About That 'SNL' Monologue

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When Quinn and Jack Hughes came on stage during Connor Storrie’s monologue on Saturday Night Live, the applause felt like the type you give during a wedding speech that went on for far too long.

It’s polite and not too loud. It certainly isn’t generous.

You could tell Hilary Knight and Megan Keller were waiting just off camera, because the quiet chatter from the audience can be heard on television.

When Knight and Keller slid onto each side of Storrie, the applause and cheers were so loud it felt like my television was vibrating in the same way it felt when Michael B. Jordan won Best Actor last night at The Actor Awards.

Obviously, it felt like this was the moment to finally address the elephant in the room:

Keller: “Don’t worry, we saw your show.”

Knight: “It was going to be just us, but we thought we’d invite the guys, too.”

Keller: “Yeah, we thought we’d give them a little moment to shine.”

Storrie: “Yeah, I mean both of your teams just won the gold.”

Quinn Hughes: “The last time the men did that was 46 years ago.”

Knight: “And the last time we did that was two whole Olympics ago.”

Jack Hughes: “But these gold medals aren’t just for us—they’re for all hockey fans. Yours, too.”

The crowd laughed. Knight and Keller smiled. The Hughes brothers grinned through broken teeth.

Was that the men’s hockey team’s way of saying, “See! Everything is fine here! We’re all friends”?

And was this the women’s hockey team’s way of saying, “We’re cool with them”?

Did the women’s hockey team suggest this as a way of clearing the air? Was the reference to when they last won the gold medal (2018 btw) their idea? Probably not.

Listen: It was the right thing to do to bring out representatives of both Olympic teams for the bit, but did anyone really want to be there???

Since the men’s hockey team won gold and laughed at President Trump’s joke, the men’s team has failed to really apologize in any meaningful way and it feels like the women’s team is left cleaning up the mess they made.