Matthew Tkachuk celebrates with the Stanley Cup.
Photo credit: Sporting News

Matthew Tkachuk made headlines when he dived into the ocean with the Stanley Cup, and now the Florida Panthers star has revealed who pushed him to do so.

After years of chasing, Matthew Tkachuk and the Florida Panthers finally captured the Stanley Cup in 2024 by defeating the Edmonton Oilers, and it’s safe to say the team and the city were ecstatic.

However, the celebrations may have gone a little overboard at one point, as Tkachuk took the Stanley Cup for a swim, something he reveals he didn’t know wasn’t allowed.

«I did not know that wasn’t allowed, I promise you,» Tkachuk told KSDK News. «It was the day after I won, I still hadn’t slept at that point, and it was just me and a few of my teammates. We had nobody with us to say, ‘Matthew, don’t be an idiot. Don’t do that.’ So I thought it was fitting, but if I would have known I wasn’t supposed to do it, I wouldn’t have done it, but also, I think it’s pretty funny.»

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Now, in an interview, No. 19 has revealed just whose idea it was to make the move, and it won’t come as any surprise that it was indeed his brother Brady, who was seemingly upset that he didn’t get credit for the idea.

«My brother was like, ‘The ocean’s right there, why don’t you just go take it in there right now,’» Matthew explained. «I’m like, ‘That’s a great idea. We’ll go do that.’ I guess I didn’t give him credit when I first got asked about it, and he was pretty upset with me, so there, he gets the credit for that.»

Ultimately, it doesn’t appear as though he got in too much trouble for the act, and for the future, all Stanley Cup winners now know that it’s off limits to take it for a dip in celebratation.