Canadians on Leafs, Oilers, Jets dream of bringing Cup home amid political tensions

Fans hold the Canadian flag is shown during the national anthems ahead of Game 1 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Florida Panthers on Monday, May 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

Morgan Rielly will bundle up and head out for a walk with his dog in the winter months.

The Maple Leafs defenceman and his canine sidekick cruise around their Toronto neighbourhood in the crisp air.

One of Canada’s soundtracks is impossible to ignore.

“I can hear pucks bouncing off the outdoor rink at the park near my house,” Rielly said. “Canada certainly has the tightest relationship to the sport of hockey — and the most connected. It doesn’t take much.

“That’s just a special thing that is ingrained in me.”

Millions of Canadians feel the same way. It’s also been a long time since one of their NHL teams has lifted the Stanley Cup.

U.S.-based rosters are, of course, peppered with Canadians, but clubs from the Great White North have a well-documented title drought that goes all the way back to the 1993 Montreal Canadiens.

With three Canadians franchises — the Leafs, Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers — in the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2004, there’s renewed hope this June will be different.

And there could other factors driving passions.

The relationship between Canada and the U.S. has cooled significantly in recent months with President Donald Trump’s musings about making his country’s northern neighbour its “51st state” and a tariff-related trade war.

Canadians breathed a collective sigh of relief as part of a red-and-white patriotic surge when Connor McDavid scored in overtime to lead the country to victory against the Americans at February’s 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.

What would a win, regardless of the city, do for the country at a challenging time?

“Growing up in Saskatchewan, I always rooted for Canadian teams,” said Jets defenceman and Saskatoon native Luke Schenn. “There’s a lot of Canadian players on every team, but the fan base is all Canadians in Canadian markets.

“Canadians want to see the Cup in Canada. It’s been a long time.”

The Oilers made it to Game 7 of the 2024 final before falling just short to the Florida Panthers. Players want to climb the summit for their clubs, but there’s more layers.

“We felt it last year, Canada behind us,” said Edmonton forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who is from Burnaby, B.C. “We’ve got a lot of Canadians in that room and it’s exciting to be able to play for Canada.”

Toronto centre John Tavares said the 4 Nations showed once again fans will rally en masse behind a common cause.

“We love hockey and we cherish it,” said the Oakville, Ont., product. “It’s not just a sport that we really enjoy and play, but it’s a big fabric of our community in how it brings people together. It has so much history within the country.

“Then you add in the political component behind it, it’s a perfect setting for it all to come together.”

But not everyone will cheer for the Cup to come home if their own heroes have been eliminated. Toronto centre Scott Laughton — another player from Oakville — was a Leafs fan growing up and said he would never support another team. He also understands why many would.

“It just means that much more (in Canada),” he said. “The 4 Nations sparked that passion again.”

Jets centre Morgan Barron said the country’s hockey love runs deep. Fans in all five Canadian rinks these playoffs — the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens were eliminated in the first round — have belted out “O Canada” in full voice inside packed arenas with electric atmospheres.

“It was pretty cool to watch that 4 Nations this year … a feeling I haven’t had since I was quite a bit younger,” said the Halifax native. “It’s just pretty cool to see how involved our fans are, and really all the fans are.

“It’s pretty cool to be a part of it.”

The three Canadian teams still breathing, however, still have a long way to go in their Cup quests. Corey Perry, who won all the way back in 2007 with Anaheim, made that point clear.

“It’s been a long time, but we’re far from that right now,” said the Oilers forward from Peterborough, Ont. “We’ve got a lot of hockey ahead of us.”

Let the games continue.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 9, 2025.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

With files from Donna Spencer in Las Vegas and Judy Owen in Winnipeg.