The NHL Foundation Player Award was awarded annually to the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) player "who applies the core values of cehockey—commitment, perseverance and teamwork—to enrich the lives of people in his community". The winner is given a grant of

US$ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

25,000 to help causes that the winner supports. Many players have been awarded as a result of large charitable contributions to their community. For instance,

Vincent Lecavalier Vincent Lecavalier (born April 21, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre currently working as a special advisor of hockey operations for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected first ove ...

received the award in 2008 for committing US$3 million to build The Vincent Lecavalier Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorder Center at All Children's Hospital in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...

. Fifteen players won the NHL Foundation Player Award during its existence. Kelly Chase was awarded the inaugural NHL Foundation Player Award in . No player has ever won the award twice. The

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...

and the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

are the only teams to have been represented twice by winners. The award is closely related to the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, as both are awarded to a player who has made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community. German Olaf Kolzig, Swede Henrik Zetterberg and Americans

Ryan Miller Ryan Dean Miller (born July 17, 1980) is an American former ice hockey goaltender who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) mostly for the Buffalo Sabres. Miller was drafted 138th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1999 NHL E ...

and Dustin Brown are the only non-Canadian winners, while

Ron Francis Ronald Michael Francis Jr. (born March 1, 1963) is a Canadian ice hockey sports executive and former player. He currently serves as the president of hockey operations for the Seattle Kraken. He spent most of his career as either a player or ex ...

and

Joe Sakic Joseph Steven Sakic (; () born July 7, 1969) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He played his entire 21-year National Hockey League (NHL) career, which lasted from 1988 to 2009, with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado ...

are the only winners to have been elected into the

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...

. The award was discontinued for the

2017–18 NHL season The 2017–18 NHL season was the List of NHL seasons, 101st season of operation (100th season of play) of the National Hockey League. With the addition of a new expansion team, the Vegas Golden Knights, 31 teams competed in an 82-game regular sea ...

, with the associated charitable donation being redirected towards the King Clancy Memorial Trophy.

Winners

;Notes * No award was presented due to the

2004–05 NHL lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

. * Denotes joint winners

References

;General * ;Specific {{featured list Defunct National Hockey League trophies and awards