Panthers' Aaron Ekblad talks about intense urge to settle a score with Golf star Brooks Koepka

Long-time Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad discussed his experience with golfer Brooks Koepka during his appearance on the Cam & Strick Podcast on July 31. Ekblad focused on a score he wanted to settle with Koepka.

In March 2023, Koepka humorously referred to Aaron Ekblad as a “traffic cone” while holding up an actual traffic cone and pointing it at Ekblad after he allowed a goal.

Aaron Ekblad had this to say about the beef with Koepka:

“Luckily, all the clips are of that, you know, me telling him to f*ck himself. Because the rest of my speech was terrible. No, it was completely put to bed the day after, right? Like, he texted me. I personally didn’t care.”

The comments refer to the Florida Panthers victory parade in which Aaron Ekblad delivered his speech to the Panthers faithful as he held a traffic cone over his head, mimicking the Stanley Cup. The video clip went viral after the Panthers’ parade, drawing chuckles from fans across the league.

However, Koepka chose to poke fun at Ekblad and teammates. Ekblad added:

“I mean, how many people at a hockey game are calling me a cone and telling Barkov he’s got no hands? Like, it’s, you know, that’s hockey, that’s sports, right? So I didn’t give a shit. But that is kind of odd. Yeah, he was definitely fuc*ed up, and he agreed. He agreed that he was fuc*ed up, and he apologized.”

Ekblad decided to take the high road and let the issue slide. He concluded:

“So, I didn’t care, obviously. And then, when I was at that golf event, I should have thrown a beer on his back or something. I was in the live event with him when he was actually competing. I should have talked with him, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t find the courage to throw something at him.”

Perhaps someday Ekblad will get a chance to even the score. In the meantime, Ekblad has a Stanley Cup ring to brag about.

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Aaron Ekblad on the hot seat

The Hockey News published its Hot Seat Radar for the Florida Panthers on July 28. The Hot Seat Radar series looks at players who are under pressure to perform. Top on the list of the Panthers is Aaron Ekblad.

Ekblad is entering the final year of his deal. His current contract pays $7.5 million per season, making him an expensive piece on the roster. However, injuries have taken their toll on the veteran defenseman.

Even though Ekblad is still 28 years old, he hasn’t played a full 82-game season since 2018-19. That situation calls into question his long-term position on the Panthers.

As such, Aaron Ekblad is on the hot seat to perform this season. He’ll need to improve on his 51 games last season in which he notched four goals and 18 points.

Ekblad could still be an effective bottom-pairing defenseman but that won’t happen in Florida. Ekblad may even play in a middle-pairing situation with a rebuilding team. But he would have to take a significant pay cut to make that happen.

Ultimately, the pressure is on Aaron Ekblad to show he can still perform at a high level in the NHL. If he doesn’t Ekblad could hit free agency with rather gloomy prospects.