The reception for American-based members of the USA men’s hockey team as they return to their teams is going quite well. The reception for those who play north of the border?
It’s not going nearly so well.
Toronto Star sportswriter Damien Cox spared no vitriol in denouncing Team USA and Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews, whom he charged with failing “in every respect as captain of the Leafs. Miserably.” Cox’s case for Matthews’ disappointment is two-fold.
First, his disastrous, in Cox’s view, decision to skip President Trump’s invitation to celebrate in Washington, D.C.
“Matthews, apparently, is blissfully unaware many athletes and teams have declined invitations from the Trump administration,” Cox wrote. “The entire U.S. women’s hockey team, possibly insulted by the fact Trump seemed to think putting their gold medal on the same level as the men’s was a joke, said thanks but no thanks.
“More to the point for Leafs fans and Canadians, Matthews displayed a complete lack of understanding for the responsibilities — hockey and non-hockey — he accepted as the captain of English Canada’s most famous NHL franchise.”
Cox then took shots at Matthews’ performance with the Leafs, and even made references to the player’s Mexican heritage and his mother.
“Matthews was already widely perceived as a player who wouldn’t go through the wall for the team that helped make him a superstar,” Cox explained. “Now, being captain of the team comes second to smiling for the cameras with a U.S. president who has successfully taken steps to injure the very same Canadian economy where Matthews earns his massive salary.
“Of course, Matthews is free to be a proud American. His mother, a Mexican immigrant, once found a new life in America. She didn’t even have to dodge ICE bullets to stay.
“But it’s also not too much to expect him to proudly represent the Leafs and be supportive of Canada. It’s just not that hard. Mats Sundin always did it, even when playing for his native Sweden.
“But No. 34 made his choice. We may well one day look back at this as the day when the Matthews era unofficially ended in Toronto.”
The harsh words stand in stark contrast to the reception received by Buffalo’s Tage Thompson and gold medal game hero, New Jersey Devil Jack Hughes, who skated the rink arm-in-arm to the cheers of a raucous New Jersey crowd Wednesday night.
Jack Hughes brought out Tage Thompson and spoke to the New Jersey crowd in his return to the NHL after they brought home the gold medal 👏 pic.twitter.com/4p1bBMKRns
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 26, 2026
The criticism also stands in contrast to even Canadian fans, who, although initially salty, have largely calmed down and accepted that the players who compete for their teams are American. Therefore, it’s completely reasonable for them to attend an invitation to be recognized by their president.
The Canadian media, on the other hand, is still crazy.
