The Trophy is presented to "the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community." The award was named in honor of Frank "King" Clancy, a beloved figure in the League for decades as a player, referee, coach, manager and goodwill ambassador. The last Bruins nominee to win the award was Patrice Bergeron in 2013.
The nominees are selected by their respective NHL teams and the winner will be chosen by a committee of senior NHL executives. The selection committee focuses on commitment to a particular cause or community, engagement and influence, and a clear and measurable impact on the community.
Since joining the Bruins in 2019, Coyle has been an active participant in the Boston community. Most notably, Coyle has built a friendship with Quinn Waters, a five-year old from his hometown of Weymouth battling medulloblastoma and who dropped the puck alongside Coyle for Hockey Fights Cancer Night in 2019.
In addition, Coyle supports the United Heroes League (UHL), which ensures that children of military service members have the opportunity to participate in sports, along with numerous other education and youth hockey initiatives.
The complete list of 2020-21 King Clancy Memorial Trophy nominees are:
Anaheim: Cam Fowler
Arizona: Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Boston: Charlie Coyle
Buffalo: Jack Eichel
Calgary: Mikael Backlund
Carolina: Jordan Staal
Chicago: Connor Murphy
Colorado: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare
Columbus: Cam Atkinson
Dallas: Esa Lindell
Detroit: Dylan Larkin
Edmonton: Kyle Turris
Florida: Sergei Bobrovsky
Los Angeles: Trevor Moore
Minnesota: Mats Zuccarello
Montreal: Jonathan Drouin
Nashville: Pekka Rinne
New Jersey: P.K. Subban
New York Islanders: Anders Lee
New York Rangers: Chris Kreider
Ottawa: Thomas Chabot
Philadelphia: Scott Laughton
Pittsburgh: Sidney Crosby
San Jose: Kurtis Gabriel
St. Louis: Ryan O'Reilly
Tampa Bay: Alex Killorn
Toronto: John Tavares
Vancouver: Tyler Motte
Vegas: Marc-Andre Fleury
Washington: Garnet Hathaway
Winnipeg: Blake Wheeler
