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Hockey has entered into the Canada-U.S. trade war again. Not over tariffs on hockey sticks or President Donald Trump’s AI-generated meme of himself knocking down Prime Minister Mark Carney on the ice, but as part of the conversation surrounding the departure of American-born players from Canadian teams.

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There hasn’t been a flood of players leaving, and plenty of players from the U.S. joined Canadian clubs in the off-season, but when elite players are involved — including three who played for this year’s Olympic gold-medal-winning Team USA — the moves are subject to extra scrutiny.

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Asked to weigh in on the apparent American exodus in a pre-season interview aired by Sportsnet this week, the Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid said he hopes it’s not because they don’t want to be in Canada.

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“Canada and the U.S. has had a great relationship for years and years and years, and I hope that continues for a long time,” he said.

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Without specifying any players who have left or want to, the Oilers captain reasoned it could be that players simply “don’t see the opportunity to win on that specific team.” He highlighted his organization signing Ryan Shea, from Massachusetts, and St. Louis native Trent Frederic this season.

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“Americans still want to play in Canada,” he said. “At least, that’s the sense that I get. They want to play for teams where they see a future.”

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Late last month, Michigan-born Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made public his desire to waive a no-movement clause and be traded from the organization after only two years of a seven-year, US$59.5 million contract signed in 2023.

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The three-time Vezina Trophy winner who is the league’s best goalie didn’t specifically say he wants out of Canada for a U.S. destination, nor did he provide a list of teams where he’d be willing to move, but NHL insiders believe he’s bound to land with a U.S. club.

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After the Jets failed to make the playoffs last season, he made it clear he wants to compete for a Stanley Cup.

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“That’s my goal, and that’s all I have left, and that’s what I want on my resumé,” Hellebuyck said in April, according to TSN. “I don’t play this game for the money. I don’t play it for the fame. I do it for my own personal fun and, you know, part of that is winning a Cup. So for me, I’m just looking at how I can get that. How can I get there?”

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Should the Jets receive an acceptable offer for Hellebuyck from one of the league’s 25 U.S. teams, he’ll join Brady Tkachuk as the second player from the Team USA squad to be traded from a Canadian club to an American in recent months.

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The Ottawa Senators sent their Arizona-born captain to the Florida Panthers on June 21, one of four teams the four-time All-Star submitted as destinations when he made it clear to management that he would not extend his contract before it expired in 2028, according to Sportsnet. The trade came less than two months after he said he was “fully committed” to the Senators and questions about his contract were becoming a “distraction,” Reuters reported.