Stanley Cup-Champion Florida Panthers honored in the White House

Washington President Donald Trump mostly held on to sports and avoided any talk of tariffs when he celebrated defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers in the White House on Monday.

The ceremony was delayed almost an hour because Trump was talking to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to put customs rates in the countryside, as he did with Mexico.

Trump referred repeated references to Panthers owner Vinnie Viola as a friend. Viola was briefly Trump’s nominees to be secretary of the army in 2016 before retiring from the deliberation, and Panthers plays in Sunrise, Florida, 48 miles away from one of Trump’s homes in Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida.

In his speech to the club, he mentioned the race to the title and how he saw “The team get better and better and better”, referring to them as “real masters” for their “huge championship.”

The team had a red adapted “Trump 45-47” Jersey framed for him. He was also presented with a “Trump 47” jersey and a gold stick by Viola, Finnish Captain Aleksander Barkov and American Fronter Matthew Tkachuk.

Panthers-there won the Stanley Cup for the first time in June, who surpassed Edmonton Oilers in seven matches and has been in back-to-back appearances in the final-hik their visit to the White House before they opposed the eastern conference lead Washington Capitals Tuesday night.

Associated Press contributed to this report.