rematch.
Now in Boston, Canada reached the final with a 5-3 win over Finland on Monday. A smattering of boos greeted O Canada before the matinee at TD Garden, but a louder response is expected in the final.
Guerin added to the already charged atmosphere on Tuesday when he suggested that Trump should attend the game.
"We have a room full of proud American players and coaches and staff. Listen, we’re just trying to represent our country the best way we can," he said, adding that his players are using the political fire "as an inspiration."
Sweden is the other team at the tournament, which is the first international competition featuring the NHL’s biggest stars since the 2016 World Cup in Toronto.
The NHL has committed to allowing its players to participate at the 2026 Milan and Cortina Olympics in Italy after sitting out the last two Winter Olympics.
Canada defeated Sweden 3-0 in the gold-medal game at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, which is the most recent to feature NHL players.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 20, 2025.