Team USA’s Men’s Hockey Team has been grabbing headlines left, right, and center ever since they vanquished Team Canada in the gold medal game at the Milano-Cortina Olympics.
Breaking a 46-year drought for a gold medal, Team USA came out on top thanks to a golden goal from Jack Hughes, and the celebrations that followed took social media by storm. President Donald Trump reached out to congratulate the team, but as footage of that interaction went viral, one message from the locker room raised eyebrows in Canada when a player shouted, “Close the northern border!”
Senators Star Brady Tkachuk Breaks Silence on Rumors of Chanting For Shutting the Border
When the clip of the taunt in question swiftly went viral on social media, the popular consensus among NHL fans was that it was Brady Tkachuk who had belted those four words out.
Speaking to the media ahead of the Ottawa Senators’ return to NHL action, Tkachuk was asked to give his side of the story.
“I’ve been seeing stuff that people think it’s me, but if you watch the video, that’s not my voice. It’s something that I never say,” Tkachuk said.
“I don’t really know how that became a storm of its own. I play here and give everything I have here. I think it’s something that I never thought would happen [to pop] in my head. I especially would never say it. It’s crazy when things get on social media, how fast they go. Of course, I would never say something like that,” the Senators captain stressed.
There is, of course, plenty of background to this story.
Trump appeared to have drawn battle lines, so to speak, when he talked about making Canada the 51st state of the United States and bringing Wayne Gretzky in as the governor.
Eight months after Trump’s comments, Gretzky appeared on the 100% Hockey podcast and cleared the air.
“I’m not in politics. So, I can’t stop the prime minister from saying something. I can’t stop the president from saying something. I’m just a hockey player, simple as that,” the NHL legend said.
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Trump also stoked a fair bit more controversy in the aftermath of the men’s team’s gold medal win by joking that he would be “impeached” if he didn’t extend an invitation to the women’s team as well, who had also won the gold medal after slaying the Canadians.
Team USA captain Auston Matthews made his feelings clear, stating that it was “unfortunate” that that occurred in the locker room. “We have nothing but love for that team,” Matthews told the media.
