Florida Panthers captain and center Aleksander Barkov at an event at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, announcing the naming of the “Barkov Sports Medicine” department at the hospital.
Jordan McPherson
jmcpherson@miamiherald.com
Aleksander Barkov has been a mainstay at the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood for going on seven years now. The Florida Panthers’ captain has been donating money annually to the hospital since 2019 as part of his “Barkov Scores 4 JoeD” initiative that began with the 2019-2020 season and has resulted in nearly a half-million dollars donated.
Barkov took his commitment to the next level on Tuesday.
Barkov and Joe DiMaggio’s announced Tuesday that Barkov made a “significant seven-figure philanthropic gift” to advance pediatric sports medicine at the hospital.
The hospital’s sports medicine program will now be known as “Barkov Sports Medicine at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.”
Dr. Michael Jofe, the surgeon-in-chief at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, said Barkov’s “transformational, generational gift” will allow the hospital to form a state-of-the-art rehab facility and also help its concussion, injury prevention and nutrition programs as well as help fund the hospital’s sports teams for children with disabilities.
“I can’t really put into words what it means to me and my family to have our family’s name on the sports medicine program and next to one of the most legendary athletes of all time, Mr. Joe DiMaggio,” Barkov said in a speech at the hospital ahead of a party for about 50 pediatric patients and their families. “As a kid in Finland, I dreamed of playing an NHL, but I never could have dreamed about this moment.”
It’s the latest way Barkov will leave a lasting legacy in South Florida off the ice in addition to everything he does for the Panthers on the ice. The 30-year-old center is one of the NHL’s top players. He won the Selke Trophy as the league’s best defensive forward three times, including each of the past two seasons. He owns just about every notable Panthers franchise record for a skater. He has been their captain since 2019. And he has been at the center of the team’s first two Stanley Cup championships the past two years.
But Barkov is more than just a hockey player. What he has done — and will continue to do — for Joe DiMaggio’s exemplifies that.
“He’s selfless,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “He thinks of other people and other players first before himself. You see it in the way he plays the game, and for all of us that are lucky enough to work with him every day, you can see and how he treats you and how he treats me. He is special.”
The relationship began on Feb. 17, 2019, after Barkov scored a hat trick against the Montreal Canadiens. He was awarded $1,000 from an NHL sponsor to donate to a charity of his choice. After consulting with his agent, Todd Diamond, Barkov decided on Joe DiMaggio’s.
“As I learned more about this amazing place, I decided I wanted to be part of it and hoped that they would accept my outreach,” Barkov said. “I am happy to confirm that they did.”
The following season, Barkov’s support came on a consistent basis. He donates $1,600 for every goal scored (for the No. 16 he wears for the Panthers) and $800 for every assist.
But his impact goes beyond the dollars.
He visits the children regularly. He plays games with them (air hockey is a staple), goes into their rooms, takes pictures, helps them through the tough times.
“The world knows Sasha as an elite athlete,” Kelley Morris, the president of Joe DiMaggio Children Hospital and Memorial Foundations, said. “Here at Joe DiMaggio, we know him differently. We know him from his heart, and we are incredibly grateful to Sasha for his generosity.”
Barkov said he has been discussing making this significant donation for some time now but “as fate would have it,” the announcement and official work was delayed because of an injury of his own.
Barkov has not been able to play for the Panthers this season while rehabbing from surgery to repair the ACL and MCL in his right knee following an injury in training camp.
He said the injury this season, and the “hundreds of hours” in his career that he spent with the Panthers’ sports therapists and orthopedic surgeons, gave him perspective on the importance of sports medicine and wanted to push that forward at Joe DiMaggio’s.
“Obviously, the years that I’ve been here working with Joe DiMaggio’s has been amazing, but this is a next step that I never even dreamed about,” Barkov said. “So I’m very honored, very just very thankful and very happy to be doing this.”
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Miami Herald
Jordan McPherson covers the Miami Hurricanes and Florida Panthers for the Miami Herald. He attended the University of Florida and covered the Gators athletic program for five years before joining the Herald staff in December 2017.