The NHL Foundation Player Award was awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) player "who applies the core values of [ice] hockey—commitment, perseverance and teamwork—to enrich the lives of people in his community". The winner is given a grant of US$ 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 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.

Fifteen players won the NHL Foundation Player Award during its existence. Kelly Chase was awarded the inaugural NHL Foundation Player Award in 1998. No player has ever won the award twice. The Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames and the Detroit Red Wings 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 and Dustin Brown are the only non-Canadian winners, while Ron Francis and Joe Sakic are the only winners to have been elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The award was discontinued for the 2017–18 NHL season, with the associated charitable donation being redirected towards the King Clancy Memorial Trophy.

Winners

*	Denotes players who are still active
†	Elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame

Season	Winner	Position	Team	Note
1997–98	Kelly Chase	Right wing	St. Louis Blues
1998–99	Rob Ray	Right wing	Buffalo Sabres	1
1999–2000	Adam Graves	Left wing	New York Rangers
2000–01	Olaf Kolzig	Goaltender	Washington Capitals
2001–02	Ron Francis†	Center	Carolina Hurricanes
2002–03	Darren McCarty	Right wing	Detroit Red Wings
2003–04	Jarome Iginla†	Right wing	Calgary Flames
2004–05	—
2005–06	Marty Turco	Goaltender	Dallas Stars
2006–07	Joe Sakic†	Center	Colorado Avalanche
2007–08	Vincent Lecavalier	Center	Tampa Bay Lightning
	Trevor Linden	Right wing	Vancouver Canucks
2008–09	Rick Nash	Left wing	Columbus Blue Jackets
2009–10	Ryan Miller	Goaltender	Buffalo Sabres
2010–11	Dustin Brown	Right wing	Los Angeles Kings
2011–12	Mike Fisher	Centre	Nashville Predators
2012–13	Henrik Zetterberg	Centre	Detroit Red Wings
2013–14	Patrice Bergeron	Centre	Boston Bruins
2014–15	Brent Burns*	Defenceman	San Jose Sharks
2015–16	Mark Giordano*	Defenceman	Calgary Flames
2016–17	Travis Hamonic*	Defenceman	New York Islanders

Notes

• No award was presented due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout.
• Denotes joint winners