After revealing the 32 nominees earlier this month, the NHL has announced the finalists for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, annually presented to “the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.” Last year’s winner was Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators.
The selection committee, a group of senior NHL executives led by Gary Bettman and Bill Daly, applies the following criteria to determine a winner:
- Clear and measurable positive impact on the community
- Investment of time and resources
- Commitment to a particular cause or community
- Commitment to the League’s community initiatives
- Creativity of programming
- Use of influence; engagement of others
The finalists this year are Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks, Darnell Nurse of the Edmonton Oilers, and P.K. Subban of the New Jersey Devils.
In reality, all of this year’s nominees deserve recognition for their efforts, and picking a single winner doesn’t change the impact that each player has. Like usual, the award will have a new winner this year, as none of the three have taken it home previously. There has only ever been one player to be awarded the King Clancy multiple times; Henrik Sedin won it in 2016 on his own, and split it with his brother Daniel Sedin in 2018.
Subban has been a finalist three times previously, including each of the past two seasons. Other active winners include Patrice Bergeron, Nick Foligno, Jason Zucker and Matt Dumba. You can read more about each of their community efforts here.
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