Claim:

In August 2025, NHL star Connor McDavid donated $12.9 million in bonuses and sponsorship earnings to establish homeless support centers in Edmonton, Alberta.

Rating:

A rumor that circulated online in August 2025 claimed that NHL star Connor McDavid had donated $12.9 million in bonuses and sponsorship earnings to establish homeless support centers in Edmonton, Alberta, the home of his Edmonton Oilers. Snopes readers emailed us and searched the website to ask whether the rumor was true.

For example, on Aug. 9, the Facebook page Orange Line Legends posted (archived) the story, receiving more than 98,000 reactions. The post displayed a picture of McDavid giving a thumbs up next to photos of two houses, presumably the supposed homeless support shelters. 

The story began, "BREAKING NEWS: Canadian hockey star Connor McDavid has donated his entire $12.9 million bonus and sponsorship earnings to fund a series of homeless support centers in Edmonton, home of the Edmonton Oilers."

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=122143087958783312&set=a.122110465952783312

Other Facebook users also shared the same claim. Some of those posts featured links in top comments leading to articles hosted by advertisement-filled WordPress blogs.

However, we found no evidence supporting the claim that McDavid had donated that amount to establish homeless centers in Edmonton. Searches of Bing, DuckDuckGo, Google and Yahoo found no news media outlets reporting about McDavid's supposed donation. Prominent news media outlets would have widely reported this story, if true.

Rather, the person or people who authored the story fabricated the entire tale as one of hundreds of inspirational tales that depicted celebrities and athletes performing inspiring acts of kindness. They aimed to earn advertising revenue on websites linked from the aforementioned Facebook posts. The story about McDavid amounted to fiction.

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An examination of the Orange Line Legends page's stories found multiple indications of artificial intelligence-generated images and text. For example, an Aug. 2 post on the page claimed that Tesla CEO Elon Musk had threatened to ban NHL players from buying Teslas if the Oilers did not partner with him. Signs of AI featured in the photo included Musk holding a sign that misspelled the name of his own car company as "Testa."

Snopes contacted a manager of the Orange Line Legends Facebook page to ask about the fictional stories displayed on the feed, and will update this story if we receive more information.

These stories all very much resembled glurge, which Dictionary.com defines as "stories, often sent by email, that are supposed to be true and uplifting, but which are often fabricated and sentimental."

For further reading, Snopes has covered several claims about former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning's supposed good deeds.

Sources:

"Dictionary.Com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words." Dictionary.Com, https://www.dictionary.com/browse/glurge. Accessed 12 Aug. 2025.

Emery, Bond Huberman, David. "Snopestionary: What Does 'Glurge' Mean?" Snopes, 21 Aug. 2021, https://www.snopes.com//articles/363643/what-does-glurge-mean/.

Lee, David Emery, Jessica. "4 Tips for Spotting AI-Generated Pics." Snopes, 16 Apr. 2023, https://www.snopes.com//articles/464595/artificial-intelligence-media-literacy/.

Wrona, Aleksandra. "9 Claims We've Fact-Checked about Peyton Manning." Snopes, 26 Jul. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//collections/peyton-manning-claims-collection/.

Claim:

In August 2025, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth donated $12.9 million to a series of homeless support centers in his hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Rating:

In August 2025, a rumor spread online that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth donated $12.9 million in bonuses and sponsorship earnings to homeless support centers in his hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Snopes readers also searched for information about the claim on our website.

For example, one Facebook page said that Hegseth's donation would support the creation of housing units and shelter beds:

BREAKING NEWS: Fox News host Pete Hegseth has donated his entire $12.9 million bonus and sponsorship earnings to fund a series of homeless support centers in Minneapolis, his hometown. The initiative will help create 150 housing units and 300 shelter beds for those in need. "I've seen people trying to survive the brutal Minnesota winters without a roof over their heads, and I promised myself that if I ever had the chance, I'd step up," Hegseth said during an emotional press conference. "No one should have to sleep outside in that kind of cold."

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=122119786838931510&set=a.122094519902931510

The top comment on the post, which had amassed more than 6,800 shares as of this writing, linked to an advertisement-filled article that repeated the claim. The site stated:

For Hegseth, this isn't just about charity — it's about dignity, compassion, and taking real action where it matters most. His donation will fully fund the first phase of the Minneapolis Shelter & Hope Initiative, a multi-year project partnering with local non-profits, housing authorities, and faith-based organizations to tackle homelessness from multiple angles: housing, job training, mental health services, and addiction recovery programs.

It also quoted Hegseth as saying: "I've seen people trying to survive the brutal Minnesota winters without a roof over their heads ... I promised myself years ago that if I ever had the chance, I'd step up. And today, I can finally do that. No one should have to sleep outside in that kind of cold."

Other examples of the rumor appeared elsewhere on Facebook, where one post had amassed more than 76,000 reactions as of this writing.

However, there was no evidence supporting the rumor and there was no independent news coverage of the donation that, if it were authentic, would have been widely covered by the news media. As such, we have rated this claim as false.

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Undo

Snopes reached out to the Department of Defense for comment. We will update this post if we get more information.

A Google news search produced no evidence of Hegseth ever making the above statement, while another search uncovered zero results suggesting that the "Minneapolis Shelter & Hope Initiative" referenced in the article was real. It was also not possible to find any YouTube videos of the news conference that the article claimed was where the defense secretary made the above statement.

The story spread as U.S. President Donald Trump announced a "crime emergency" in Washington, D.C., and as he deployed the National Guard in the capital, an action that some fear would put homeless people behind bars. During a Fox News interview on Aug. 11, Hegseth described how the National Guard would assist local law enforcement in moving homeless tents. When asked (at the 5:25 time stamp) if he knew where the people would go, he said: "That's not really my lane. Our job is to stand alongside law enforcement."

As we've reported before, such stories resemble glurge, which Dictionary.com defines as "stories, often sent by email, that are supposed to be true and uplifting, but which are often fabricated and sentimental." Such stories aim to earn advertising revenue on websites linked to from Facebook posts.

This is not the first time a rumor has spread connecting such a donation to a famous person. Snopes has also reported on the false claim that ice hockey star Connor McDavid donated $12.9 million for homeless centers in the Canadian city of Edmonton, Alberta.

Sources:

"Glurge." Dictionary.Com, https://www.dictionary.com/browse/glurge. Accessed 13 Aug. 2025.

Ibrahim, Nur. "Trump Said DC Police Can 'Do Whatever the Hell They Want.'" Snopes, 12 Aug. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/trump-dc-police-whatever-they-want/. Accessed 13 Aug. 2025.

Izzo, Jack. "NHL Star Connor McDavid Donated $12.9M for Homeless Centers?" Snopes, 12 Aug. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/homeless-centers-donation-nhl-connor-mcdavid/. Accessed 13 Aug. 2025.

Mann, Brian. "Advocates Fear Trump's Crackdown in D.C. Will Put Many Homeless People behind Bars." NPR, 13 Aug. 2025. NPR, https://www.npr.org/2025/08/13/nx-s1-5500538/trump-crackdown-dc-homeless-advocates-jail. Accessed 13 Aug. 2025.

'Trump's "Got the Guts" to Do This: Pete Hegseth | Fox News Video'. Fox News, 11 Aug. 2025, https://www.foxnews.com/video/6376809414112.

YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0eIBKohvOE. Accessed 13 Aug. 2025.

EDMONTON – The Edmonton Oilers know the importance of goaltending.

If it's in the game, then it's in the video game.

That's always been EA SPORTS' motto when it comes to its popular NHL video game franchise. And this year's edition, NHL26, is no exception.

A year ago, EA Sports introduced ICE-Q, a game play intelligence system that brought more realism and authenticity to a gaming controller. EA SPORTS has taken it up a notch this year by "incorporating the data-driven insights of NHL EDGE to impact how players perform in-game" for NHL 26, which comes out on Sept. 5.

For example, not every player in the video game will be able to skate like Connor McDavid, because, well, no one in real-life hockey can skate like McDavid. The same is true when talking about Alex Ovechkin's one-timer, Mitch Marner's passing ability or Leon Draisaitl's knack for scoring goal-line goals.

These X-Factors, as EA SPORTS describes them, is what separates the superstar from the 4th-line grinder.

With that in mind, The Hockey News' Ryan Kennedy (editor-in-chief) and former NHLer Drew Shore shared their picks for a range of X-Factors, including Quick Release, Backhand Beauty and Tape-to-Tape:

Quick Release

(Get shots off lightning quick with an extra fast shot release)

Chicago's Connor Bedard only scored 23 goals last season, but his ability to get shots off in traffic is why he potted a whopping 134 goals in 134 games in the WHL. "Since junior, he's got that crazy whippiness to his stick and he really gets it off fast," said Kennedy.

Another player who can get shots off in the blink of an eye is Winnipeg's Kyle Connor, who ranks sixth in the league with 217 combined goals in the past six years. "He's a guy who's scored a lot of goals in the last couple of years," said Shore. "He's the first name that came to my head."

Elite Edges

(Shake off opponents with explosive edge work)

Edmonton's Connor McDavid might seem like the obvious pick when it comes to all things that have to do with skating. But these days, McDavid has company when it comes to edge work and beating guys with his feet.

"I'll go with Cale Makar, who I guess is pretty obvious as well," said Kennedy. "He's an absolute elite skater in the NHL."

"William Nylander came to my head," said Shore. "He's a guy who's a very good skater, he's very elusive, he's able to kind of do a lot of that 10-and-2 and open up his hips in different spots on the ice and get away from guys."

Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk Revealed As EA Sports NHL 26 Cover Athlete Florida Panthers superstar forward Matthew Tkachuk has been revealed as EA Sports’ NHL 26 cover athlete, becoming the first Panther to grace the cover since John Vanbiesbrouck on NHL 97.

One T

(Become the ultimate threat with increased one-timer shot power and accuracy)

The ability to blast a one-timer is a skill that can strike fear into opposing goalies and make defensemen think twice about blocking a shot. Just ask Washington's Alex Ovechkin, who broke Wayne Gretzky's seemingly unbeatable record for career goals this past season mostly because of his patented one-timer from the left face-off circle.

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"I've got to go with Alex Ovechkin, in his office, even in the twilight of his career," said Kennedy.

"That was mine too," said Shore. "Obviously, he's been doing it for 25 years now. He's scored more goals there than anybody."

As for the next generation of big-time slappers, Edmonton's Evan Bouchard scored a combined 32 goals in the past two seasons — mostly, because of a point shot that gets called the "Bouch Bomb".

Backhand Beauty

(Catch opposing players and goalies off guard)

The backhand is a work of art, something that is increasingly more difficult to pull off these days because players are choosing to warp their blades like the shape of a banana. Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, whose blade is as straight as they come, has long been the master of this shot.

"Oh yeah, it's Sid," said Kennedy.

"(Nikita) Kucherov might make the most plays in the NHL on his backhand," said Shore, "He might not necessarily score. I would say Crosby is the goal-scorer, but the amount of plays that Kucherov makes every single game on his backhand, when I think of backhands, I think of Kucherov."

Send It

(Spring your teammates by enhancing that pass receiver with a temporary boost of acceleration)

The breakout pass determines whether a team can exit its zone. And, more importantly, whether they exit with speed. A lot of that depends on having a defenseman who can find a forward in motion and hit him in stride with an outlet pass like a quarterback hitting a wide receiver.

"I'm going to go with Evan Bouchard," said Kennedy. "Going back to his draft year, I remember scouts telling me he was the best at stretch passes in the (draft) class. Now he's got McDavid and (Leon) Draisaitl to stretch it to, which is pretty good for him."

"I was going to go with (Cale) Makar," said Shore. "He's kind of got the (skating) ability too that gives him a little extra room on the ice, because guys are afraid of getting beat 1-on-1 … he obviously has more time than others to make those passes. And he executes them on a high level."

Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk Joined By Brother And Father On Deluxe Edition Of EA Sports NHL 26 On Monday, Florida Panthers superstar winger Matthew Tkachuk was announced as the EA Sports NHL 26 cover athlete, becoming the first Panther to grace the cover since John Vanbiesbrouck on NHL 97.

Tape to Tape

(Feather saucer passes and make snappy passes in and out of vision)

Passes don't get the same level of attention as a goal. But without someone making a tape-to-tape pass, most goals wouldn't get scored. For each of the past two seasons, no one has picked up more assists than Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov, who tied Connor McDavid two years ago with 100 assists.

"When Stamkos was on that power play, the two of them were absolutely lethal. But I do marvel at some of the passes that Kucherov manages to get through on the other side of the ice."

Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele was outside the top-30 when it came to assists. But it's difficult to talk about Kyle Connor's goal-scoring ability without also mentioning the player who feeds him the puck most of the time.

"His ability, especially on the power play, to have that sauce pass to whoever is in the bumper spot I think has contributed to most of his spots over the course of his career," said Shore.