The U.S. men’s hockey team suffered a heartbreaking loss Thursday night — and President Donald Trump got tagged with an “L,” too.
The American squad of NHL all-stars lost the Four Nations Face-off finals to Canada’s top professional players in a thrilling match that ended with an overtime goal.
The final was among the most-anticipated international hockey games since the 1980 Olympic showdown “Miracle on Ice” in which a U.S. team of college upstarts bested the Soviet Union’s pro-quality team. Like 45 years ago, amid the Cold War, anticipation for Thursday’s U.S.-Canada face-off was further amped up by international politics.
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Hockey game played against backdrop of US-Canada political tension
Specifically, the Trump administration’s cajoling of Canadian officials on commerce and border security by threatening 25% across-the-board tariffs was a key part of the backdrop. That proposal was paused earlier this month, but the president subsequently levied a costly duty on steel imports from the United States’ northern neighbor.
In addition, Trump taunted officials in Canada, which celebrated its 157th birthday last year, by stating it is not “viable as a country” without U.S. trade. And he has repeatedly stated Canada might be better off becoming the United States’ 51st state.
The aggressive political rhetoric is widely perceived as having resulted in fisticuffs — on ice. After Canadian fans booed the U.S. national anthem at the Saturday, Feb. 15 Four Nations game at the Bell Centre in Montreal, U.S. players dropped their gloves and threw punches at their Canadian rivals, sparking a commentary frenzy on social media.
Ahead of Thursday evening’s rematch at the TD Center in Boston, with the championship on the line, Trump said on social media he would call the American team and again said he hoped Canada would “become our cherished, and very important, Fifty First State.” Trump added a parting shot to outgoing Canadian leader Justin Trudeau by writing “we will all be watching, and if Governor Trudeau would like to join us, he would be most welcome.”
After the Canadian team won the rematch, Trudeau returned the slight, posting a back-at-you on X, formerly Twitter: “You can’t take our country — and you can’t take our game.”
You can’t take our country — and you can’t take our game.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) February 21, 2025
Adding more irony, NHL Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky was Canada’s honorary captain. Gretzky is a Jupiter resident who has been seen with Trump at the president’s Mar-a-Lago estate recently, and whom Trump once teased that he could run for prime minister of Canada.
The U.S. team captain was Mike Eruzione, who scored the game-winning goal in the U.S. men’s 1980 Olympic win over the Soviet Union.
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Florida economy depends on trade with Canada
Trump’s adopted home state and county depend on Canadian business.
Canada is Palm Beach County’s No. 1 source of international tourism, with 375,00 visitors in 2024.
In addition, no other nation buys more of Florida’s produce and agriculture-related products than Canada, according to state documents. Canada also buys 40% of its seafood from Florida, said Sylvia Cesaratto, consul general of Canada in Miami.
Florida’s aerospace industry is among those that rely on Canadian products.
Palm Beach County is host to aviation big wheels such as Lockheed Martin Corporation, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Pratt & Whitney, Collins Aerospace, Sikorsky a Lockheed Martin Company, and Northrop Grumman, according to the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County.
The board estimates that the industry accounts for 1,760 companies, more than 20,000 jobs that pay an average annual salary of more than $134,000. Estimates are that $4.5 billion of the region’s total gross product is because of the aerospace industry.
Adding up Florida products that were destined for Canada to Canadian products that were destined for Florida in 2022, there was about $6 billion in business at stake, according to the latest number from SelectFlorida, an international commerce association that brings together businesses, government leaders and economic development partners aiming to improve the Florida economy.,
Also, $230 million in Canadian baked goods are Sunshine State bound, often arriving frozen, to be baked into gooey delights sold at mall food courts.
Reporting by Palm Beach Post reporters Alexandra Clough and Anne Geggis contributed to this story.
Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: US drops heartbreaker to Canada in Four Nations, and Trump takes loss
