Donald Trump hosts Stanley Cup winners Florida Panthers at White House
The Panthers were also the first championship sports team to visit the White House to meet the new Trump administration.
President Donald Trump hosted on Monday the 2024 champions of the National Hockey League, the Florida Panthers, who won the Stanley Cup last June.
The Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers in a series that started out with Florida winning the first three games, then losing the next three, before winning game seven by a score of 2-1. The Panthers were also the first championship sports team to visit the White House to be honored by the new Trump administration.
Trump praised the hockey team in remarks at the White House, admiring Panthers' captain Aleksander Barkov, goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, and coach Paul Maurice, NBC Miami reported.
"You fell in love with that team, the guts and the courage they had," Trump said. "I watched those games and I was a little bit worried. They lost three and I said 'ooh, this is gonna be a tough loss.' That would have been bad but you, real champions, can pull it out."
The Panthers won the seventh game, thanks in part to Bobrovsky's 23 saves, which gave them the cup, according to CBS News.
Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.