The NHL has received a lot of backlash over an odd moment during the Stadium Series matchup between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins.
The moment came when USF athletics CEO Rob Higgins, a cancer survivor, was brought to the ice to attempt a shot toward a small opening in the net from center ice.
If Higgins made the shot, the NHL would make $1 million in cancer research donations.
If he missed, the donations would total $200,000.
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It was not an easy make by any means, and so Higgins didn’t slot the puck into the opening.
That meant the donation was 80% smaller than it could’ve been.
Social media was not happy.
This was absolutely out of touch, just classless. Lowering a $1 million charity donation by $800,000 because a cancer survivor missed a tiny, impossible target? Live on TV like that? The NHL should’ve built the widest net and asked dozens of survivors to score symbolically 🤢🤮 https://t.co/wD7E3nNlnF
— nina ✨ (@flpantinhas) February 2, 2026
im genuinely baffled anyone thought this was a good idea https://t.co/yn0C3IsHjp
— Rebound (@OilersRebound) February 2, 2026
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Higgins, for his part, showed gratitude in a social media post of his own:
A huge THANK YOU to the @TBLightning & @NHL for this amazing honor & for donating $100k to the following charities:
⚡️USF Health
⚡️USF Stampede for Women
⚡️Moffitt
⚡️Coaching Love
⚡️Coop’s CatchPlus another surprise $100k to Moffitt!
And with that, my hockey career (which… https://t.co/lx23paGhB0
— Rob Higgins (@RHiggins_USF) February 2, 2026
It’s certainly solid of the NHL to make such a donation.
But it is also odd that they framed it in this way, essentially leaving charitable money on the table and making the whole thing feel a little convoluted.
