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King Clancy Memorial Award: History, Montreal Canadiens Past Winners

Nick Suzuki has been a special player on and off the ice for the Montreal Canadiens.

By Nate Duffett |
Nick Suzuki salutes the crowd in final home game.
Nick Suzuki salutes the crowd in final home game. / Minas Panagiotakis/GettyImages
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The NHL will award the King Clancy Memorial Award on Tuesday, May 28th, before the puck drop of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The King Clancy Memorial Award is given annually to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution to his community. Each team in the NHL gets a nominee for this special trophy, and this year's candidate for the Montreal Canadiens is Nick Suzuki. 

The Award honors Francis M. Clancy, best known as "King". Clancy was a former player for the original Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs. He went on to become a coach, referee, and team executive. Former Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard presented the award to the NHL, citing Clancy as "one of the greatest humanitarians that ever lived." The Montreal Canadiens have only won the award once. However, a current front office member has held the award, plus a former fan favorite who the NHL recognized for his work in Montreal despite being a member of the Devils. 

It makes sense that an award with nominees from every team would have alot more parity, as only eight teams have won the award more than once. Let's look at the Canadiens' history with the prestigious award.

2007 - Saku Koivu

Saku Koivu retirement
Saku Koivu retirement / Richard Wolowicz/GettyImages

The former Habs captain has seen his name on some of these awards lists. It's no surprise, as he was a central figure of some successful Habs teams during the early 2000s. Koivu persevered through serious health issues to continue his NHL career, so it was even more special that he had enough left to give to keep helping the community.

Koivu was given the award for being a founder of the Saku Koivu Foundation after recovering from cancer. He raised around $2.5 million at the time of the award presentation.

2008 - Vincent Lecavalier

2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft - Rounds 2-7
2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft - Rounds 2-7 / Dave Sandford/GettyImages

Vincent Lecavalier won the award a year after Koivu's honor. He was a member of the Lightning at the time, but it's important to recognize the kind of character individuals that the Habs currently have in their organization. Lecavalier is a special advisor of hockey operations for the Montreal Canadiens, likely due to wanting to continue his working relationship with longtime friend and teammate Martin St. Louis. He is also from L'ile-Bizard, Quebec, so being a part of the Canadiens organization is likely a lifelong dream.

Lecavalier won the award for his work with the Vincent Lecavalier Foundation.

2022 - PK Subban

PK Subban brings one of his friends from the Montreal Children's Hospital to the NHL All Star Game.
PK Subban brings one of his friends from the Montreal Children's Hospital to the NHL All Star Game. / Minas Panagiotakis/GettyImages

No one took the loss of PK Subban from the Canadiens harder than members of the Montreal Children's Hospital. He was a big part of the community in Montreal, which makes it surprising that he never won the award sooner. However, the NHL righted a wrong by giving him the award before retirement.

Subban donated $1 million to support Le Spot, a mental health clinic in Montreal. He also matched donations of up to $100,000 to help Ukranian cancer patients who arrived for life-saving treatments. Subban founded the PK Subban Foundation and was a co-chair on the Player Inclusion Committee. He dealt with causes such as racial and social justice, underserved youth, COVID-19 relief, and youth hockey.

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