Similar to other humanitarian-based awards in other professional sports leagues, the King Clancy Memorial Trophy honors significant community contributions made by a player.
With the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs now about a month old, fans have a much better idea of how this season will end – with just five of the league’s 32 clubs still in the hunt for a championship.
Not long after this year’s Stanley Cup champion is crowned, players from across the league will gather in Las Vegas for an awards ceremony, where accolades based on regular season accomplishments will be doled out.
While high-profile awards like the Hart, Norris and Vezina trophies typically steal the spotlight, not all awards are wholly centered on what a player is able to do on the rink day-in and day-out.
Similar to awards like the NFL’s “Walter Payton Man of the Year” and MLB’s “Roberto Clemente Award,” the NHL’s King Clancy Memorial Trophy is known as a community-centered award, honoring a player for their humanitarian contributions off the ice, as well as outstanding leadership qualities on the ice and in the locker room.
Named after legendary former player, coach and executive Francis “King” Clancy, the trophy was first awarded following the 1987-88 season, and has been a mainstay of the league’s awards ever since.
The award also outlived the similar NHL Foundation Player Award, which was awarded from 1998 to 2017, with the charitable donation connected to the honor now provided through the King Clancy Memorial Trophy.
Community contributions that have merited the award over the years range from donations to local children’s hospitals and cancer foundations, international humanitarian efforts and local social justice initiatives.
Unlike other awards that are voted on by Professional Hockey Writers’ Association members and enter the ceremony with three “finalists,” a player from each NHL team is nominated for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy – with the winner chosen by a panel of representatives from both the PHWA and the NHL Broadcasters’ Assocation.
As of the end of the 2024-25 NHL season, 10 of the league’s 32 teams have yet to had a player win the award – ranging from recent expansion teams like the Utah Mammoth and Seattle Kraken to the Original Six Chicago Blackhawks.
The following teams enter this year’s awards ceremony without a King Clancy Memorial Trophy winner:
- Pittsburgh Penguins
- Philadelphia Flyers
- Dallas Stars
- Utah Mammoth
- Winnipeg Jets
- Chicago Blackhawks
- Seattle Kraken
- San Jose Sharks
- Anaheim Ducks
- Vegas Golden Knights
As for the other 22 clubs, here’s a look at each team’s last win of the award, beginning with the most recent occurrences:
- Florida Panthers: 2024-25, Aleksander Barkov
- New York Islanders: 2023-24, Anders Lee
- Calgary Flames: 2022-23, Mikael Backlund
- New Jersey Devils: 2021-22, P.K. Subban
- Nashville Predators: 2020-21, Pekka Rinne
- Minnesota Wild: 2019-20, Matthew Dumba
- Vancouver Canucks: 2017-18, Henrik Sedin/Daniel Sedin
- Columbus Blue Jackets: 2016-17, Nick Foligno
- Detroit Red Wings: 2014-15, Henrik Zetterberg
- Edmonton Oilers: 2013-14, Andrew Ference
- Boston Bruins: 2012-13, Patrice Bergeron
- Ottawa Senators: 2011-12, Daniel Alfredsson
- Tampa Bay Lightning: 2007-08, Vincent Lecavalier
- Montreal Canadiens: 2006-07, Saku Koivu
- Washington Capitals: 2005-06, Olaf Kolzig
- Carolina Hurricanes: 2001-02, Ron Francis
- Colorado Avalanche: 2000-01, Shjon Podein
- Toronto Maple Leafs: 1999-00, Curtis Joseph
- Buffalo Sabres: 1998-99, Rob Ray
- St. Louis Blues: 1997-98, Kelly Chase
- New York Rangers: 1993-94, Adam Graves
- Los Angeles Kings: 1990-91, Dave Taylor
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