Islanders' Anders Lee awarded King Clancy Memorial Trophy for leadership on and off the ice
Islanders left wing Anders Lee sets before a face off against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the third period of an NHL hockey game at UBS Arena on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The “C” on Anders Lee’s Islanders’ sweater indicates his role as the team captain. But it could also stand for “compassionate.”
The NHL on Wednesday announced Lee is this season’s recipient of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy presented to the player who “best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.”
Each of the 32 teams nominated one player and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman along with former Clancy Trophy and NHL Foundation Player Award winners selected Lee.
Lee joins Doug Weight (2011) and Hall of Famer Bryan Trottier (1989) as the Islanders to be named winners since the Clancy Trophy was inaugurated in 1988.
“To have my name engraved on the King Clancy Memorial Trophy is a huge honor,” Lee wrote in a first-person account of his friendship with the late Fenov Pierre-Louis, a teenager who battled cancer, and his subsequent work with the Jam Kancer in the Kan foundation.
“But it’s not mine alone. I’m sharing this recognition with all of the cancer patients and families who I’ve had the chance to meet.”
Lee’s fourth Kancer Jam event, in September, raised more than $155,000 to benefit cancer patients.
The NHL will donate $25,000 to benefit a charity of Lee’s choice and Lee can also elect the Islanders receive a grant from the league up to $20,000 to also benefit Lee’s work.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
