Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is challenging the U.S. president to a bet as the Montreal Canadiens face off against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup final — a gamble Joe Biden readily accepted.
Trudeau proffered the "friendly wager" to the commander-in-chief in a Twitter post around 9 p.m. last night, along with the hashtag "GoHabsGo."
Two of the best teams in the NHL are facing off right now… how about a friendly wager, @POTUS? #GoHabsGo 🇨🇦🇺🇸 #StanleyCup
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) June 29, 2021
Biden replied three minutes later, deadpanning, "You're on pal," though the stakes of the bet were not clear.
You’re on pal. #GoBolts https://t.co/jOhA7IB2bE
— President Biden (@POTUS) June 29, 2021
Patrick Brazeau, an Algonquin senator from Quebec, weighed in a few minutes later, warning Biden that the last time Brazeau made a wager with Trudeau — on a boxing match between the two parliamentarians in 2012 — he lost and had his ponytail "snipped."
The odds have shifted since Trudeau's tweet — posted with the Canadiens already down by at least a goal — after the Lightning dominated Montreal to win 5-1 in the first game of the series Monday night.
During the Sochi Olympics in 2014, then-president Barack Obama wound up owing former prime minister Stephen Harper 48 beers when the Canadian women's and men's hockey teams triumphed over their American counterparts.