Trump refuses to have reporters present at Capitals’ Stanley Cup visit?!

While not all the Washington Capitals players are excited about Monday’s upcoming visit to the White House, the rest of the roster feels honoured to be invited. 

Capitals’ Brett Connolly mentioned last summer after he won the Stanley Cup that he would skip the team’s White House visit if they were invited, and since the invitation is in the mail, the forward confirmed Tuesday he is sticking by that vow. He said he will not attend the event in support of teammate Devante Smith-Pelly. 

Connolly and DSP might not get a picture of the visit, however it seems like no media members will be present to report on the Caps’ day at the White House with President Donald Trump. 

According to Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan, the team will only take part in a private tour and meet Donald Trump in the Oval Office. There’ll be no official ceremony or media availability.

“Capitals announce there will be no official ceremony or media availability while the team is in the White House. The team will take part in a private tour and will meet the President in the Oval Office.”

It is believed that the tamping down of the visit comes as the Mueller Report could drop at any day and Trump’s approval rating remains in the low 40s. 

Despite his growing unpopularity, many Caps players are excited about the annual event and feel lucky to meet with the president. 

“It will be fun. It’s exciting, I think, and every time you get an invitation from the president and being at the White House, it’s going to be a great experience,” Nicklas Backstrom said. “I feel like it’s always up to whoever wants to go, but we got the invitation, and it’s been a tradition, I think, for many years. We’re not going to mix politics with sports. It’s because we won last year; that’s why we’re there. Yeah, it’ll be a cool experience, I think.”