So did Canada just make the USA its 11th province, or its fourth territory?

I haven’t given much attention to ice hockey in a very, very long time. I’d personally have to go back to maybe the mid-1990’s, when I freelanced for a minor league hockey publication and followed the action in the American Hockey League.

This morning, I caught the news that the United States and Canada met in the finals of the Four Nations Tournament, and this match had the intensity and rivalry of another international ice hockey championship of generations past – the legendary 1972 Canada-USSR “Summit Series,” where Canada took the victory as Paul Henderson took a rebound shot from Phil Esposito and slid the biscuit past Soviet goaltender Vadislav Tretiak.

As anticipation rose for last night’s championship game in the Four Nations Tournament between the United States and Canada – with Donald Trump threatening to annex Canada as the “51st State,” and with inflation-boosting tariffs still looming between both countries, this game was more than just a faceoff between the top American and Canadian professional ice hockey players. This was on the same level as the 1956 Hungary v. Soviet Union “Blood in the Water” Olympic water polo match.

And, of course, King Donald the Last had to get in his jibes with this tweet, referring to the Prime Minster of Canada as “Governor Trudeau” and once again suggesting that America should annex Canada as a new state.

Yeesh. This orange goblin wouldn’t know the first thing about hockey; he still thinks Bobby Orr is an unfinished sentence, as in, “Ivanka, are you going out tonight with Bobby or…”

Even when the Canadian National Anthem was performed before the game – to a smattering of boos from the American hockey fans – the Canadian anthem singer changed one of the lyrics in the anthem. It’s supposed to be, “O Canada / Our home and native land / true patriot love / in all of us command.”

Well, it got changed a wee bit, eh?

“In only us command.” Yeah. Fichez-vous, l’orange cunard.

Here we are. The score is tied 2-2. The United States hockey team already has the endorsement of Donald Trump, who again reiterated his “51st State” meme.

Perhaps someone should have told Canada’s Connor McDavid about this.

I’ll let you watch the results, courtesy of ESPN.

Hey, do you want to see that goal with the Canadian call?

All I’m saying is … with a win like this, maybe it’s time for Canada to annex the United States. America could be Canada’s 11th province into Confederation. Or maybe its fourth territory, if one equates America with Nunuvat or the Yukon.

I can see it now. We wouldn’t need cryptocurrency, we could operate with Canadian Tire money. Tim Hortons on every street corner. Gas sold by the liter. Sorry – by the litre. And wait until you check out the night life in Montreal. Ooh la la.

And as of this morning, Connor McDavid just woke up from a restful slumber after a busy night last night, and he knows that for the rest of his life, he can walk into any bar from Chicoutimi to Sault Ste. Marie, from Fredericton to Kelowna, from Banff to St-Jean de Beauce, and he would never have to pay for another drink or another meal in his life.

And I’m loving every minute of it. Every single minute.