Photo credit: Miami Herald

Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov is dealing with heavy criticism after his life-risking Stanley Cup celebrations went viral all over the internet.

The Florida Panthers captured their first ever Stanley Cup in franchise history a little over a month ago, and while players got to enjoy their day with the Cup as per NHL tradition, Barkov may have taken it a little too far, risking significant damage to the Stanley Cup. Barkov was seen with two random men having some fun in an unsafe way with the Cup. Barkov and one man are on their knees behind the Cup, while another male is jumping over the precious trophy while on a skateboard.

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

Despite how dangerous this was, many fans enjoyed seeing this picture, which seems to have been taken by a professional photographer. There is no color in the picture, which gives it a very unique look. Despite all the fans that enjoyed it, many expressed a ton of concern over this photo, saying that Barkov and those men could have been badly injured 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.

Despite these types of celebrations being very risky to the well-being of everyone, it’s not the first time we see NHL players or other athletes do this for that matter. The Stanley Cup is one of the trophies that gets banged up the most as players celebrate like wild animals at times, which is why every year the coveted trophy is sent away for major repairs.

Captain Barkov of the Panthers scored a total of 23 goals and had 80 points in 73 regular season games. He was unstoppable in the playoffs during Florida’s Cup run, adding an additional 22 points in 24 games.