Ovechkin, several other Capitals would accept White House invitation
U.S. President Donald Trump has yet to officially invite the 2018 Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals to the White House for a traditional visit, but it appears most players would accept the offer when it comes, according to Samantha Pell of The Washington Post.
This comes roughly a week after Trump said he wouldn't invite the eventual NBA champion Golden State Warriors to the White House, and he canceled the Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles' invite after Nick Foles was reportedly the only player confirmed to go.
While some players declined to comment, Alex Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie, Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Matt Niskanen, Brooks Orpik, Jay Beagle, and Lars Eller all indicated that they would go.
"The time you actually spend with whoever is in office is about two minutes long," said Orpik, who visited the White House after winning the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009. "There's not much interaction with the president, at least from past experience ...
"Whether teams go or they don't go, for me, personally, and again a lot of people might disagree with this, it's not you endorsing whoever is in there or supporting whoever is in there. The White House is a very historical, special place in this country and I think it's an honor to go to the White House. That's my opinion and I'm not the one making that decision, whether or not we're going to. So we'll see."
Capitals head coach Barry Trotz cautioned that nothing has yet been decided on the subject, but said they will discuss the matter as a team.
"I have my opinion on that which is part of the process of being a championship team and other people have different opinions so I respect both," Trotz told The Post. "I haven't talked to the guys one way or the other. We haven't had any official team meetings, but I respect both sides, really I do. Whatever the group decides, we will do it. I don't know if it will be a full group, a half group, or no group, I have no idea. I think most guys have the tradition part down."
One player who surely won't be going is Devante Smith-Pelly, who made it quite clear before the Capitals even won the cup that he wouldn't accept an invitation from a "racist and sexist" President Trump.