Photo: Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
By Chris Ryan
Montreal, QC
The United States-Canada hockey game tonight in Bell Centre is the most significant international sporting event in recent memory.
Sure, it features the best hockey players in each of these countries, but to the nation's involved (in particular Canada) it has more significant ramifications.
On the ice, the United States is as good, if not better than their counterparts to the north, and that in itself will be a very difficult pill to swallow for our neighbors.
Off the ice, a potential trade war looms with both nations in the middle of a 30-day pause to dueling 25% tariffs. The confrontation was initiated by President Donald Trump, who has also pushed the concept of Canada being the 51st United State, and referred to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as "Governor".
On Thursday night prior to the U.S. game against Finland, despite the PA announcer urging the crowd, in the spirit of this great game to respect the national anthems and players, but they booed the Star Spangled Banner anyway.
"I didn't like it, and that's all I got on that," Matthew Tkachuk told me postgame.
Talking to fans at Bell Centre prior to the Sweden-Finland matinee, I'd expect more of the same tonight.
"What other way does a working class Canadian have to tell President Trump how we feel about what he's doing?," said one fan.
Hockey Hall of Famer and iconic Montreal Canadiens goaltender Ken Dryden echoed that sentiment.
"I hope people express themselves. What's wrong with Canadians hearing how other Canadians are thinking, or Americans hearing how Canadians are thinking? You don't have two many opportunities," said Dryden
Nationalism, and politics have played a significant role in some of the most memorable international events in each of these nations. Arguably the two most significant sporting events in each countries history were hockey games.
The "Miracle on Ice" 1980 U.S. team defeated the Soviets in Lake Placid in one of the most iconic sporting moments ever, as heavy underdogs.
For Canada, the 1972 Summit Series against the U.S.S.R. is regarded as their pinnacle moment where they went behind the iron curtain and won three straight games in Russia to defeat the Soviets in the heart of the cold war.
The 1972 team were honored by the NHL alumni association as the 2025 "Men of the Year".
Several of the players said it was like going to war, and Red Berenson recounted that the rink was lined with soldiers carrying machine guns.
The current rosters and coaches of the U.S. and Canadian teams have sought to stiff arm the politics and nationalism of this moment, while the players of the past seemed to lean into it.
"Politics and nationalism are two very different things," said Dryden, who was also a Liberal Member of the Canadian Parliament from 2004-2011. "You can feel deeply for your country and express your feelings very deeply for your country. That can include how you play on the ice or how you react as a crowd."
Canadian forward and Bruins captain Brad Marchand told me he disagreed with fans booing the U.S. anthem, "I disagree with how the (U.S. team) is being treated."
"I don't like when politics get involved in sports," said Marchand. "It's not what we do, we're not politicians. We don't have a say in what's going on. We play a game. We try to bring joy into people's lives."