Aleksander Barkov’s trophy case keeps getting bigger.
On Monday, the Florida Panthers captain was announced as the winner of the Selke Trophy and the King Clancy Memorial Trophy.
The center was recently surprised with the awards at the Panthers’ practice facility in Fort Lauderdale by children from Joe DiMaggio’s Children’s Hospital, which is in Hollywood, Florida.
“Thank you for winning all these games, and I’m so proud of you guys and we just want to give Barkov a gift,” Caden, one of the kids, said. “Bring in the gift!”
Barkov was then handed the King Clancy Trophy for his leadership and contribution in the community.
“Thank you guys,” Barkov says in a video of the trophy presentation. “I know I don’t have much time right now to see you guys at the hospital so we really appreciate you guys coming here. We love giving back to you.”
But the surprises didn’t end there.
A table with the Selke Trophy was then wheeled in, marking the second straight season and third time in five Barkov won the award as the best defensive forward in the NHL.
“I wasn’t really expecting that,” Barkov said Monday. “It was very nicely done. I really really was out of words there. I didn’t know what to say. But really thankful for that kind of surprise and bringing the kids from Joe DiMaggio to announce it. It was great, for sure remember that for the rest of my life.
“It was nice. Obviously now it’s a busy time for us during this time of the year so we don’t have much time to visit them so it was really nice of them to be able to come here and for the people who organized that to bring them here and just show themselves and present the awards, it was really nice.”
Barkov, who wears No. 16, has donated $1,600 for every goal and $800 for every assist he has scored to the children’s hospital, a leading pediatric hospital that supports children with cancer, blood disorders, heart transplants, emergency care, and rehabilitation. The total has amassed $420,000 since 2019.
“There’s a connection there [with the kids]. And it so fits his personality that it’s done quietly,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “He’s got a connection to that hospital and those kids, but that connection’s not on a website every day. It’s not a photo op for Sasha. That’s not what that’s all about. That’s just the way he is. So he would enjoy that. I think he enjoyed it, especially having the kids there to present it to him. It was a fun day for him.”
His contributions have helped fund their state-of-the-art playroom, as well as an expansion of their facility, allowing them to treat more complex and critical conditions. His support also includes frequent hospital visits where he plays video games, does arts and crafts, and plays air hockey with kids who are too ill to leave the facility. Barkov participates in an annual holiday visit to help lift the spirits of the kids and their families. And this past offseason, he brought the Stanley Cup to the hospital, sharing the achievement with the community he refers to as his family.
He also donates a suite at Amerant Bank Arena each season to the hospital for kids, families, doctors, nurses and staff to enjoy a game.
“During my first visit, I didn’t speak English too well. I saw everything going on — how incredible the healthcare workers are, and how special the kids are — but I couldn’t really say anything. Now, I’ve gotten more comfortable with talking. I get to connect with the staff, the kids, and their families. I do what I can to give these kids a reason to smile,” Barkov wrote in a special essay for NHL.com.
Barkov will receive a $25,000 donation from the National Hockey League to benefit a charity or charities of his choice. In addition, the Panthers are eligible to receive a grant of up to $20,000 from the NHL, as directed by Barkov, to organize a special activation related to his humanitarian cause.
“It’s a big honor to get that. Obviously it’s for something you do off the ice as well and for me it’s very important to do that kind of stuff, especially with the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, obviously kids, but at the same time all the workers that work there they’re doing an amazing job there,” Barkov said.”So I’m really happy and honored to be able to help in some way. And to get that award is very important for me, so I’m really thankful for that.”
Each NHL team nominated a player for the King Clancy Trophy. The winner was chosen by a selection committee consisting of Commissioner Gary Bettman as well as former winners of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy and the historic NHL Foundation Player Award.
“He’s our leader on the ice and he’s our leader off the ice as well,” forward Sam Bennett said. “He just sets the perfect example for everyone, especially young guys coming in, a guy to look up to. There’s no better player to look up to than ‘Barky.’ He just does all the little things right, works so hard and obviously his charitable contributions are unmatched.
“He really is just the perfect human.”
Barkov had 71 points (20 goals, 51 assists) in 67 regular-season games and ranked second among Florida Panthers forwards with 20:15 of ice time per game, including 3:17 on the power play and 1:31 on the penalty kill. The 29-year-old won 56.5 percent of face-offs (580 of 1,026), was second on the team in takeaways (34) and tied for third among forwards on the team with 54 blocked shots. Barkov led the Panthers and was tied for fifth in the NHL (minimum 40 games played) in shot attempts percentage, with Florida taking 59.3 percent of all attempts when he was on the ice at 5-on-5.
A Selke finalist in four of the past five seasons, Barkov captured the award for the third time, following wins in 2020-21 and 2023-24. He joins Patrice Bergeron, Pavel Datsyuk and Rod Brind’Amour as back-to-back winners in the past quarter-century. Barkov appeared on 173 of the 191 ballots and was the top choice on 96 for 1,363 voting points.
He helped the Panthers (47-31-4) finish third in the Atlantic Division and clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the sixth straight season. With Barkov leading the way, the Panthers ranked among the NHL’s top 10 teams in goals-against per game (7th, 2.72), penalty-killing percentage (10th, 80.7 percent) and shots-against per game (5th, 26.2). He ranked fourth among NHL forwards in the puck possession metric SAT% (59.3%), with Florida accounting for 59.3% of all shot attempts 5-on-5 when Barkov was on the ice.
Barkov, who finished ahead of finalist teammate Sam Reinhart and Tampa Bay Lightning center Anthony Cirelli in the Selke voting, has his sights set on another trophy. He and the Panthers seek their second straight Stanley Cup championship when they take on the Edmonton Oilers in the Cup Final beginning in Edmonton on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; SN, CBC, TVAS, TNT, truTV, MAX).
Barkov is leading the Panthers with 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in 17 playoff games.
“For now, if I have an opportunity to do something good, I don’t think about it too much,” Barkov said. “I just do it. But there is one thing I know for sure … If we win the Cup again, I’m definitely bringing it back to Joe DiMaggio’s Children’s Hospital.”
NHL.com senior writer Amalie Benjamin contributed to this report
2024-25 Selke Trophy Voting
Pts (1st-2nd-3rd-4th-5th)
(10-7-5-3-1 points allocation)
1. Aleksander Barkov, FLA 1363 (96-31-28-14-4)
2. Sam Reinhart, FLA 837 (29-36-42-24-13)
3. Anthony Cirelli, TBL 828 (29-49-21-25-15)
4. Nico Hischier, NJD 477 (11-19-30-21-21)
5. Jack Eichel, VGK 256 (5-12-12-16-14)
6. Leon Draisaitl, EDM 235 (1-18-11-11-11)
7. Mitch Marner, TOR 177 (3-5-12-10-22)
8. Anze Kopitar, LAK 125 (2-3-7-11-16)
9. Brandon Hagel, TBL 115 (3-5-4-7-9)
10. Adam Lowry, WPG 115 (3-4-4-9-10)
11. Jordan Staal, CAR 108 (5-1-3-8-12)
12. Seth Jarvis, CAR 96 (2-2-3-12-11)
13. Nick Suzuki, MTL 28 (0-1-2-2-5)
14. Auston Matthews, TOR 22 (1-0-2-0-2)
15. Alex Tuch, BUF 20 (0-1-0-3-4)
16. Marcus Foligno, MIN 19 (1-0-1-1-1)
17. Phillip Danault, LAK 17 (0-1-1-1-2)
18. Vincent Trocheck, NYR 13 (0-0-2-1-0)
19. Mark Stone, VGK 11 (0-1-0-1-1)
20. Sebastian Aho, CAR 10 (0-0-2-0-0)
21. Robert Thomas, STL 10 (0-0-1-1-2)
22. Aliaksei Protas, WSH 9 (0-0-0-2-3)
23. Pierre-Luc Dubois, WSH 8 (0-1-0-0-1)
24. Joel Eriksson Ek, MIN 8 (0-0-1-1-0)
25. Claude Giroux, OTT 7 (0-1-0-0-0)
t-26. Warren Foegele, LAK 6 (0-0-0-2-0)
t-26. Dylan Holloway, STL 6 (0-0-0-2-0)
t-26. Brayden Point, TBL 6 (0-0-0-2-0)
t-29. Nathan MacKinnon, COL 5 (0-0-1-0-0)
t-29. Logan O’Connor, COL 5 (0-0-1-0-0)
t-31. Sidney Crosby, PIT 3 (0-0-0-1-0)
t-31. Bo Horvat, NYI 3 (0-0-0-1-0)
t-31. Elias Lindholm, BOS 3 (0-0-0-1-0)
t-31. Sean Monahan, CBJ 3 (0-0-0-1-0)
35. Mikael Backlund, CGY 3 (0-0-0-0-3)
36. Nic Dowd, WSH 2 (0-0-0-0-2)
t-37. Quinton Byfield, LAK 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
t-37. Roope Hintz, DAL 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
t-37. Jordan Kyrou, STL 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
t-37. Anton Lundell, FLA 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
t-37. Ilya Mikheyev, CHI 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
t-37. Evan Rodrigues, FLA 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
t-37. Pius Suter, VAN 1 (0-0-0-0-1)
