Jake Guentzel and Team USA’s Gold Moment That Tilted Into Political Heat

jake guentzel The U. S. men’s Olympic hockey team’s gold-medal victory — a 2-1 win over Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Sunday — briefly united a country, but the team’s postgame actions and contacts with political figures have since diminished some of that goodwill.

Victory in Turin and a brief national lift

The men’s team beat Canada 2-1 in the gold-medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics, giving Americans a surge of emotion across three heart-stopping periods of hockey and one cathartic overtime. The win was the nation’s first Olympic men’s hockey gold since the “Miracle on Ice” 46 years earlier, and images of strangers high-fiving in bars and grownups hugging with wet eyes followed the result.

Locker-room call with President Donald Trump and the joke that drew criticism

Video emerged of players speaking to President Donald Trump from the locker room after the game. On the call, Trump joked, "We're going to have to bring the women's team, you do know that. I do believe I probably would be impeached. " Players in the locker room laughed at the line, and that reaction drew criticism from some who said the men’s response was disrespectful to the women’s team, which also won gold and produced a more dominant run to the title.

Jack Hughes, Quinn Hughes and their family push back

Jack Hughes, who scored the game-winning goal in the gold-medal game, defended the women’s team and said the men’s side was "proud" of the women's accomplishment. He also said the players were excited and proud to meet the president, adding, "We're so proud to represent the US and when you get the chance to go to White House and meet the President, we're proud to be Americans and that's so patriotic. "

Quinn Hughes, who played for Team USA on the men's team, told Good Morning America that the men's team was "really happy" for the women and noted that in the last couple summers the men trained with the women and got to know many of those players. Their mother, Ellen Hughes, who represented Team USA playing at the 1992 Women's World Championship, said both teams were all about "unity" during the Games.

Party travel, Kash Patel and scrutiny over taxpayer funds

After the win, players celebrated in the locker room with FBI Director Kash Patel; Patel later came under fire for flying to Italy and partying with the men's team following the victory. Patel was the person who called President Trump in the locker room after the win. The director has faced scrutiny for using taxpayer money to fund what has been described as a sports getaway.

Miami partying, plans for the House Chamber and fallout

Following the team's return from Italy, some players had a wild night of partying in Miami. Some members of the men's team announced plans to step into the House Chamber and make an appearance at President Trump's State of the Union, a move that many observers saw as politically loaded. The columnist view in the aftermath argued that, while the team did not create the nation’s deep divides, stepping early into that embrace narrowed the team’s moment and diminished some of the widespread celebration.

Jake Guentzel

Some commentators said the optics of standing next to winners can normalize a president, soften crude jokes and wash a public reputation, and that champions have agency in how they accept that stage. The widespread celebration after the win has, for some, given way to criticism.

A spokesperson for the women's team said the players were "sincerely grateful" for the invitation to the State of the Union but could not attend because of "previously scheduled academic and professional commitments. " Trump did extend the invitation to the women's team.

The timing and full details of Trump's State of the Union are unclear in the provided context.

What comes next: some members of the men's team have announced plans to appear at the State of the Union, the women's team declined the invitation because of prior commitments, and scrutiny remains over Kash Patel's trip to Italy and his role in the locker-room call.