The King Clancy Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community.
Since the award was established in 1988, no player has won it more than once.
The winner is chosen by "a special panel of representatives" from the Professional Hockey Writers' Association (PHWA) and the NHL Broadcasters' Association.
History[]
The trophy is named in honour of Francis M. "King" Clancy, a former player for the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs who later went on to become a coach, referee, and team executive.
The trophy was first awarded in 1988, and was presented to the NHL by Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard, who called Clancy "one of the greatest humanitarians that ever lived".
It honors similar community service as the Charlie Conacher Humanitarian Award which was retired in 1984.
Five teams have had more than one player win the award.
Three Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, and Boston Bruins have each won the award with Ray Bourque & Dave Poulin winning the award in consecutive years for the same team for the only time in the award's history.
Two New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings have also won the award.
Players from the seven different Canadian teams have won this trophy on 11 of the 27 occasions that it has been awarded, with three members each from the Oilers and Flames, as well as one each from the (Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, and Winnipeg Jets).
Winners[]
| Season | Winner | Team | Player's humanitarian contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987–88 | Lanny McDonald | Calgary Flames | Supporter of numerous charities in Toronto and Calgary. |
| 1988–89 | Bryan Trottier | New York Islanders | Worked with numerous charities, including the Special Olympics, the Long Island "Just Say No to Drugs" program, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. |
| 1989–90 | Kevin Lowe | Edmonton Oilers | Although very busy as a player and with the NHLPA, he was made the honorary Chairman of the Edmonton City Christmas Bureau, a charity which fed needy persons. |
| 1990–91 | Dave Taylor | Los Angeles Kings | Did a lot of charity work with his team, and also assisted persons with speech impediments as he had previously overcome one. |
| 1991–92 | Ray Bourque | Boston Bruins | Involved in numerous charities; he was most notably the honourable Chairman for Boston's Floating Hospital for Infants and Children. |
| 1992–93 | Dave Poulin | Boston Bruins | Spent a lot of time helping charities; he was Co-Chairman of the March of Dimes "Walk for Life" fundraiser. |
| 1993–94 | Adam Graves | New York Rangers | Was previously recognized by his team and city for his extensive community work. He most notably served as Celebrity Chairman of New York's Family Dynamic program, a charity which assists abused children. |
| 1994–95 | Joe Nieuwendyk | Calgary Flames | Was the captain of the Flames, and was leader in most of the Flames' charitable and humanitarian efforts. |
| 1995–96 | Kris King | Winnipeg Jets | Was the Jets' captain as well as a major participant in various charitable organizations. |
| 1996–97 | Trevor Linden | Vancouver Canucks | Started a program called the "Captain's Crew", which allowed underprivileged children to attend games in a private suite as his guest. |
| 1997–98 | Kelly Chase | St. Louis Blues | Heavily involved with the Gateway Project which helped mentally challenged children get involved in various sports. |
| 1998–99 | Rob Ray | Buffalo Sabres | Involved with many charities, including the March of Dimes, the Make-a-Wish Foundation, Walk America and the Roswell Park Cancer Institute and Children's hospital. |
| 1999–2000 | Curtis Joseph | Toronto Maple Leafs | Worked mainly with sick children; he started "Cujo's Kids", which placed children with illnesses in a luxury suite at a Leafs game; also created "Cujo's Crease", a special room in the Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto which resembled the Leafs' dressing room. |
| 2000–01 | Shjon Podein | Colorado Avalanche | Founded the Shjon Podein Children's Foundation which assists sick and underprivileged children. |
| 2001–02 | Ron Francis | Carolina Hurricanes | Involved in a program with Duke Children's Hospital in Durham, North Carolina that helps children. |
| 2002–03 | Brendan Shanahan | Detroit Red Wings | Started a program that assists with the purchase and installation of smoke detectors for low-income households. |
| 2003–04 | Jarome Iginla | Calgary Flames | Involved in all of the Flames' community programs, and donated 1,000 dollars for every goal he scored. |
| 2004–05 (Not awarded due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout) | Template:Sort dash | Template:Sort dash | Template:Sort dash |
| 2005–06 | Olaf Kolzig | Washington Capitals | Co-founded "Athletes against Autism" after discovering that his son, Carson, had autism; also involved with numerous other charities. |
| 2006–07 | Saku Koivu | Montreal Canadiens | After recovering from cancer, he founded the Saku Koivu Foundation in 2002, which had raised around 2.5 million dollars when Koivu was awarded. |
| 2007–08 | Vincent Lecavalier | Tampa Bay Lightning | Work with the Vincent Lecavalier Foundation. |
| 2008–09 | Ethan Moreau | Edmonton Oilers | Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation’s (EOCF) Inner City High School project. |
| 2009–10 | Shane Doan | Phoenix Coyotes | Involved in numerous Phoenix-area charities. |
| 2010–11 | Doug Weight | New York Islanders | |
| 2011–12 | Daniel Alfredsson | Ottawa Senators | Over his 15 seasons with the Senators, Alfredsson has contributed to many local charities and causes, becoming a staple in the community. |
| 2012–13 | Patrice Bergeron | Boston Bruins | The Bruins' alternate captain has been involved in many charitable programs. Bergeron's "Patrice's Pals" program brings hospital patients and children's groups to watch Bruins games from a luxury suite. |
| 2013–14 | Andrew Ference | Edmonton Oilers | The Oilers' captain has been involved in many charitable programs. Ference heads up the November Project in Edmonton, a movement to increase activity in the community. |
| 2014–15 | Henrik Zetterberg | Detroit Red Wings | The Red Wings' captain and his wife, Emma, give back to the Metro Detroit community through numerous initiatives as well as international causes in Ethiopia, Guatemala and Nepal. |
| 2015–16 | Henrik Sedin | Vancouver Canucks | The Canucks' captain is heavily involved in many charitable programs put on by the Canucks. In 2010, he and his brother, Daniel Sedin, donated $1.5 million to the BC Children's Hospital. In 2015, he and Daniel announced that they would be funding "Clubhouse 36", an after-school program for at-risk students in a near-by city. The Sedin twins also established the Sedin Family Foundation in 2014. |