Booing Heard 'Round the World: Canadian Fans Boo US Anthem in NHL Showdown

 

By Tim Haddock

02/16/2025 at 3:20 PM

 

Canadian hockey fans have taken to booing the U.S. national anthem at NHL games, a trend fueled by political tensions and trade disputes between the two nations. The rivalry reached a boiling point during the NHL Four Nations Face-Off tournament, where Team USA and Team Canada clashed in a series of on-ice fights, reigniting a decades-old feud and turning the game into a spectacle of both sport and politics.

 

 

LOS ANGELES – A recent trend before NHL games between teams from Canada and the United States is to boo the Star Spangled Banner.

 

It’s coming from mostly Canadian fans when the national anthems for both countries are played before games. 

 

The Canadian fans have plenty of reasons to be mad at the United States right now. The president keeps saying he wants to annex Canada as the 51st state and threatens the country with tariffs that will start a trade war. Because of that, Canadians have started booing the American national anthem at NHL games.

 

That trend continued at the NHL Four Nations Face Off tournament. Instead of a traditional All Star Game, the NHL decided to have an international, Olympic style tournament. Players and teams from the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden are playing against each other.

 

Team USA and Team Canada played for the first time Saturday night. As soon as the puck dropped, a fight broke out – at an All Star Game. To say this never happens is an understatement. To say it’s normal is ridiculous. The game turned ugly and violent before a second ticked off the clock.

There were three fights in nine seconds. It started with Team USA’s Matthew Tkachuk fighting Team Canada’s Brandon Hagel. It followed with Team USA’s Brady Tkachuk, Matthew’s brother, fighting Team Canada’s Sam Bennett. Finally, Team USA‘s J.T. Miller and Team Canada’s Colton Parayko fought.

 

Miller told ESPN he uses the booing during the national anthem as motivation. He might not like it from a political stance, but it drives him when Team USA plays Team Canada.  

 

“I think we like it, not politically, but maybe just at a sense of, we know where we're at in Canada and I think that fires us up more than anything," Miller said. "So, it's great."

 

It might be a product of the long rivalry between Team USA and Team Canada. The two teams are regularly among the best in international competition. Team Canada has been the dominant team for years. Sidney Crosby, the captain for Team Canada, had a 26-game winning streak with Team Canada before Saturday’s game.

 

But Team USA is always in the mix for Olympic gold medals and World Championships.

 

The rivalry is strong, but it has not escalated to fighting on the ice for almost 30 years.

 

It might be a product of deeper tensions. It might have more to do with politics than competition.

 

Before the first game of the Four Nations Face Off, when Team USA played Team Finland at Bell Centre in Montreal, the fans booed the Star Spangled Banner. After the game, Matthew was asked about it.

 

“I didn't like it, and that's all I got," Matthew Tkachuk told ESPN. Team USA beat Team Finland, 6-1. Matthew Tkachuk and brother Brady each had two goals.

 

The public address announcer at the game made an announcement to the crowd before the games against Team Finland and Team Canada to respect the national anthems and the players from each country. But it didn’t stop it. The boos were loud and long, and the Team USA players were visibly agitated by it.

 

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said Wednesday at a news conference before the start of the tournament that the league’s goal is to create an environment that represents an opportunity to bring people together.

"In this building, initially there was some booing a couple of games ago and the club made an announcement asking people to stop and show respect for two great countries, and it stopped. And that's what we expect," Bettman said.

 

Well, it didn’t.

 

Instead of showing how great hockey can be, the fighting showed how ugly it can be.

 

Team USA beat Canada 3-1, but it was an ugly game. The fighting made it ugly from the start, but the game was reduced to an Ice Capades of goons.

 

There was plenty of hitting, plenty of blocked shots, plenty of passes to empty pieces of ice, clearly designed to waste time, not to highlight the talent of the players.

 

The most impressive goal of the game was scored by Team Canada’s Connor McDavid, who turned a sloppy turnover into a warp speed goal that gave Team Canada a 1-0 lead.

 

The two goals Team USA scored came off a soft shot and a poorly timed line change.

When Team USA had the lead, they didn’t try to add to it.

 

Team USA targeted McDavid and Crosby the rest of the game, and were more interested in delivering big hits and checks than scoring more goals.

It was not the best display of the two best hockey teams in the world. It was the worst of international relations.

Canada has every reason to boo the United States. And they are not alone. Team USA is the villain in this tournament now. But it is just a reflection of how the United States is the villain on the world stage too.