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When he stepped up to the podium during the Florida Panthers’ Stanley Cup parade on Sunday, Aaron Ekblad didn’t hold back.
Wearing a street cone on his head, Ekblad uttered the words, “F–k you, Brooks Koepka,” followed by a high-pitched “Woo!” and a rambunctious response from the Panthers fans in attendance.
“F*** YOU, BROOKS KOEPKA”
— Aaron Ekblad, wearing a traffic cone on his head
INCREDIBLE. pic.twitter.com/FC9hOL5X3Q
— jeremy chandler taché (@jeremytache) June 30, 2024
Out of context, it’s an absolutely insane quote that would make you wonder just how long the 28-year-old had been partying since the team won their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history. But for those who know the lore between Ekblad and the LIV Golf superstar, it’s the latest chapter in a half-serious feud that started last season.
At a Panthers’ home game against the New York Rangers in March 2023, the five-time major champion was seen hurling insults at Ekblad, apparently after the 2014 No. 1 overall pick was on the ice for a goal against.
LIV Golf Superstar Brooks Koepka has a message for Aaron Ekblad.
“F’ing traffic cone” #TimeToHunt pic.twitter.com/j2y7dJio0g
— David R (@David954FLA) March 25, 2023
Koepka would tell golf reporter Matt Vincenzi a week later that, while he didn’t bring the cone to the rink, he was more than happy to use it as a prop.
“(Ekblad) gave up a bad goal. It was a bad pass in the third,” Koepka told him. “I’m a die-hard (Panthers) fan, and he gave up a bad goal.”
That same week, Ekblad told Sportsnet reporter Luke Fox there was no love lost between the two.
“We’re not buddies. (We’ll) never be buddies.”
However, a month after the traffic cone incident, Ekblad said Koepka reached out to him via text message to say sorry.
“He texted me after and apologized, and I’m cool with it,” Ekblad said. “That’s just part of being intense. Maybe he had some money on the game.”
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