Panthers Captain Sasha Barkov Makes Big Donation to Hospital he’s Inspired By

HOLLYWOOD — In 2019, Florida Panthers captain Sasha Barkov recorded a hat trick against the Montreal Canadiens which included one of the coolest goals he has ever scored.

Barkov drove in on Carey Price, moved the puck backward between his skates — the flipped a high shot from behind his left skate.

In the following days, Barkov was named one of the NHL’s 3 Stars of the Week. That came with a $1,000 gift to be donated to his favorite charitable cause.

Barkov, at the time, did not have one. So, he asked his agent Todd Diamond to look around and find a good one.

He did.

That initial $1,000 donation to the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital has become so much more.

Barkov ended up joining forces with the hospital and becoming a close supporter and benefactor.

Later that summer in 2019, Barkov visited the hospital and made his first pledge: A $1,600 donation for every goal, $800 for every assist, and a luxury box at the arena that the hospital could use for each home game.

“I thought about it this summer, that maybe I should do something, something good for the community that I’ve been living in for a long time,’’ Barkov said in 2019. “Everything I’ve been through here is amazing. I’ve, like been adopted, and now I get a chance to do something good for this community. Why not to do it for the kids? Bring them to the games and score goals for them?”

Barkov’s scoring has led to over $420,000 over the years to the hospital and he is a popular figure there.

A frequent visitor, Barkov hangs out with patients, plays games with them including his favorite air hockey, and poses for pictures and signs countless autographs.

He has also brought the Stanley Cup for a visit.

On Tuesday, Barkov was back.

And he had some big news.

After injuring his right knee, Barkov has not been able to play this season.

That means no goals, no assists.

No donation.

OK, that’s not true.

Barkov donated over $1 million to the hospital, a gesture celebrated at the sprawling complex at Hollywood’s Memorial Hospital in which JDCH named their sports medicine program after Barkov.

It’s now Barkov Sport Medicine at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.

“Because I knew I would be out a while, I couldn’t score any goals or assists,’’ Barkov said. “This is more than a dream for me to be able to be a small part of this great place. The years that I have been here working with Joe DiMaggio’s has been amazing. But this is a next step that I never dreamed about.”

Being part of the fabric of his community is something extremely important to the Panthers’ captain.

“This place is my home now,’’ Barkov said. “When I was drafted here in 2013, if you would have told me 13 years later this will happen here, I would have probably never believed it. Very happy, very thankful, very honored that this happened. And I’m looking forward to seeing where this takes us.”

Barkov said he has kept a positive attitude ever since his right knee buckled beneath him on his first full day of training camp in November.

Although he said seeing his teammates leave for the Olympics without him hurt, Barkov remained positive and has been skating since January.

The stories he has heard, the kids he has met at the hospital over the years, have been his inspiration.

“It has been tough,’’ Barkov said, “but when something tough or bad happens, you try and find the positives. I don’t know. Maybe taking a long time off here will help me in the future to come back fresher, with a fresh mind, a fresh body. Hopefully my career will last longer. I don’t know. But these are the kind of things you think about when you go through tough moments, face adversity.’’

ON DECK: GAME No. 58

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS at FLORIDA PANTHERS

• When: Thursday, 7 p.m.
• Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise
• Local TV: Scripps Sports — WSFL 39 (Miami/FTL); WPTV 5/WHDT 9 (WPB); LAFF 36.3 (SWFla)
• Streaming: Panthers+; ESPN+
• Radio: WQAM; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932, NHL App
• Season Series (Leafs Lead 2-0) — At Florida: Leafs 4, Panthers 1 (Dec. 2); Feb . 26. At Toronto: Leafs 4, Panthers 1 (Jan. 6); April 11
• Last Regular Season: Panthers Won 3-1
• All-time Regular Season Series: Toronto leads 53-40-7, 7 ties
• Last Postseason: Florida d. Toronto 4-3
• All-time Postseason (Panthers Lead 2-0): Panthers d. Toronto 4-1 (2023 ECS); Panthers d. Toronto 4-3 (2025 ECS)
• Up Next: Friday vs. Buffalo Sabres, 7