Aleksander Barkov under fire for dangerous and reckless Stanley Cup celebration

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Graham Montgomery
August 1, 2024 (9:50 PM)

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Florida Panthers captain Alexander Barkov is facing criticism after his celebration with the Stanley Cup went viral online.

The Florida Panthers won their first ever Stanley Cup this June, leading to some wild celebrations. A picture of Barkov with the cup started making rounds on the internet today where he can be seen with two other unidentified individuals messing around. Barkov and another man are kneeling behind the cup while the third individual is seen jumping the Cup on a skateboard.

Not sure what Sasha was thinking, I thought "Holy smokes I'm glad he made it" #stanleycup @FlaPanthers @NHL @HockeyHallFame

Many fans were impressed with the picture. It appears to be of very high quality, perhaps even from a professional photographer. It is also in black and white, which adds to the vibe, almost making it look like an album cover for a Finnish metal band. That being said, many fans also expressed a lot of concern about it, given the possibilities of what could have happened if something went wrong.

Maybe not the best of ideas, but made for an amazing shot.

I understand that some players have their own unique way of celebrating their day with the Cup, but this one could have gone wrong in so many ways.

Seems kind of random and dangerous.

While this stunt certainly did carry some risk to both the cup itself and the skateboarder, things like this are not entirely rare. The Stanley Cup does suffer a lot of abuse, often getting damaged by player celebrations. That is why the NHL is so careful to make sure there are always specialists on hand to repair the trophy. Luckily, it seems as though that was not necessary in this case. Stay tuned for more wacky cup celebrations.