The Minnesota Wild‘s Matt Dumba has won the NHL’s King Clancy Memorial Trophy. The award is given to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and makes significant humanitarian contributions to the community. P.K. Subban and Henrik Lundqvist were the other two nominees this year. The NHL announced the award Sunday evening.
Your winner for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy is @matt_dumba! #NHLAwards
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— NHL (@NHL) September 6, 2020
Matt Dumba Wins King Clancy
Dumba was a key part of Minnesota’s efforts in 2019-20. The 26-year-old had six goals and 24 points in 69 games before the league paused operations. He also had one assist in the team’s four postseason games before it was eliminated. Dumba did not get remotely close to his 14-goal, 50-point campaign from 2017-18 but there is tons of potential in the defender.
The Wild drafted Dumba in the first round of the 2012 Draft. He debuted in 2013-14 but didn’t get major playing time until the following year when he played in 58 games. Dumba currently has 62 goals and 174 points in 411 games. His early production was enough for Minnesota to hand him a large contract in 2018 with an annual cap hit of $6 million through 2022-23.
What This Means for the Future
This has been a challenging time for players of colour in the NHL. The United States is having serious conversations about racism and the relationship between minorities and law enforcement. Minnesota, in particular, saw serious conflict when George Floyd passed away during a heated arrest. Dumba has been one of the major leaders for his fundraising efforts to rebuild local businesses damaged during protests and riots. He has also donated to coronavirus relief, Australian wildfire relief, and he has participated in multiple events in Minneapolis targeting education and cancer fundraising.
It is great to see the league recognize a player as active in multiple ways as Dumba. This is also the second consecutive year a Wild player has won the award. Jason Zucker won the award in 2018-19.
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