Jeremy Swayman admits the U.S. men's hockey team should have reacted differently to Trump's phone call

The standout Boston Bruins goaltender stressed that she and her teammates have "a lot of respect" for the gold medal-winning USA Women's team.

Jeremy Swimman admits US men's hockey team 'should have responded differently' to Trump's controversial moment.

The follow-up to a viral post-game phone call with President Donald Trump continues for the gold medal-winning US men's hockey team.After that controversial moment, in which Trump invited American men to the White House and the State of the Union and then joked about inviting the women's team or "I might get sued," players faced questions as they returned to their NHL teams.

Goalie Jeremy Swayman was asked about it Wednesday, and he and his teammates, many of whom laughed after Trump's delivery, agreed they could have handled the moment better.

“We have to look different,” Boston Bruins star Swayman said, via Evan Marinofsky of the New England Hockey Journal.

“We know we have very high expectations for the women’s team. We have a lot of respect for them and sharing a gold medal with them is something we are forever grateful for.”

Jeremy Swayman on the response after the call with President Trump:

"We should have reacted differently. We have a lot of respect for the women's team and a lot of respect for the women's team."pic.twitter.com/NLJmk7wlE5 — Evan Marinofsky (@EvanMarinofsky) December 25, 2026

The crowd reaction was shocking to many players, considering the women's team beat Canada 2-1 in overtime to win gold in similarly dramatic fashion at the Cortina Olympics in Milan.

Earlier this week, on "Good Morning America," U.S. men's hockey stars Jack Hughes, who captured gold with a famous overtime winner, and his brother, Quinn, weighed in on the matter.

Jake, the New Jersey Devils center, explained how after Sunday's victory in Italy, the US men's and women's teams celebrated together in the cafeteria at 3:30 a.m. Later in an interview, he noted that the US women's hockey team declined his invitation to the state, Quinn also offered.

“I'm glad you mentioned the women's team again,” said Quinn, a defenseman for the Minnesota Wild.

"We are very happy for them," he said.“Obviously [there's] a lot going on right now with the team and social media around the team, but the last two summers, we've been training with them a lot and getting to know a lot of the girls better.

American men's ice hockey players who didn't make the trip to D.C. explain why

Tampa Bay Lightning center Jake Guentzel was among five players who did not make the trip to DC.He and others cited busy schedules, including the need for family time, after the Games.

"It was good timing for me and my family," Guentzel said Wednesday, according to 95.7WDAE's Samuel Cohen. "I've never turned down an offer to leave."

Guentzel later said, referring to the Stanley Cup title he won with the Pittsburgh Penguins: "I was lucky to go to 2017 when Trump was in office. But just think... we have a lot of games during the year. It's going to be a tough schedule. Two weeks after the Olympic break, I thought it would be good to have some time to relax with my family and try at home."

Jake Guentzel was not at the White House yesterday representing Team USA.

"It's just a matter of time for me and my family...I certainly didn't turn down the request to go" pic.twitter.com/lnmDvn9NSQ — Samuel Cohen (@SamuelCohenNews) February 25, 2026

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger cited turnaround time and the opportunity to care for his 3-month-old baby as reasons for missing the trip.He called it a "huge honor" to be invited, according to Leah Azimakopoulos of The Dallas Morning News.

Regarding Trump's viral phone call, Oettinger said, to Assimakopoulos:

"The way I see it, no one supports women's hockey more than me. I know a lot of these girls personally. I think if you were in a bar with me and watched a women's hockey game, no one would be as excited as I was when they won the gold medal."

"They're incredible, and they deserve all the credit in the world. They're great. I'm so happy for those girls. It's great to get to know some of them personally. It's great that the men and women have gold medals now."

USA Women's Hockey Decline Invitation; Hilary Knight Calls Trump's Comments 'Disgusting Joke'

The women's team declined her invitation to D.C. because of what a USA Hockey spokesperson described as "previously scheduled academic and professional commitments after the Games," as well as the timing of the event, according to NBC News.

US women's hockey icon Hilary Knight, who scored the tying goal against Canada in the gold medal game, described Trump's widely shared comments as "a terrible joke," in an appearance Wednesday on ESPN's SportsCenter.

“Unfortunately, this overshadows a lot of the success of women in the Olympics, who were on Team USA and had an incredible gold medal,” said Knight, who now has 15 Olympic goals.

She later said she believed there was a "real level of support" and "respect" between the men's and women's teams.

At Trump's State Department briefing, he hinted that the U.S. women's hockey team would join him at the White House soon, but according to a report from the Front Office on Wednesday, a spokesperson for U.S. Hockey told FOS that it was "TBD" that the U.S. women had committed to visit the White House.

The women's team consists of a handful of college girls, and the NCAA Women's Frozen Four will be held this year on March 20-22.The PWHL regular season doesn't end until the end of April.