Subban Wins King Clancy Award | RELEASE

The National Hockey League announced this evening that New Jersey Devils defenseman P.K. Subbanhas won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which is awarded "to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community." Subban will receive a $25,000 donation to benefit a charity or charities of his choice.
This year marked the fourth time in his career that P.K. has been one of the top-three finalists for the award, which includes each of his last three seasons in New Jersey. Subban has shown a commitment to Newark and the surrounding New Jersey area since he arrived and has a robust philanthropic history that accompanied him throughout his NHL career in Montreal and Nashville. In that time, P.K.'s efforts have focused on three specific areas: community, philanthropy, and social equity.
Subban brought his Blueline Buddies program to New Jersey, from Nashville, which connects local law enforcement and children from the community. The program was initially designed to help facilitate conversations and build trust between the two sides to better serve our communities, and to open up difficult conversations society is currently having; the current conversations of social justice and social unrest. Over the past two years, Subban incorporated healthcare workers, who have worked tirelessly and sometimes thanklessly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program transitioned to a virtual experience, and continued honoring police officers, and frontline workers, including doctors, nurses, patient reps, security guards, social workers, food services, and housekeeping staff, among others. Blueline Buddies and the Devils were also pleased to have RWJBarnabas Health come on board this season as the presenting partner of Subban's community-based initiative.

Launched in 2014, the P.K. Subban Foundation aims to create positive change through building a community of people who are passionate about helping children around the globe. Those efforts have included a $10-million pledge to the Montreal Children's Hospital in 2015 (the largest ever by a Canadian athlete); a $1-million gift in March for "Le SPOT," the hospital's new mental health clinic. He has continued to support the hospital through his foundation, pays visits to the hospital on his own time, and has contributed financial support to the hospital's staff. This past spring, he partnered with The Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation to match donations up to $100,000 for Ukrainian cancer patients who have been uprooted amid their country's current war.
P.K. continues to focus his efforts on social equity and change and has worked with the Devils, NHL and the sports and entertainment worlds to continue his credo of "Change the Game." Over the past year, Subban was named co-chair of the Player Inclusion Committee (PIC) under the newly formed Executive Inclusion Council (EIC), comprised of NHL owners, former players, and team and league executives. He looks to develop action-oriented solutions that positively impact the access, opportunity, and experiences that underrepresented groups have in the game.
This past February, Subban collaborated with the Devils on the team's Black History Month warmup jersey. The warm-up jersey's crest was created to honor and celebrate all the Black players and coaches throughout Devils' history and featured the phrase, "A Movement, Not A Moment." One shoulder featured a Willie O'Ree patch, and the other shoulder had a "Hockey Is For Everyone" patch. Every player wore jersey number 22 on the back to honor Willie O'Ree, and their respective jersey number on the shoulders. Within the jersey numbers was a story highlighting O'Ree's impact on the game and some of the other key Black figures in hockey that he opened the door for. Additionally, a t-shirt line with the crest was created for sale as well. The auction benefitted the Devils Youth Foundation and the P.K. Subban Foundation which raised nearly $20,000.
Subban previously made a $50,000 donation to the fundraiser for Gianna Floyd, the young daughter of George Floyd whose murder sparked a world-wide movement for change. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, in speaking with Subban at the time, agreed the National Hockey League would, and did, match his donation. He also used his social media platforms of over 1 million followers, to be a part of the greater change and asked for further donations if they had the financial means to do so. His donation inspired athletes across all sports to reach the initial goal of $1 million and extended to surpass a new goal of $1.5 million.
Subban has used his immense social media platform to support his and the various Devils charitable endeavors, including underserved communities and food assistance programs in the city of Newark.
He had previously been announced as one of the three finalists on May 20 and the winner was chosen by a committee of senior NHL executives led by Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. The selection committee applied the following criteria in determining the finalists and 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.