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NHL commissioner Gary Bettman defended the USA men’s hockey team for their reactions to President Donald Trump’s speech about the women’s team after their gold medal win at the Milan Cortina Games.
Speaking by phone with the men’s team after they defeated Canada to win gold, Trump said he would “have to” invite the women’s team, which also defeated Canada to win Olympic gold, to last week’s State of the Union address. He added that he would “probably be impeached” if he did not send an invitation to the women’s team.
Members of both teams have said they supported each other throughout the Olympics, and Bettman agreed with that sentiment.
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NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman speaks to the media prior to a game between the Edmonton Oilers and the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre. (Marc DesRosiers/Imagn Images)
“I know for a fact that the men’s team had no intention of doing anything to disparage the women’s team,” Bettman said Tuesday, via Sportsnet . “If anything, both teams were chanting, ‘Two for two.’
“What happened and how it was portrayed, I wish it didn’t happen the way it did, and I think it was unfair to the men’s team. And again, I don’t think the women’s team had a different view of it. I mean, look at (U.S. women’s captain) Hilary Knight and the others who talked about what happened. These two teams respected each other.”
Jeremy Swayman, the men’s team’s backup goaltender, admitted the team “should have reacted differently” to Trump’s comments. But he and Jack and Quinn Hughes all talked a lot about the women’s team and their relationship with them.
Megan Keller (5) of the United States and Hannah Bilka (23) of the United States celebrate after winning the women’s ice hockey gold medal after defeating Canada during the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 19, 2026. (Amber Searls/Imagn Images)
Jack Hughes told reporters after his gold medal-winning goal, the first thing on his mind when the puck went in was Megan Keller, who scored the golden goal for the USA women’s team against Canada three days earlier.
The brothers’ mother, Ellen, a former Team USA player and current player development officer, said the players only cared about “bringing[ing] so much unity for a group and a country.”
Team USA’s men’s hockey gold medalists have irked liberal pundits and news organizations despite captivating the nation with their Olympic performance. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
Knight and Megan Keller, who scored the women’s golden goal, joined the Hughes brothers on this weekend’s “Saturday Night Live.”
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