WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump hosted the 2025 Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers at the White House on Jan. 15.
It was the second White House visit by the team in two years.
“You led the finals for over 255 minutes, the most of any team in NHL history, and you denied Canada the Stanley Cup for the 32nd straight year,” he said.
Trump gave shoutouts to players Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, Sergei Bobrovsky, Aaron Ekblad, Aleksander Barkov, Brad Marchand, Matthew Tkachuk, and Seth Jones.
The president mentioned Tkachuk’s father, Keith Tkachuk, who played in the NHL for 18 years and is a friend of Trump.
Trump offered to show the Panthers the Oval Office.
“I just want to congratulate everybody. These are special people,” he said. “Very, very hard to win, especially at the top level of sports. And this is the top, top level, and it’s an honor to have these guys with us.”
Panthers owner Vincent Viola, whom Trump initially nominated as Army secretary in his first term, thanked the president for the invitation to the White House.
“Mr. President, it really humbles me to be in your presence and the kindness you’ve showed me, my organization from a very long time ago. It’s not lost on us, but the privilege to be at the White House with you while you’re president is extra special,” he said.
“I’m going to make it pretty clear that we are honored to be here and we’re honored to be here with you.”
Trump was presented with memorabilia, including two championship rings, a golden hockey stick, and a jersey with his name on the back and the number “47.”
The ceremony ended with the playing of Queen’s hit “We Are the Champions.”
The Panthers are currently in seventh place in the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference with 24 wins, 18 losses, and three overtime losses.
Last year, they finished with a regular season record of 47 wins, 31 losses, and four overtime losses.
