Montreal Canadians' P.K. Subban Gives $10 Million To Montreal Children's Hospital

By Aaron Brophy 9/16/15 | www.samaritanmag.com

Montreal Canadians hockey player P.K. Subban is giving $10 million to the Montreal Children's Hospital in what's being called the largest philanthropic commitment ever made by a professional athlete in Canada.

Subban, a multiple-time all-star defenceman and Olympic gold medal-winner for Canada, has played his entire National Hockey League career in Montreal and cited the late Jean Béliveau, a companion of the Order of Canada and the person with the most Stanley Cup championships to his name as both a player and executive, as the inspiration for his decision.

"It is really an amazing feeling to be here," said P.K. Subban in a press release. "I am proud to walk in the footsteps of my idol Jean Béliveau by giving back to the community and feel privileged to be able to help transform the lives of sick children and their families."

Although Subban is a highly paid professional athlete (he's fifth in salary in the NHL behind only Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin), his $10 million commitment still represent a massive amount. The 25-year-old signed his most recent eight-year contract in August 2014, which guaranteed him $9 million per season, $72 million total until the 2021-22 NHL season. That's nearly 14 per cent of his earnings over the lifetime of his contract.

"P.K. is a person of character, who strives for success, always working at new ways to stay on top of his game and he understands the value of teamwork," said Martine Alfonso, Associate Executive Director of the Montreal Children’s Hospital. "He is an outstanding role model for our patients and personifies the excellence for which the Children's is world-renowned."

In return for Subban's commitment the hospital officially renamed its atrium 'Atrium P.K. Subban' to recognize him.

"Seeing my name in the atrium gave me goosebumps!" Subban tweeted along with a photo of the atrium unveiling. "It's an honor to be able to partner with #MontrealChildrensHospital."

In addition, Subban will also join the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation (MCHF) Board of Directors as well as create P.K.’s Helping Hand, a fund dedicated to assisting vulnerable families financially devastated by a child.s illness.

"A lot of people don’t realize that having a sick child often means one parent has to stop working, and it becomes tough to make ends meet," said Subban.  "P.K.’s Helping Hand is dedicated to making sure that these parents don't have to worry about paying for necessities like food and medicine and can instead focus on what’s most important: helping their child get well."

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