Author: Ty Sylvester, Prairie Perspective
Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff revealed Thursday that harassment directed at Hellebuyck and his family following the Olympics became serious enough that the organization requested additional security, alerted police and took measures addressing both cyber and physical security.
“Obviously what [Hellebuyck and his family] endured, they shouldn’t have to,” Cheveldayoff told the Winnipeg Free Press.
That changes the story.
There are legitimate hockey reasons for Hellebuyck wanting out of Winnipeg, and nobody outside his camp can say exactly how much the harassment influenced his decision.
But what happened to his family did not occur in a vacuum.
For more than a year, Canadian political leaders framed a policy fight with Washington as a national confrontation, while much of the public conversation adopted the language of a trade war, boycotts and “elbows up.”
Donald Trump gave Canadians plenty to be angry about. The question now is what happens when anger at an American president becomes hostility toward Americans themselves.
Hellebuyck’s experience offers an uncomfortable example.
From boos to security concerns
Hellebuyck had already experienced the increasingly political atmosphere surrounding Canada-U.S. hockey.
During the 2025 Four Nations Face-Off in Montreal, Canadian fans booed the U.S. national anthem amid escalating tensions over Trump’s tariffs and repeated talk of Canada becoming the 51st state.
Hellebuyck brushed it off.
“You have free speech,” he said.
One year later, things had escalated considerably.
Hellebuyck backstopped the United States to Olympic gold over Canada in February. Days later, Team USA visited Trump at the White House, where the president announced Hellebuyck would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The backlash followed him home.
By March 6, Hellebuyck was publicly defending his family.
“The blowback that my wife was getting is just not fair,” he said. “She’s done nothing wrong; my kids have done nothing wrong.”
Jets coach Scott Arniel similarly said criticism had become “real personal.”
What the public did not know was that the Jets were taking additional precautions.
Cheveldayoff revealed Thursday that the organization requested increased security, made police aware of the situation and took “many, many measures” on both the cyber and physical sides.
Winnipeg Police would not confirm whether Hellebuyck, his family, the Jets or their representatives contacted police, citing privacy protections for potential victims and complainants. Const. Dani McKinnon said public disclosure by another organization does not waive those protections, and that threat investigations are assessed case by case.
The Jets also declined to elaborate when contacted. Senior director of hockey communications Scott Brown said the organization would let Cheveldayoff’s remarks stand.
When I contacted him, Hellebuyck’s agent, Ray Petkau, similarly declined to discuss the situation, telling me he was “not at liberty to comment” and that Connor “will speak at an appropriate time.”
There remains much we do not know. But we know enough to distinguish this from ordinary sports heckling. The Jets have dealt with ugly fan blowback before, including when Mark Scheifele’s family came under attack after a playoff hit on Montreal’s Jake Evans.
What is different here is the stormy political weather around it.
Politicians helped turn a dispute into a national fight
The 2025 deterioration in Canada-U.S. relations did not begin in Ottawa.
Trump imposed tariffs, threatened Canadian economic interests and repeatedly mused about absorbing Canada as America’s 51st state.
Canadian anger was predictable, and what followed became more than a policy disagreement.
Political leaders actively encouraged Canadians to join the fight.
Chrystia Freeland urged Canadians to boycott American products. Provincial governments pulled U.S. liquor from government-controlled shelves. Justin Trudeau adopted the hockey metaphor “elbows up” in his final days as prime minister, telling Canadians the country would “fight when we must.”
Mark Carney then carried the phrase into the 2025 federal election. His Liberal platform described America’s actions as an “unjustified and reckless trade war,” before declaring, “They are trying to weaken us so they can own us.”
The section ended simply: “Elbows up.”
It was politically effective imagery: Canada on one side of the rink, the United States on the other. But rhetoric has consequences beyond its intended target.
U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra later called the campaign and continued “elbows up” messaging anti-American, and polling suggests something broader did happen.
By summer 2026, Angus Reid found 79 per cent of Canadians viewed Trump unfavourably. More significantly, 48 per cent held an unfavourable view of Americans themselves, compared with 45 per cent who viewed them favourably. Meanwhile, 79 per cent of Americans surveyed said they still viewed Canadians favourably.
That is where the distinction matters.
Opposition to Donald Trump is political. Dislike of Americans is something else.
The language of confrontation left politics and entered the culture
Canadian news outlets did not invent the trade dispute, and covering public anger is their job. But confrontational language did not stay confined to Question Period.
“Trade war” became standard terminology. “Elbows up” became shorthand for the national response, including on merchandise, at rallies, in podcasts, and in political branding. Reuters documented the slogan spreading as Canadians boycotted U.S. goods and cancelled travel. Global News described a new “Elbows up mentality.”
None of that amounts to telling anybody to harass an athlete. But it does show how thoroughly a government-to-government dispute became a cultural identity.
The United States stopped being merely a government Canada was negotiating with. Increasingly, it became the opponent.
And Hellebuyck was an unusually visible American. He represented Team USA. He defeated Canada for the Olympic gold medal. He visited Trump’s White House. Trump publicly celebrated him.
For anyone inclined to project anger about the United States onto an individual, Hellebuyck presented an obvious target.
That still doesn’t explain the entire trade request
Politics cannot become a convenient explanation for every part of Hellebuyck’s departure.
The Jets collapsed after winning the Presidents’ Trophy in 2024-25, while Hellebuyck has repeatedly said winning the Stanley Cup is his remaining goal. However, in April, exit interviews openly questioned Winnipeg’s ability to acquire the pieces necessary to even contend.
That same month, according to the Free Press, he privately requested a trade.
Cheveldayoff said Thursday that there are probably “lots of whys” behind the situation, while acknowledging what Hellebuyck and his family endured may have played a role.
Hellebuyck eventually made the request public in August.
“I believe moving on is the best path forward for me and my family,” he said.
He has since refused to report to training camp. The Free Press reports he will only accept a trade to an American market.
None of that proves the harassment is why he wants to leave Winnipeg. But it makes the treatment of his family impossible to dismiss as irrelevant.
The line should be obvious
The people who targeted Hellebuyck and his family are responsible for their actions.
Not Mark Carney. Not Donald Trump. Not Canadian journalists.
But political leaders and media institutions still influence how countries, and people, talk about one another.
For more than a year, Canadians were encouraged to put their “elbows up,” boycott American products and think about the relationship in the language of confrontation.
Somewhere along the way, polling suggests resentment toward an administration began bleeding into resentment toward its people.
Hellebuyck’s wife and children are where the abstraction ends.
Canadians can despise Trump. They can oppose American tariffs. They can boo Team USA. They can even believe Connor Hellebuyck should honour his contract and report to the Winnipeg Jets.
But none of it makes his wife and children fair game.
Brainwashed elbows up idiots are just a guilty as Carney in Canada’s downfall..
We are becoming an increasingly despicable people led by despicable leaders for nefarious purposes. Cry the Beloved Country.