TAMPA, Fla. — The back-to-back Stanley Cup champions are heading to the White House.
The White House announced Friday the Tampa Bay Lightning are set to visit the White House Monday in Washington, D.C. The celebration of their back-to-back Stanley Cup wins will take place on the South Lawn.
A trip for major league sports' top-performing teams to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is a presidential tradition that dates back 150 years, according to ESPN.
The Bolts will be the second-ever Tampa Bay area sports team to mark a major victory with a presidential visit behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
If you're wondering how that's possible given the Bucs and Bolts having secured championships in the past? Well, timing just hasn't been on either team's side.
The Iraq War prohibited the Bucs' 2003 Super Bowl victory visit, according to several reports. And while the Tampa Bay Lightning have claimed three Stanley Cup titles, COVID-19 in 2020 and a lockout in 2004 kept the team from ever getting to visit.
The Bolts White House visit comes as the team prepares to chase down the elusive back-to-back-to-back Stanley Cup victories this postseason.
It's the fifth straight season the Lightning have clinched a playoff berth. The NHL playoffs will begin on Monday, May 2, with the regular season concluding on Friday, April 29.