Team USA at the White House: MAGA caps causing a stir

I don't know if you knew, but the Americans won the gold medal in Milan-Cortina… and rumor has it that they plan to celebrate until July 4!

Joking aside, the American players celebrated in New York and Miami on Monday night, then attended the State of the Union address yesterday in Washington. I don't know how many hours of sleep the Hughes brothers have had since Jack's goal, but I'm not sure it's in the double digits. I also don't know how much the American players wanted to leave during Donald Trump's interminable speech last night. They must have found it long at times. It should be noted that five American players did not show up at the White House last night: Kyle Connor, Jackson LaCombe, Jake Oettinger, Brock Nelson, and Jake Guentzel. Officially, they were absent because they have a game scheduled for today. Unofficially, some see it as a political statement: four of the five absentees were born in Minnesota, a Democratic state where Donald Trump is not welcome, especially since the ICE debacle.
Auston Matthews also has a game scheduled today in Florida, but he still took the time to show up at the White House (even if he didn't stay the whole evening). Whatever. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and their own decisions. Everyone is also entitled to take a political stance or not. I have no problem with that. It's up to each individual to decide whether or not to become publicly “politicized.” I still remember Tim Thomas' refusal to visit the president after the Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011; he didn't want to meet President Barack Obama.

That was his choice. Just as it is Jake Guentzel and company's choice this year.

Where I do have a problem, however, is when people treat us like idiots. In fact, I should have written: it's when people treat ME like an idiot.

Let me explain: Jack Hughes complained yesterday that the media saw politics (which he didn't think was there) in the US team's celebrations. According to Hughes, the president's call was not political: Donald Trump is the president of all Americans and represents the United States of America.

“Everything is so political!” – Jack Hughes

In short, what Hughes was telling us was that he wasn't involved in politics. He was simply celebrating the AMERICAN victory with Americans, without any partisanship.

Except that either Jack is taking us for fools, or he is a fool himself. One or the other.

A photo of Karoline Leavitt surrounded by several American players (including the Hughes brothers and Tage Thompson) has been circulating widely on social media since Leavitt posted it in her story.

In it, Tage Thompson is wearing a “Make America Great Again” cap and the Hughes brothers are wearing “USA, 45-47” caps, a reference to Donald Trump, who is the 45th and 47th American president. Two caps probably made in China, hehe! #HowIronic

how embarrassing pic.twitter.com/2hlQdTnlZS

— ange ˚୨୧⋆｡ (@angelovesracing) February 25, 2026

Do I have a problem with the fact that they decided to wear such caps and that Gilbert Delorme wants to see players always without caps? Not at all, even though I'm really not a big fan of Donald Trump! We live in a free country (which isn't even my country, after all) and I don't believe in the self-censorship that the left has been trying to impose on us for the past ten years.

However, pretending that you're not involved in politics… while wearing such caps, is proof that you're bullshitting us (and that you were looking for confrontation) or that you're an idiot. In either case, I have a problem with that.

As I always tell my children: take responsibility. Don't hide! Don't back down! It will save you a lot of trouble in life and earn you a great deal of respect from important people.

On that note, I think the Hughes brothers should also take my advice.

Celebrating the United States' victory with clothing that promotes the United States: perfect!

Celebrating such a victory with clothing that supports the most divisive president in modern American history: not so perfect!

The other problem
Some states have developed a real hostility towards President Donald Trump and his administration. In Minnesota, for example, the population (mostly Democratic) resents Donald Trump for the (overly) heavy-handed interventions of his ICE department.

Quinn Hughes plays in Minnesota…

In Buffalo, a city in New York State right next to Ontario, people have been voting Democrat for decades.

Tage Thompson plays center, not left wing in Buffalo…

In New Jersey, people also vote Democrat.

Jack Hughes plays in New Jersey….

We're talking about three educated guys who went to American universities.

In the end, I think the American players should have simply done what Jack Hughes intended to do: celebrate the American victory without sending political messages. They failed in that regard.

Having said that, I must admit that I'm glad, in the end, that I didn't see Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson on the ice in Milan. I can't imagine all the negativity there would have been in the Montreal media (not just sports media) if Caufield or Hutson had put a MAGA cap on their heads last night.

It would have been madness!

A Canadiens player publicly supporting an elected but controversial U.S. president linked to 1,001 negative/sensitive issues—I think Radio-Canada would have been broadcasting special programs wall to wall!

Of course, one might think that Caufield and Hutson would have declined the invitation and joined the Canadiens last night, but since the CH doesn't have a game until tomorrow, it would have been more questionable than for Guentzel, Connor, and company.

Overtime

– Nathan MacKinnon should have SO gotten his shot on target when Connor Hellebuyck was no longer in front of his net. We would have avoided all this current crap.
And we would have been treated to lame celebrations with Mark Carney and his wife, elbows in the air. #ElbowsUp

– Pretty sure that with his public support for Donald Trump, Tage Thompson will never play for the Montreal Canadiens.

– To be clear: if Kamala Harris had been elected and some players had worn caps promoting her, I'm sure people on the right would have complained too. This article is about whether or not to politicize sports (and take responsibility for it).Regardless of the underlying allegiance…

Someone should tell Elizabeth Lemay that no, watching hockey is not MAGA. This type of intellectual shortcut does not lend credibility to the cause she claims to defend.