{"id":499784,"date":"2026-03-02T19:31:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T19:31:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/499784\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T19:31:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T19:31:10","slug":"team-usa-hockey-star-given-shock-reception-by-canadian-fans-after-he-left-them-heartbroken-in-winter-olympics-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/499784\/","title":{"rendered":"Team USA hockey star given shock reception by Canadian fans after he left them heartbroken in Winter Olympics final"},"content":{"rendered":"

By DANIEL MATTHEWS, US SENIOR SPORTS WRITER<\/a> <\/a> <\/p>\n

Published: 10:15 EST, 2 March 2026 | Updated: 10:24 EST, 2 March 2026 <\/p>\n

Team USA<\/a> captain Auston Matthews was cheered on his return to Toronto – just days after breaking Canadian hearts at the Winter Olympics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Matthews led the USA to a first men’s gold medal in 46 years with an overtime victory over their bitter rivals <\/a>in Milan Cortina.<\/p>\n

After securing gold – and then visiting the White House<\/a> for Donald Trump<\/a>‘s State of the Union address – Matthews was back on the ice at\u00a0Scotiabank Arena over the weekend.<\/p>\n

The 28-year-old is also captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs and many fans gave him a standing ovation as he returned north of the border for the return of the NHL season.<\/p>\n

During their game against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night, the Maple Leafs ‘proudly recognized’ their three players who had competed in Italy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After Sweden’s\u00a0William Nylander and Oliver Ekman-Larsson were both introduced to the crowd, the arena announcer welcomed home ‘gold medalist’ Matthews. There were a few initial jeers from the crowd at\u00a0Scotiabank Arena but they were soon drowned out by applause and cheers, with a number of fans rising to their feet.<\/p>\n

\"Auston <\/p>\n

Auston Matthews led the USA to Winter Olympics gold with victory over Canada in Italy<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The Toronto Maple Leafs captain was back on the ice at Scotiabank Arena over the weekend<\/p>\n

Matthews was unable to inspire the Maple Leafs to victory, however, as Toronto fell to a 5-2 loss to the Senators.<\/p>\n

Ottawa was led by another Team USA star, Brady Tkachuk, who was seen looking up at the jumbotron as Matthews was introduced to the crowd.<\/p>\n

America took double hockey gold in Milan Cortina but their celebrations were overshadowed after Donald Trump cracked a joke <\/a>about the women’s team during a call with Matthews and Co.<\/p>\n

Trump invited the men to the White House before telling them, in a leaked phone call from the locker room: ‘We are going to have to bring the women’s team<\/a>…\u00a0I do believe I would probably be impeached [if I didn’t invite them].’<\/p>\n

His comment drew laughter from the men’s team, who instantly accepted the offer.\u00a0An invitation was later sent to the women’s team, but it\u00a0was declined<\/a>\u00a0‘due to the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments.’<\/p>\n

Trump’s joke sparked outrage but\u00a0women’s star Abbey Murphy defended their male counterparts<\/a> and insisted they didn’t need to apologize for their reaction.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘You hear someone in the back of the phone call yell “two for two”, and we never felt anything bad from them,’ she said about the viral video.<\/p>\n

‘It’s sad that they even had to apologize for anything. It was a huge part for both teams and honestly a really cool moment.’<\/p>\n

\"Matthews <\/p>\n

Matthews shakes hands with Connor McDavid after breaking Canadian hearts in Milan-Cortina<\/p>\n

Murphy also went on to highlight the strong relationship between the women’s and men’s teams, explaining how they sat together for two-and-a-half hours after the win over Canada.<\/p>\n

‘They’re a special group of boys and we’re just honored to be on that journey with them,’ she said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘But we know how much they respect us and we respect them, so it definitely goes two ways.’<\/p>\n

During his State of the Union address, Trump announced that the USA women’s team will still be visiting the White House at a later date.<\/p>\n

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\n Team USA hockey star given shock reception by Canadian fans after he left them heartbroken in Winter Olympics final<\/p>\n