The cheers for the host were as loud as those for the guests. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump welcomed the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins, the second professional team to accept an invite from the Trump White House, to celebrate their 2016-17 Stanley Cup championship.

In town ahead of their Wednesday skate against the Washington Capitals, members of the back-to-back champs were greeted by a couple hundred fans in the East Room.

There was no jersey presented to Trump and the lone one in the room was a black Pens sweater with Sidney Crosby's No. 87 on the back. Owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle were with the team, and quickly became part of POTUS' routine.

Trump praised the Hockey Hall of Famer's golf game effusively, but not before he managed to put Burkle on the spot about their relationship.

"I want to proudly welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins' owners. First of all, he's a friend of mind for a long time, he's a great, great negotiator," Trump said, briefly adding an element of political humor to the proceedings. "Ron how about negotiating some of our horrible trade deals that they've made over? Here's what I want, oh, I would love to have Ron Burkle. And it's great to have you, Ron, but I really mean that, if you want to get involved in negotiating NAFTA, I like it."