Panthers sign Canadian singer Michael Buble - for a cancer fund-raising cause
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Panthers have signed Canadian singer Michael Buble — for a good cause.
Buble, a five-time Grammy-winning pop icon, has signed on to be part of the team's fundraising efforts for the American Cancer Society.
The 'Panthers on the Prowl' initiative
combines art and philanthropy to support cancer research and patient services, and donors get the chance to sponsor life-sized panther sculptures that will be placed around South Florida.
The program is the brainchild of Panthers hockey operations president and general manager Bill Zito and his wife Julie Zito.
''Panthers on the Prowl' is a creative and really cool and uplifting way to demonstrate and show our support for those people that are suffering, so we can generate the much-needed funding to keep this fight going,' Buble said. 'Cancer touches all of us, my family, friends, yours, neighbors, everyone. I joined my buddy Bill Zito and the Florida Panthers and all of our NHL hockey community because I want to be part of the solution.'
The program formally launched in March and has been backed by famed artist Romero Britto along with NFL players — and South Florida natives — Nick Bosa and Joey Bosa, among others.
Julie Zito is a cancer survivor, Bill Zito lost his mother and sister to cancer, and the Zito family recently lost a close friend to cancer as well. The couple got the inspiration for the artwork element of the initiative from the Cows on Parade public art project in Chicago; donors to the Panthers' project can decorate their panther statuette in any way they'd like.
The team is hoping to raise at least $1 million.
'It's in all of our families and all of our friendships,' said Zito, who joined the Panthers in 2020. 'It makes me more determined not to achieve a goal for the goal's sake, but to achieve a goal to bring people together.'
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They wouldn't be in the thick of the Stanley Cup Final again if not for Evan Bouchard's heroics late in the first round and subsequent play, or a couple of monster performances from Evander Kane, or Kasperi Kapanen's overtime winner to knock out the Vegas Golden Knights, or Skinner's three shutouts. The way their defense stepped up without Mattias Ekholm — a regular swing dog — was crucial to them winning three rounds. For the last four games, they've been carrying on without winger Zach Hyman, another swing-dog candidate. Advertisement 'It's just like the dogs,' Campeau said. 'If one of your main leaders went down, someone from the back of the team might step up and fill that role. 'If you had one dog that wasn't fully pulling, the team wasn't running efficiently.' Campeau expressed the importance of relying on your teammates during his April conversation with the team. There are times, he said, when he's been racing amid whiteouts and couldn't see a thing, so he'd have to trust his dogs to guide the way for up to 200 miles without him making a single command. 'With the team, it's about trusting that guy beside you and finding a different level,' Campeau said. The Oilers have certainly relied on everyone. They've used 14 forwards and nine defensemen. Twenty of those 23 skaters have scored a goal in the playoffs. Both goaltenders have contributed at least six wins. Knoblauch said Wednesday there will likely be a lineup change for the pivotal Game 4 as the Oilers look to even the series. Whether that's Troy Stecher replacing John Klingberg, Jeff Skinner coming in for the banged-up Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Calvin Pickard getting the start in net, the team's approach won't change. 'Everyone's got a role to play. It's about everyone,' said winger Trent Frederic, who returned from an ankle injury for the start of the playoffs. 'You've just got to hop in the pack and run with it and pull your part.' They'll be drawing on inspiration from Campeau, whose dog sledding days didn't end after he nearly died in that 2018 race. He wouldn't go out like that. He competed in his third Iditarod the following year. 'I loved the challenge,' Campeau said. 'The harder it got, the more I liked it.' Campeau's dog sledding career is on hiatus right now. He was training a young team to compete a couple of years ago until he suffered another major concussion, the result of a head-on car collision in Southern Alberta. He aims to run Iditarod again, and he plans to win. 'That's life,' he said. 'You face challenges. You're going to get knocked down many times. When you face adversity, you can't let it define you.' Advertisement Campeau has been around the Oilers intermittently throughout the playoffs, depending on his duties at his ranch, located a 30-minute drive west of Rocky Mountain House, Alta. He was in Edmonton for the start of the Final, didn't travel to Florida but will be back in the Alberta capital for Game 5. Maybe, just maybe, he'll be able to witness the Oilers winning the Stanley Cup soon, after his speech sparked their playoff slogan. 'I take pride in being just a small little part, but I love the message,' Campeau said. 'As far as this team goes, you can tell that they're destined. 'I just see the drive and the passion from the top down. It's incredible.' (Top photo of Jason Campeau at 2019 Iditarod: Courtesy of Jason Campeau)
