Manitoba premier says USA men's hockey team offside for behaviour on Trump phone call

U.S. President Donald Trump announced Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew is praising Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck for his performance in this year’s winter Olympics, but says when it comes to promoting sport and respect, the entire USA men’s hockey team was way offside.

Kinew, speaking to reporters in Winnipeg, made the comments when asked about Team USA players celebrating in their dressing room after their gold medal win over Canada and laughing at disparaging comments about the gold-medal-winning women’s team made by U.S. President Donald Trump.

“The women’s team, for America, deserved a lot better than they got, both from the men’s team but also from their (U.S.) president,” Kinew said Friday.

“With Hellebuyck, I’m a Winnipeg Jets fan so I’m going to bite my tongue about the Trump stuff, but (to Hellebuyck), win a Stanley Cup for our city now.”

The Michigan-born Hellebuyck was considered the difference maker, as he fended off waves of Team Canada attacks en route to a 2-1 overtime victory Sunday. Days earlier, the USA women’s hockey team capped off a dominant Olympic tournament performance with a 2-1 gold medal overtime win over Canada.

Kinew said lucky bounces, upset wins and losses are part of sport, but said Team USA missed the bigger picture.

“The reason I’m a hockey parent is because I want (my kids) to learn life lessons,” he said. “I want them to learn how to play on a team. I want them to learn how to overcome adversity. And I want them to learn how to be respectful.

“I think on that count the Team USA men’s team failed us.”

After Sunday’s win, Trump dialled into the U.S. dressing room and invited the team to attend his State of the Union address two days later, before adding he would have to invite the women’s team as well. He later said if he didn’t invite, he’d risk being impeached, which led to the players laughing at a comment many saw as sexist.

A number of players – including Hellebuyck — joined Trump at the White House on Tuesday and were later cheered at the Capitol during his speech. The women’s team didn’t receive a congratulatory call from the president, and politely declined the invitation.

Trump also announced Hellebuyck would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honour.

The phone call got political on both sides of the border this week as various Olympic players returned to their NHL teams. Many of the U.S. men’s players said they were caught up in the celebration. Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman said they “should have reacted differently” to Trump’s remarks.

The Jets are on a California road swing and fighting for a playoff spot. Hellebuyck was expected to rejoin the team for a game Friday night against the Ducks in Anaheim.

In a team video interview posted Thursday, Hellebuyck addressed the controversy.

“We were so excited, on Cloud 9 coming into that (dressing) room, and then some things unfolded, and I’m sorry that that’s the way that they unfolded,” he said.

“It’s very unfortunate (with) the criticism that we’re taking for all this because that’s not the way we intended it.

“We used the women’s gold medal game as a motivation for us to win gold.”

Hellebuyck said he went to the White House to celebrate a historic win in a historic place.

He said it still feels “surreal” to earn the Presidential Medal of Freedom and said he was “shaking” after getting the news.

In Winnipeg, fans have found many ways to describe Hellebuyck’s game-winning performance: spectacular, lights out, team-shouldering — but also heartbreaking.

“He had a tournament for the ages,” said Jeff Baquiran, a Jets super fan. “When the chips were down and everything was on the line, he came up when he had to and, yeah, wrong team.”

Michael Dubé said it stung to see his goaltender lead a charge to beat Canada. “We outplayed them throughout the whole game, basically,” he said.

Tony Ollenberger, a Jets fan from Saskatoon, said he hopes to see the same gold-medal-level performance from Hellebuyck in an NHL jersey. “Why couldn’t you be that guy in the Jets uniform instead of just always in a Team USA uniform?” Ollenberger asked.

The Jets return home Tuesday for a game against the Chicago Blackhawks.

In the video interview, Hellebuyck said now comes the awkward part.

“This is the hardest part of it, because I play in Winnipeg and I play in a Canadian city where I’ve given my heart and soul for my entire career,” he said.

“To go into a moment like that where now I have to kind of break the hearts (of the fans) of where I play, it’s tough mentally.

“I want them to be just as happy as I am.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 27, 2026.

— With files from The Associated Press