Marcus Foligno has been named the 2026 King Clancy Memorial Trophy winner, an award honoring leadership on and off the ice. The Minnesota Wild forward is recognized for his work with the Janis Foligno Foundation, created after his mother Janis died following a
Marcus Foligno didn’t just wait for the league’s announcement on Thursday—he’s been building the cause behind it for years.
The Minnesota Wild forward was named the 2026 winner of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, a yearly honor presented “to the player who best exemplifies leadership on and off the ice.” For Foligno, that leadership has always extended well beyond game nights.
Alongside his family. he helped establish the Janis Foligno Foundation. created in memory of his mother. Janis. who passed away after a battle with breast cancer. The personal stakes are clear in the way the family has turned loss into a platform for support—work that also runs through his closest teammate connection.
Marcus’ brother and Wild teammate, Nick, previously won the same award in 2017 while with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Foligno family’s impact isn’t a one-year story; it’s a shared thread that now reaches the league stage again through Marcus.
That momentum has been amplified through the Foligno Face-Off, a fundraising campaign tied to Hockey Fights Cancer and supported through a joint partnership with the NHL, NHLPA and the V Foundation for cancer research. In that effort, 100 per cent of the donations went toward breast cancer research.
The event raised more than $200,000 to fund a new research grant for breast cancer research, a grant that will be named in honor of their mother.
The trophy itself comes with immediate support for the humanitarian direction behind it. In addition to winning the award. Foligno will receive a $25. 000 donation from the NHL to benefit a charity of his choice. The Wild are also eligible to receive a grant of up to $20. 000 from the NHL to organize a special activation related to his humanitarian cause.
The way the award is decided keeps the focus on both responsibility and proof. Each team nominates a player. and the winner is chosen by a selection committee that includes league commissioner Gary Bettman. along with former recipients of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy and the historic NHL Foundation Player Award.
Last season, Aleksander Barkov won the award after partnering with Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. His fundraising included $1,600 donated for each goal he scored and $800 for every assist, alongside several other charitable contributions.
Now, with Marcus Foligno set as the 2026 winner, the league’s leadership benchmark returns to a family story—one that carries real research dollars, a named grant, and a cause anchored in memory.
Marcus Foligno Wild King Clancy Memorial Trophy NHL Hockey Fights Cancer NHLPA V Foundation Janis Foligno Foundation breast cancer research Foligno Face-Off