WASHINGTON — The previous time the Penguins visited the White House, Evgeni Malkin whipped out his flip phone to capture the moment. Sidney Crosby’s playoff beard was really just a couple of stray hairs. And Phil Kessel was about to join the Toronto Maple Leafs, an incredibly long way from the Stanley Cup champion he is today.
President Barack Obama officially had taken office only a few months before. The Penguins were the first hockey team he feted. They’re also now the last.
“This is a nice bookend to my presidency,” Obama said Thursday inside the East Room of the White House.