Florida Panthers sign Canadian singer Michael Buble - for a cancer fund-raising cause
The Florida Panthers have signed Canadian singer Michael Buble — for a good cause.
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Buble, a five-time Grammy-winning pop icon from Burnaby, B.C., 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.
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The program is the brainchild of Panthers hockey operations president and general manager Bill Zito and his wife Julie Zito.
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''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.'
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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.
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Little separating Oilers, Panthers in razor-thin Stanley Cup final ahead of Game 3
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Florida responded two nights later when Brad Marchand took advantage of a funny hop in the defensive zone before receiving a breakaway pass to seal a 5-4 double OT triumph. Playing in his fourth Cup final after winning in 2011 with the Boston Bruins and losing in both 2013 and 2019, Marchand said there's zero room for error through 8 1/2 periods of hockey. 'You can't make any mistakes,' the veteran forward said at the Panthers' practice facility in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 'It's very tight out there. It's been a battle. Very intense.' So what's it like being part of a game and a series — with so much hanging in the balance — where one moment can change everything? 'It's fun,' Oilers centre Adam Henrique said as the teams prepped for Monday's Game 3. 'This is the time of year you want to be playing. It's a grind and a challenge to get here. Every shift matters so much because it might be a 1-0 game and a 2-1 game, and those mistakes could either cost you or pay dividends for you. 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'You just can't let one (lost) battle lead to another battle because that's when things are going to hurt.' Draisaitl said the razor-thin margins — eight goals apiece, not much room to operate, big saves, big goals and chances at both ends — shouldn't come as a surprise. 'Gone the distance and extra,' he said. 'Two really good teams going at it. You have to stay detailed and know that all those little bounces matter.' Edmonton head coach Kris Knoblauch said the smallest details could make the difference for a pair of clubs at the top of their crafts. 'Not taking anything for granted,' he said of the message to his group. 'Whether that's extending a shift or not getting the puck out, not getting the puck in, not finishing your checks … it all adds up.' The final tally will likely decide the team hoisting hockey's holy grail. 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