President Donald Trump LAUDS “real champions” Florida Panthers as 2024 Stanley Cup champions get honored at White House

President Donald Trump on Monday hosted the 2024 Stanley Cup champions Florida Panthers at the White House and lauded them for their victory.

President Donald Trump LAUDS “real champions” Florida Panthers as 2024 Stanley Cup champions get honored at White House

Donald Trump (Image via CNN)

After falling at the final hurdle in 2023, the Florida Panthers did manage to go one better next season. They overcame several tough challenges and won the Stanley Cup in 2024. On Monday, they were honored at the White House with President Donald Trump hailing them as “real champions”.

The Panthers were crowned the Atlantic Divisions champions finishing with a 52-24-6 record. They would eliminate the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers to reach their second Stanley Cup finals.

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They would lock horns with the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup finals. After winning the first three games, it seemed the Panthers would sweep the cup. That did not turn out to be the case though.

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The Oilers came back and won Game 4, 5 and 6 to enforce a Game 7 and leveled the series. The Florida Panthers found their mojo again in Game 7 and won 2-1 to clinch their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

President Donald Trump would recall watching this best-of-seven series and admitted that it would been tough to see them lose from that position.

I said, ‘Ooh this is going be a tough loss. That would’ve been bad, but real champions can pull it out. It was a tremendous championship watched by all. You had couple of really close calls, and I watched the team get better and better and better, and then they won.

Donald Trump said as per NHL.com

After being honored by Trump at the press conference, the Panthers squad would make their way to the Oval Office. There they would shake hands and take pictures with him before giving him a special gift on behalf of the organization.

Florida Panthers gift special team jersey to President Donald Trump during White House visit

The Florida Panthers were welcomed to the White House on Monday by President Donald Trump. On their visit, the Stanley Cup champions would gift a special team jersey to him.

Donald Trump and Florida Panthers
Donald Trump and Florida Panthers (Image via X)

Team owner Vincent Viola, captain Aleksander Barkov and alternate captain Matthew Tkachuk would gift him a special framed jersey with the number “45” and “47” printed behind it, representing him as the 45th and 47th President of the United States. Apart from that, they gifted him another customized No. 47 jersey with his name on the back. One final gift from them saw them give Trump a gold stick.

Matthew Tkachuk, one of the American born players on the team, would later thank Trump for having them over at the White House. The forward would claim that he was “grateful” to be an American.

Grateful everyday to be an American! Thank you very much @realDonaldTrump @WhiteHouse for such an incredible experience today. It was a true honor! #POTUS #USA

Matthew Tkachuk on X

The Panthers will now turn to business as they gear up to take on the inform Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. They come into this game on a 3-game winning streak. Whereas, the Capitals have lost their last two games, both by a score of 5-4 in overtime. They will be looking to avoid a third straight loss.