Amid a swirling controversy, the Ottawa Senators find themselves accused of attempting to manage public relations fallout after their captain, Brady Tkachuk, became embroiled in a USA hockey scandal.

Tkachuk, who serves as both a winger and captain for the Senators, was one of 25 American athletes who secured a gold medal at the Winter Olympics. In a captivating match, the team triumphed 2-1 in overtime against Canada on Sunday, mirroring the USA women’s team’s recent gold medal victory in a similar fashion.

The celebration was marred by criticism aimed at the gold medalists for their reaction to a controversial joke made by Donald Trump during a congratulatory call. The joke, deemed misogynistic by some, sparked backlash.

A leaked video from the locker room revealed Trump telling the players, “I must tell you, we are going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that. I do believe I would probably be impeached [if I didn’t invite them].”

This comment elicited laughter from the team, led by coach Mike Sullivan, who readily accepted the invitation. Though the women’s team was also invited later, they chose to decline.

Responding to the criticism, the Senators released a video featuring their players discussing their ‘favorite female athlete’ in anticipation of their ‘Women in Sport Night,’ showcasing support for female athletes.

The Ottawa Senators have been accused of ‘damage control’ after sharing a video of their players naming their favorite female athletes amid the Team USA controversy 

Senators captain Brady Tkachuck (L) was among the American hockey stars who won gold

Five of the Senators’ stars named the likes of Canada soccer legend Christine Sinclair, Canadian hockey captain Marie-Philip Poulin, Swedish freestyle skier Sandra Naslund and Minnesota Frost star Mae Batherson.

However, fans were not impressed by the locker room video, with many slamming the NHL franchise for what they considered to be a ‘PR move.’

‘Lol serious question, does Michael Scott run this account? This is a comical PR campaign,’ one social media user asked, referring to Steve Carell’s character from The Office. 

‘Damage control,’ replied another, adding a skull emoji, while a third pleaded: ‘Please make your damage control more subtle next time.’

‘When your PR campaign is so obvious it’s actually digging you deeper… [SNL] doesn’t really have to do much work this week, it’s all here,’ shared another, suggesting that Saturday Night Live would have enough material out of the controversy to perform a skit.

‘Literally the most obvious PR move. This is actually wild,’ said one social media user, while another added, ‘The damage control is not damage controlling.’

One fan sarcastically asked: ‘How much prep time did you have to give them for this question?’

Trump’s comment – and the reaction from the players – has sparked fury from critics, including ex-ESPN star Keith Olbermann who said anyone that accepts the president’s invite is ‘declaring their indelible stupidity and misogyny.’

Donald Trump made a ‘misogynistic’ remark about the USA women’s team while calling the male stars to congratulate them on their Winter Olympics gold medal 

Team USA’s men’s hockey stars have come under fire after laughing at the ‘sexist’ joke

US women’s hockey star Laila Edwards also appeared to be unimpressed by the players’ reaction. She liked a post on Instagram which carried a quote, purportedly from comedian Tina Fey.

‘You can tell how smart people are by what they laugh at,’ read the post. It was captioned: ‘Anyway, women >>>’

 On Monday, however, men’s hockey hero Jack Hughes insisted they are ‘so tight’ with the women’s group.

‘Everyone in that locker room knows how much we support them, how proud we are of them and we know the same way we feel about them, they feel about us.’ 

Hilary Knight, the captain of the women’s team, branded Trump’s remark ‘distasteful’ on Wednesday, but said that it was not worth distracting from Team USA’s success.

‘I just thought the joke was distasteful and unfortunate,’ Knight said alongside fellow Olympians Alex Carpenter, Hannah Bilka and Cayla Barnes at the Seattle Space Needle ahead of their return to play for the Seattle Torrent of the Professional Women’s Hockey League. 

‘And, I think just the way women are represented, it’s a great teaching point and really shines light on how women should be championed for their amazing feats.’

Knight, a two-time gold medalist whose 15 goals and 33 points in Olympic competition are the most by a US hockey player at the Games, said she’s not focusing on an offhand comment by Trump after the American men topped Canada for gold in overtime on Sunday.

The American women also clinched gold at the Milan-Cortina Games just days earlier 

Although the women’s team did eventually receive an invite, they initially declined the offer.

‘We are sincerely grateful for the invitation extended to our gold medal-winning U.S. Women’s Hockey Team and deeply appreciate the recognition of their extraordinary achievement,’ USA Hockey told NBC News. 

‘Due to the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments following the Games, the athletes are unable to participate.

‘They were honored to be included and are grateful for the acknowledgment.’

However, it appears they have performed somewhat of a U-turn as Trump declared that the women’s team would ‘soon be coming to the White House’ during his State of the Union address on Tuesday night.