Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers Visit White House, Donald Trump
During the first presidency of Donald Trump, many championship-winning teams decided not to visit the White House. Or, in some cases, Trump refused to invite a team knowing that they would decline.
But the Florida Panthers, the 2024 Stanley Cup Champions, became the first team to be invited, and accept, the invitation during Trump's second term.

U.S. President Donald Trump is presented with a jersey by players of the NHL 2024 Stanley Cup Champions Florida Panthers, captain Aleksander Barkov (L) and forward Matthew Tkachuk, as Trump welcomed the team to the White House on February 3, 2025, in Washington, DC.
(Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
On Monday, the team attended the standard championship ceremony and presented President Trump with a custom-made #47 Panthers jersey.
Obviously, the NHL isn't the league that features the teams that are likely to decline a White House invitation, regardless if it comes from Donald Trump.
The biggest questions surround whether the NBA champions, or the NFL champions, are invited and elect to attend.
Certainly, we'd expect that the WNBA champions won't visit a Trump White House, given that one of the league's stars recently donned a shirt with "The F*** Donald Trump Tour" emblazoned on the front.
That player, DiJonai Carrington, also said that the WNBA needs to "take action" against Trump because they believe he is going to "take away" rights from women and LGBTQ individuals.
Of course, Carrington didn't mention specific policies.
However, the Florida Panthers had no problem accepting the invitation and the players appeared to have a good time hanging out with Donald Trump.
All of that remains to be seen. For now, the Florida Panthers are the first team to head to the White House after a championship victory.
Will they be the only team to do so in 2025?
Stay tuned.