Regionalism and nationalism are natural elements of any international competition and the Toronto Maple Leafs aren&#8217;t exempt from it.
Auston Matthews and William Nylander were both booed ahead of the 4 Nations Face-Off opener between Team Canada and Team Sweden on Wednesday evening at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
Matthews is <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/auston-matthews-cool-calm-collected-embracing-the-challenge-leading-team-usa-4-nations-faceoff">Team USA&#8217;s captain</a> and joined Sweden&#8217;s Victor Hedman, Finland&#8217;s Aleksander Barkov and Canada&#8217;s Sidney Crosby for a meeting to commence the tournament officially. As the captain of the Maple Leafs, Matthews was naturally going to get some jeers from the Montreal crowd. It also doesn&#8217;t help that U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods, which has the potential to compromise a long-standing free-trade agreement between both countries.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
The Montreal crowd tells Auston Matthews exactly how they feel about him 😅 <a href="https://t.co/Ipd5rhTm83">pic.twitter.com/Ipd5rhTm83</a>
&mdash; B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) <a href="https://twitter.com/BR_OpenIce/status/1889846575687516635?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Matthews took the boos in stride, laughing it off with a wave to the crowd. Team USA begins its tournament against Team Finland on Thursday evening at the Bell Centre, where he could face the same reaction.
As for Nylander, he&#8217;s an assistant captain for Sweden, while starring for the Maple Leafs during the regular season. Nylander is expected to be a <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/team-sweden-preview-william-nylander-expected-pivotal-role-in-offence">focal point of Sweden&#8217;s offence</a>, and he&#8217;d naturally receive some taunts from a crowd that was frothing for Canada&#8217;s arrival at a best-on-best tournament.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
🇸🇪 William Nylander hearing it from the Montreal fans <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/4Nations?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#4Nations</a> <a href="https://t.co/VwsWQpM2Rk">pic.twitter.com/VwsWQpM2Rk</a>
&mdash; Mark Masters (@markhmasters) <a href="https://twitter.com/markhmasters/status/1889845194666946675?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Nylander also grinned through the boos, he&#8217;s a naturally unflappable personality and took it in stride.
Montreal&#8217;s Bell Centre is host to the first four games of the tournament, including a marquee matchup between Team Canada and Team USA on Saturday — <a href="https://x.com/TLNdc/status/1889691016896143403">which you can enjoy with The Leafs Nation staff at Greta!</a> — before the event shifts to Boston&#8217;s TD Garden for the latter three games, with the final taking place on February 20.
Montreal is making a case to be considered as the centre of the hockey universe, but one thing is clear: Maple Leafs stars will always live rent-free in the minds of opponents, when travelling across the hockey world, and international competition is no different!
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff">Daily Faceoff Live</a> is on the road! From February 10th to 20th, we’re bringing you live shows every weekday straight from Four Nations, delivering exclusive coverage, insider analysis, and all the tournament action as it unfolds. Don’t miss a beat—subscribe to the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff">Daily Faceoff YouTube channel</a> and follow us on social for the latest updates. It’s international hockey, so expect intensity, excitement, and maybe even a little chaos. Stay locked in and catch us live from Four Nations!
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Regionalism and nationalism are natural elements of any international competition and the Toronto Maple Leafs aren't exempt from it.

Auston Matthews and William Nylander were both booed ahead of the 4 Nations Face-Off opener between Team Canada and Team Sweden on Wednesday evening at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Matthews is <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/auston-matthews-cool-calm-collected-embracing-the-challenge-leading-team-usa-4-nations-faceoff">Team USA's captain</a> and joined Sweden's Victor Hedman, Finland's Aleksander Barkov and Canada's Sidney Crosby for a meeting to commence the tournament officially. As the captain of the Maple Leafs, Matthews was naturally going to get some jeers from the Montreal crowd. It also doesn't help that U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods, which has the potential to compromise a long-standing free-trade agreement between both countries.

https://twitter.com/BR_OpenIce/status/1889846575687516635

&nbsp;

Matthews took the boos in stride, laughing it off with a wave to the crowd. Team USA begins its tournament against Team Finland on Thursday evening at the Bell Centre, where he could face the same reaction.

As for Nylander, he's an assistant captain for Sweden, while starring for the Maple Leafs during the regular season. Nylander is expected to be a <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/team-sweden-preview-william-nylander-expected-pivotal-role-in-offence">focal point of Sweden's offence</a>, and he'd naturally receive some taunts from a crowd that was frothing for Canada's arrival at a best-on-best tournament.

https://twitter.com/markhmasters/status/1889845194666946675

Nylander also grinned through the boos, he's a naturally unflappable personality and took it in stride.

Montreal's Bell Centre is host to the first four games of the tournament, including a marquee matchup between Team Canada and Team USA on Saturday — <a href="https://x.com/TLNdc/status/1889691016896143403">which you can enjoy with The Leafs Nation staff at Greta!</a> — before the event shifts to Boston's TD Garden for the latter three games, with the final taking place on February 20.

Montreal is making a case to be considered as the centre of the hockey universe, but one thing is clear: Maple Leafs stars will always live rent-free in the minds of opponents, when travelling across the hockey world, and international competition is no different!
<div>

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-138774" src="https://publish.canucksarmy.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2099/08/Article-727x404-1.png" alt="" width="728" height="405" /></a>

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff">Daily Faceoff Live</a> is on the road! From February 10th to 20th, we’re bringing you live shows every weekday straight from Four Nations, delivering exclusive coverage, insider analysis, and all the tournament action as it unfolds. Don’t miss a beat—subscribe to the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff">Daily Faceoff YouTube channel</a> and follow us on social for the latest updates. It’s international hockey, so expect intensity, excitement, and maybe even a little chaos. Stay locked in and catch us live from Four Nations!

</div>

Auston Matthews, William Nylander booed ahead of 4 Nations Face-Off opener

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