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Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad had an explicit message for LIV Golf star Brooks Koepka as the team celebrated its Stanley Cup victory with a parade in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday.
Ekblad, with a traffic cone on his head, came up to the podium during the team’s rally.
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Golfer Brooks Koepka bangs a drum to start the game between the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights in Game 4 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final at then-FLA Live Arena on June 10, 2023, in Sunrise, Florida. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
"F--- you Brooks Koepka," he yelled.
The message appeared to be another page in the tumultuous history between the two athletes.
The issue stemmed from Koepka’s appearance at Amerant Bank Arena in March 2023. Koepka, a Panthers supporter, had a traffic cone in his suite and appeared to point at Ekblad.
"You’re a f---ing traffic cone," he was heard saying of Ekblad’s defensive abilities. "Ekblad, you suck!"
Ekblad said after that incident that he and Koepka would "never be buddies."
Florida Panthers' Aaron Ekblad carries the Stanley Cup in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on June 25, 2024. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)
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The Hockey News reported in April 2023 that cooler heads prevailed after the trash talk.
"He texted me after and apologized, and I’m cool with it," Ekblad said at the time, per the outlet. "That’s just part of being intense. Maybe he had some money on the game."
Brandon Montour, Ekblad’s Panthers teammate, said on the "Cam and Strick" podcast last July that the rift was funny to those in the locker room.
"We laughed about it," Montour said. "In the same sense, it's like, we'll put you in a pair of our skates and let you f---ing get on the ice and do it. All jokes aside, obviously he's a fan of the game, and he wants us to win."
Aaron Ekblad of the Florida Panthers poses with fans at Amerant Bank Arena on June 24, 2024, in Sunrise, Florida. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
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Ekblad and the Panthers got the last laugh with their Stanley Cup win.
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