The Quebec NHLer Who Dropped The Stanley Cup Proposed To His Girlfriend Amid Fireworks

Video evidence suggests the engagement ring was NOT dropped.

Nicolas Aubé-Kubel proposing to Maddie Fidler, Right: Nicolas Aubé-Kubel kissing Maddie Fidler.

Nicolas Aubé-Kubel proposing to Maddie Fidler, Right: Nicolas Aubé-Kubel kissing Maddie Fidler.

Deputy Editor

It's been a good few weeks for Quebec NHL player Nicolas Aubé-Kubel, who won (and dropped) the Stanley Cup, presumably did some extended subsequent celebrating, and then capped it off by proposing to his girlfriend against a backdrop of 4th-of-July fireworks.

Aubé-Kubel shared the news via an appropriately memorable Instagram post, in which the first photo shows him on one knee in front of his girlfriend, Madison Fidler, backlit by exploding fireworks. (The second photo shows the couple kissing, so presumably Fidler said yes.)

His caption for the post will make perfect sense to hockey fans but might confuse everyone else: “now we both get rings” is likely not a reference to the traditional ring exchange at a future ceremony, but rather to the Stanley Cup ring Aubé-Kubel will get to commemorate the Colorado Avalanche's win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Aubé-Kubel’s Stanley Cup drop was captured for posterity during the celebratory moments following the Avalanche’s Game 6 win on June 26. Though some diehards might describe the mishap as sacrilege, history suggests that joyful pro athletes seem to drop it pretty often.

Fiddler also posted the proposal photos, with the dry caption “second best day of his life.” She also posted a short video of the moment. That footage suggests that Aubé-Kubel did not drop the ring.

Narcity Québec reports that Aubé-Kubel and Fidler have been seeing each other since 2019.

Aubé-Kubel was born in Alberta but grew up in Sorel-Tracy — the accent-aigu and the hyphenated surname surely confirm that Quebec gets bragging rights.

  • John MacFarlane
  • Deputy Editor

    Former MTL Blog Deputy Editor John MacFarlane is an award-winning journalist, editor, and producer with 20 years of experience in journalism, broadcasting and digital media in Montreal, Sydney, New York and Cape Town. At POV, the iconic PBS documentary series, he created and led a partnership with the New York Times – earning an Emmy nomination – and founded POV's groundbreaking, Webby-nominated Snapchat documentary project. He most recently worked as a news producer and digital journalist at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and has previously worked as a supervising producer on SBS Australia's The Feed and an episode producer on SBS's flagship long-form current affairs program Insight.

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