While the majority of the gold medal winning Team USA visited the White House on Tuesday, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jake Guentzel was one of five players who opted not to attend.
Guentzel, along with Brock Nelson of the Colorado Avalanche, Kyle Connor of the Winnipeg Jets, Jake Oettinger of the Dallas Stars, and Jackson LaCombe of the Anaheim Ducks, were the only players who chose to decline the invitation with most of them citing the NHL’s impending return to play as the reason.
Guentzel and the Lightning for example will be back in action on Wednesday night as they face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs in an important Atlantic Division match-up.
Although Guentzel hasn’t participated in practice with the Lightning since winning the gold medal, Eduardo Encina of the Tampa Bay Times confirmed that the 31-year-old forward is back in Tampa and is expected to play against Toronto tomorrow night.
The Lightning will have a busy and condensed schedule to end the season, as they’ll play 27 games in 50 days to close out the season. As a result, it appeared Guentzel opted to prioritize his NHL team’s success as he looks to win the second Stanley Cup of his career, and first with the Lightning, this season.