You can do a lot of things with a trophy. If you are Bryson DeChambeau, you can walk around Nashville Broadway with it. Or, use it as a whiskey jar. If it’s the claret jug and you are Xander Schauffele, obviously you can sip red wine from it. But then it’s the Stanley Cup.

And, as history showed, NHL champions have rarely followed the conventional way of celebrating with the 35.25-inch tall trophy. Back in 1996, Sylvain Lefebvre baptized his daughter with the Stanley Cup. In 1998, Kris Draper put his daughter on top of it. And she soiled the trophy. Clark Gillies used it as a feeding bowl for his best friend, Jethro, the dog. The latest in line is Sam Reinhart of the Florida Panthers.

Now, Reinhart’s celebration is not as wacky as that of his aforementioned compatriots. But it is no less ingenious. The NHL right winger used it as a ball marker. If you remember, the Stanley Cup has made trips to golf courses several times. Only last year, the Golden Knights squad was on a whirlwind golf trip in Las Vegas, stopping at least half a dozen courses with the Stanley Cup.

But never before in recorded history has someone used the gigantic hardware as a ball marker. Reinhart, though, had it all planned. Or, parts of it are planned. As the Panthers were primed to lift the silverware, thoughts of what he would do with it started crisscrossing his mind.

First, he took it to Hollyburn Country Club, the rink where he learned the trade as a kid. Then he took a trip to Capilano Golf and Country Club, where he teed off with his parents. Apparently, he made the birdie putt after using the Stanley Cup as a ball marker.

Per NHL custom, each player gets to keep the silverware for a day. His teammates, Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett, took it for a swim in the Atlantic. Reinhart, too, made the best use of it, no doubt. The clip went viral on social media in no time, and fans came up with some curious suggestions.

Netizens go bonkers over Sam Reinhart’s ‘savage’ celebration

Reinhart’s celebration was reminiscent of Tiger Woods posing with all four of his World Golf Championship trophies. Or Lionel Messi casually lounging with his family with seven Ballon d’Ors scattered here and there.

No wonder some fans thought it was the ‘Savage flex’ for Sam Reinhart. One user sarcastically commented, “Very subtle.”. But where did the trend start? Look no further back than Matt Hamilton.

The Olympic gold medal-winning Curler placed the gold medal as a ball marker in 2019 at the BMW Charity Pro-Am. Noting that one Instagrammer quipped, “Look what you done (sic) started @hamscurl [Matt Hamilton] lol.”

Some of the avid golf fans came up with more wild suggestions. Obviously, it’s impossible to keep the trophy properly on the green. One fan joked, “Could you move that a club head left please.”

Wrote another: “Would be more impressed if he tee’d off with Stanley.” That would surely have put a dent in the trophy and Reinhart’s reputation. The former, though, is used to it. Back in 2021, the Stanley Cup was sent to Canada for repair after a heavy dent on the sides.

Nevertheless, Sam Reinhart golfing with the Stanley Cup fits neatly into the Florida Panthers lore. After all, their most celebrated fan is a five-time major champion. Brooks Koepka’s wild celebrations in Nashville, too, went viral. Last year, the Smash GC captain brought his Wanamaker Trophy to a Panthers game as well.