Last week in the NHL: Fans across Canada boo U.S. anthem amid tariffs, Canucks trade disgruntled J.T. Miller, 4 Nations Face-Off captains announced
Fear not, hockey fans, we have all the good, bad, weird and viral news and stats you may have missed on and off the ice from the past seven days. Let's dive in
Every week, we'll update you on all the important musings in the hockey world over the past seven days — from the NHL and beyond.
There were plenty of viral happenings on and off the ice last week, including fans across Canadian markets reacting to Trump's tariffs, an end to the J.T. Miller situation finally being resolved in Vancouver, big projections on the salary cap front, Utah closing in on choosing a new name, leadership groups revealed for the 4 Nations Cup, some coach-rookie drama in Philly, Marc-Andre Fleury's last game in Montreal, and more.
Here's the top sights, sounds and news you might have missed in hockey last week.
Canadian NHL fans boo U.S. anthem amid tariff news
Politics bled into the sport we love, after U.S. President Donald Trump over the weekend officially signed an executive order to impose tariffs on all imported Canadian goods.
The tariffs, which will include 25 per cent duties on Canada (but only 10 per cent on energy) have, in a way, begun uniting the nation. That was evident over the weekend as NHL fans in Canadian markets from coast-to-coast made their opinions on the matter known the best way they knew how: by booing the U.S. national anthem into oblivion before their respective hockey games.
On Saturday, the same day the tariffs were announced, a usually-tame Ottawa crowd let the boos rain down as The Star-Spangled Banner came to a close:
Loud booing at the end of the Star Spangled Banner as well #Sens pic.twitter.com/r8XLKIqkjC
— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) February 2, 2025
Fans in Calgary followed suit hours later, booing as the pre-game version of The Star-Spangled Banner came to a close:
And the boo birds come out in Calgary for the U.S. anthem. pic.twitter.com/uABwpvfB4L
— Courtney Theriault (@cspotweet) February 2, 2025
And how about Vancouver? Oh yeah, they wanted in on the action too.
Booing across Rogers arena in Vancouver during the US anthem pic.twitter.com/wwjvLYopIn
— Lina Setaghian (@Linaset) February 3, 2025
Canadian sports fans booing the U.S. national anthem is a rarity, but it has happened before. In the early 2000s, fans at hockey, baseball and basketball games across Canada booed the American anthem to voice their disapproval of the U.S.-led war against Iraq.
Tensions look poised to get even more messy between the neighbouring nations this time around, with the boos also being heard over the weekend at a Toronto Raptors game.
J.T. Miller traded in resolution to Canucks' dressing-room drama
On the actual hockey front last week, there was finally a resolution to the rumoured dressing room rift in Vancouver between star forwards Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller, with the latter finding his way back to his old stomping ground.
In a blockbuster trade completed over the weekend, the Canucks dealt Miller, along with defencemen Jackson Dorrington and Erik Brannstrom, to the New York Rangers in exchange for centreman Filip Chytil, blueliner Victor Mancini, and a protected first-round draft pick in 2025.
Vancouver did not retain any money on Miller’s contract in the trade. The 31-year-old is in the second of a seven-year, $56 million deal he signed ahead of the 2023-24 season.
Miller, a first-round pick of the Rangers in 2012, waived his no-trade clause to return to the franchise he spent the first five-and-a-half years of his career with. He clearly has a soft spot for the city and organization
“I will say it was a team effort to find a different place,” Miller told reporters after his first game back. “And obviously, a special place here in New York.
"Just for my family, outside of hockey there’s a thousand reasons to want to come here and then with the team as well, been one of the best teams in the league for a handful of years in a row.
"I’m excited to be part of getting them back in the playoff picture,” Miller added.
Miller's new teammates seem fired up to have him, too.
Mika Zibanejad says he likes how J.T. Miller communicates on the Rangers' bench and on the ice pic.twitter.com/m744RP7x2x
— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) February 3, 2025
For the Canucks, trading Miller is what the organization hopes is the end of rumoured dressing-room tensions within the team, especially between Miller and Pettersson, who have reportedly been at odds for years.
Pettersson commented on the alleged rift on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast back in 2023:
"We’ve had our differences, maybe in some games, but I mean, he’s a teammate that I respect and yeah, he’s someone I like to play hockey with.
"Yeah, there’s a lot of speculation, obviously a lot, but he’s a teammate that I respect… it’s not an issue."
Miller, meanwhile, echoed a similar sentiment not long after Pettersson's comments.
"Petey and my relationship has come a long way. We’re still working at it. We’re completely different people, you know what I mean? You’re not going to be BFFs with everybody, but at the same time you come to work together. We are polar opposites in a lot of ways, but we’re working at it. We’ve come a long way," Miller said, via Sportsnet.
Miller, who has nine goals and 26 assists in 40 games after setting career highs in goals (37) and assists (66) in 2023-24, tallied 72 goals and 100 assists in 341 games during his first stint with the Rangers.
The key return for the Canucks in the deal is the Chytil who has 75 goals and 89 assists in 378 career games. This season, the 25-year-old has 11 goals and nine assists in 41 outings.
NHL salary cap set to rise significantly in coming seasons
Business is booming in the NHL, and players are set to get a lot richer over the coming years.
The salary cap ceiling — or upper limit — is expected to rise to $113.5 million by the 2027-28 season, according to an agreement between the league and the NHL Players' Association announced on Friday.
The annual increases will be $7.5 million next season, $8.5 million for 2026-27 and $9.5 million for 2027-28. The current ceiling for the 2024-25 season is set at $88 million.
The NHL's salary cap projections (up to $113.5M by 27-28!) mean we're in for a MAJOR change in contract values.
$10M today is 11.3% of the cap. 11.3% of the cap in 2027-28 will be $12.9M! pic.twitter.com/si1h9VP4xI— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) January 31, 2025
That's a major change from the 2020-24 seasons, when the salary cap sat mostly flat, jumping just $2 million over those five years, due partially to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The cap ceiling jumped by $4.5 million this season.
The NHL and players union said they intend to begin meetings soon to work out other aspects of the collective-bargaining agreement, which expires ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.
Utah reveals finalists for permanent name after hitting snag with 'Yeti'
The Utah Hockey Club — formerly the Arizona Coyotes — are nearing the final stages of choosing a new nickname, with three new finalists announced last week.
After the franchise removed "Wasatch" from the selection process, fans will now be able to vote for one of three monikers: Mammoth, Outlaws, or Utah Hockey Club as the permanent name of Utah’s NHL squad.
Hey Utah hockey fans! We listened to your feedback and dug into all the Qualtrics data from last night’s survey. For the team name, it’s clear that Outlaws should be in the mix instead of Wasatch, so we’re swapping it out.
Surveys will continue at the arena Friday, Sunday and…— Utah Hockey Club (@utahhockeyclub) January 30, 2025
At the end of last month, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office rejected the Utah Hockey Club's application for the name Yeti or Yetis, which was viewed by most as the organization's first choice.
The reasons for the decision was "likelihood of confusion" between the NHL squad and popular insulated cup brand "YETI," according to Miller.
Leadership groups announced for Canada, USA, Sweden, Finland as 4 Nations Face-Off looms
We're less than two weeks away from the highly-anticipated 4 Nations face-off, the first "best-on-best" international competition featuring NHL players since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Rosters were announced in early December, with each country's leadership groups (captains and assistants) being revealed last week.
For Canada, Sidney Crosby will wear the "C" as he has for the past several international competitions he's competed in. Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid and Colorado Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar will serve as assistants.
Captain Canada 🇨🇦#4Nations Face-Off kicks off on February 12 with Canada vs. Sweden at 8p ET on @NHL_On_TNT, @SportsonMax, @Sportsnet, @TVASports! pic.twitter.com/bqaDZKkUIm
— NHL (@NHL) January 30, 2025
Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews will captain the American side, while Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk and Boston Bruins blueliner Charlie McAvoy will rock the "A" as assistants.
Team Sweden named Tampa Bay Lightning star defenceman Victor Hedman as its captain, with the team choosing to go with three assistants instead of two: Leafs forward William Nylander, Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm and Penguins blueliner Erik Karlsson.
Finland, meanwhile, is going with Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov as its captain, with Carolina Hurricanes star Sebastian Aho, newly-acquired Hurricane Mikko Rantanen, and Dallas Stars forward Mikael Granlund rounding out its group of assistants.
The tournament runs from Feb. 12–20 in Montreal and Boston.
Stats of the week: Fleury and Miller
Marc-Andre Fleury
The Minnesota Wild goaltender, set to retire at season's end, played his final game in his hometown of Montreal, and it couldn't have gone any better.
Fleury posted a shutout in his last dance at the Bell Centre on Thursday, making him the first goalie in NHL history to record a shutout as both a teenager and at 40 or older. What a career.
The entire Habs team stayed on the ice to congratulate Marc-Andre Fleury after his final game in Montreal ❤️
He becomes the first goalie in NHL history to record a shutout as a teenager and at 40 years or older. pic.twitter.com/5o4G7JTkzP— ESPN (@espn) January 31, 2025
J.T. Miller
Immediately after his departure from Vancouver, Miller posted a pair of goals in his first game back with the Rangers.
Miller tallied points in his final two games as a Ranger during his first stint with the team about seven years ago, resulting in a wild stat:
JT Miller is on a 3-game point streak with the Rangers.
The point streak spans over 2,500 days. pic.twitter.com/5WZSZ2eeuT— StatMuse Hockey (@statmusehockey) February 1, 2025
Goal of the Week: Connor Bedard
This absurd snipe barely got a reaction out of the Blackhawks star.
No big deal.
The accuracy on this goal by Bedard 🔥 pic.twitter.com/o7P5T5wMzi
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 29, 2025
Quote of the week: McDavid on Toronto
Connor McDavid was not impressed the Oilers had to play at 5pm just because the Leafs were in town.
Connor McDavid on Hometown Toronto:
' We get the five o'clock start time they come into our building
and we are forced to change our schedule around. ' pic.twitter.com/tPXJaFrNSZ— Oilers After Dark's -B.W. (@OADsBraydonW) February 1, 2025
Hit of the Week: Will Cuylle
Good lord.
This might be the biggest hit I’ve ever seen.
Will Cuylle is a BEAST. pic.twitter.com/Rt5J0fP03L— Jonny Lazarus (@JLazzy23) February 3, 2025