1 U.S. mens hockey star has turned down invitation to President Donald Trumps State of the Unio

Most of the U.S. men's hockey team is slated to be in attendance Tuesday night as special guests to President Donald Trump's State of the Union addre s. At least one, Jack Finley Jersey though, won't be: Jake Guentzel. Guentzel, a forward from the , is back with his team. He won't be in the nation's capital on Tuesday night, . The Lightning resume NHL action on Wednesday night at home against the , the first day the league gets back to action after the Olympic break. MORE: Guentzel was a key piece of the U.S. gold medal team. He played as a top-six forward, usually on a line with captain Auston Matthews as well as the speedy Matt Boldy, who scored the first U.S. goal in the gold medal game. There has been no further explanation for Guentzel's decision. It could be as simple as wanting to be with his teammates as they get ready for the stretch run. The State of the Union doesn't begin until 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday, so any player in attendance won't rejoin their team until sometime on Wednesday. Guentzel and the Lightning are the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference coming out of the break, so they have legitimate aspirations to win a Stanley Cup. MORE: Tampa Bay has two recent Stanley Cups, but Guentzel wasn't a part of those. He has one ring from his time with the , and he also played for the . He joined the Lightning before the 2024-25 season. Last season, Guentzel had 80 points in 80 games (41 goals, 39 a sists). This season, Guentzel has played in 55 games and scored 26 goals with 34 a sists (60 points). The 31-year old Guentzel is originally from Nebraska, and he played college hockey at Nebraska-Omaha. Since the news that Guentzel won't be in attendance, it's been revealed that More NHL news: Andrei Vasilevskiy Jersey