during Monday, Tampa Bay Lightning He was honored at the White House by US President Joe Biden, a custom that has been annually extended to champions across the various major professional sports leagues in North America. In many ways, it was an unspeakable event for the president, save for one hilarious gaffe.
Biden accidentally referred to Commissioner Gary Bateman as “Gary Bateman” and carried on without even thinking about correcting himself.
We’re all Victor Hedman here, laughing at Biden’s account — he’s clearly not a die-hard sports fan as previous US presidents were. Despite Biden’s fault, everyone seemed to have a good time.
“Pretty much everyone was on board, and everyone who could make it — former players and stuff — all tried to get here,” Ryan McDonagh She said. “It’s just a great tradition we have: to become part of the championship team, you have to go to the White House and meet the president.”
McDonagh, who has played for the United States in several international competitions, spoke on behalf of the Lightning. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lightning has not been able to take part in the White House festivities as quickly as they had hoped, a point the captain hasn’t missed Stephen Stamkos.
“It was a long time preparing,” Stamkos said. “We weren’t sure if we’d get that chance, but it’s definitely worth the wait.”
For Lightning, Monday’s visit was an opportunity to reevaluate their bid to win the Stanley Cup for a third consecutive time, putting their winning streak in the rearview mirror.
“The good thing about our group is that there is still hunger,” McDonagh said. “We don’t need any kind of extra motivation, but that definitely adds to the excitement, for sure, in the last week of the regular season and before the playoffs start.”
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