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NHL Faces Backlash After Stadium Series Charity Shot Leaves Donation at $200,000

Critics fault the decision to tie a cancer survivor’s recognition to a near-impossible on-ice challenge.

Overview

  • During the Lightning–Bruins Stadium Series game, USF athletics CEO and cancer survivor Rob Higgins was introduced as a Community Hero with an initial $100,000 donation.
  • P.K. Subban presented a chance to raise the gift to $500,000 with a precision shot from distance, which Higgins missed.
  • Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield then offered a second attempt worth $1 million while Higgins’ father, also a cancer survivor, watched, and the shot missed again.
  • The final donation was announced at $200,000, with Higgins later thanking the NHL and Lightning and listing beneficiaries, including an additional $100,000 to Moffitt Cancer Center.
  • Fans and commentators criticized the stunt’s framing as insensitive, and as of the latest reports there is no indication the league plans to increase the donation to the touted $1 million.