King Clancy was an NHL hockey legend. His full name was Francis Michael “King” Clancy, and he was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, referee and coach. He was born on February 25, 1903, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and passed away on November 10, 1986.
King Clancy played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1921 to 1937. During his career, he played for the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Here are some of his career statistics:
- Games Played: 592
- Goals: 136
- Assists: 197
- Points: 333
- Penalty Minutes: 910
It’s worth noting that these statistics were compiled during a different era of hockey when scoring and statistics were generally lower than in the modern game. At 5 ft. 7 inches tall and only 155 pounds Clancy was small for the NHL at the time and would look tiny in today’s game.
He was known for his defensive abilities, physical play, and leadership rather than his offensive production. He was regarded as a tenacious and skilled defenseman during his playing career. The “King” won the Stanley Cup twice with the Ottawa Senators in 1923 and 1927 and again in 1932 with the Toronto Maple Leafs. As an assistant manager – coach under Punch Imlach in Toronto he was a part of Stanley Cup victories in 1962, 1964 and 1967.
After his playing career, Clancy became a coach, a referee and executive in the NHL. He served as a coach for the Maple Leafs from 1953 to 1956 and later worked in various executive roles with the team. He could be seen a lot around Maple Leaf Gardens in the 1970’s and used to hang out with Leafs owner Harold Ballard.
Clancy was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958 and was named one of the NHL’s top 100 players of all time in 2017.
The NHL honored Clancy in 1988 by naming an award after him. The King Clancy Memorial Trophy is an annual award given “to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.”
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