Team USA general manager Bill Guerin popped on Fox News Monday, saying he’d love for President Donald Trump to fly to Boston to attend the 4 Nations Face-Off final against Canada.
You know, the country the leader claims he wants to turn into the 51st state.
Trump won’t be inside the arena for Thursday’s politically charged hockey game. But, yes, he did call the American coaches and players at morning skate to wish them luck over Guerin’s cellphone, which the GM placed on speaker.
Did he mention wanting to annex Canada during the call, the way he did in his social-media post about the game?
Yes.
“A little bit,” Guerin relayed to The Athletic’s Michael Russo. “But I would just try to focus on the message that he was giving us. I’ve said it before: We’re here to play hockey. This is not a political forum. This is a hockey tournament. And he’s just trying to be supportive in the best way that he could, and we appreciate it.”
Not a political forum, eh?
Here’s Noah Hanifin: “Hopefully we can get the win tonight for our country and for Trump.”
And J.T. Miller: “It was so awesome to get his support. It’s a pretty big deal for him to take time out of his schedule to talk to us for five minutes. It’s just another one of those things where we’re kind of pinching ourselves this tournament.”
And Kyle Connor: “It’s cool that he’s paying attention and he’s there for support. And it means a lot to a lot of guys here.”
And Brock Nelson: “Pretty incredible… For him to take time out of his day, wish us luck and talking about just enjoying the moment… It’s pretty special and something I’ll remember forever.”
Several players in both rooms declined to dig into the topic, though Canada’s Mitch Marner acknowledged, “sure,” the red team would be using that phone call as bulletin board material.
Brad Marchand — who has been vocal in asking that the anthems not be booed — said a ton with a little: “It’s much larger than just a game.”
U.S. coach Mike Sullivan described the call as “a distinct honour” and framed it as another indication of the tournament’s growing reach and escalated interest in the sport.
“We have a locker room full of full of proud Americans,” Sullivan said. “And when the President of the United States takes the time out of his busy schedule to say a few words to our guys, I know it meant a lot to every one of us.”
I’ll be calling our GREAT American Hockey Team this morning to spur them on towards victory tonight against Canada, which with FAR LOWER TAXES AND MUCH STRONGER SECURITY, will someday, maybe soon, become our cherished, and very important, Fifty First State. I will be speaking…
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) February 20, 2025
One man’s honour is another’s disrespect.
And while Team Canada is trying its damnedest to separate sport from everything else, the coaches and players have about as much control over that as the weather.
“I’m a hockey coach. Am I aware of what’s going on around the world? I am. I think when you’re in the position we’re in, to make a country proud, to make a country be able to stick its chest out a little bit farther, that’s rewarding. And we understand that,” Jon Cooper said.
“But — and I’m probably going to speak for the U.S. team — before that puck drops, I don’t think anybody will be thinking outside of this hockey game, other than winning that game.
“Do we all know what it means? We do. But that hasn’t entered our locker room. These guys are just all in it for each other and knowing that there’s an outcome we want, but there’s a process we need to go through to get that outcome.
“And when it’s all said and done, if we pull this off, we’ll know what this will have meant for everybody at home.”
