Snapshots: King Clancy, Smith, Somppi

The NHL award being revealed on Tuesday was the King Clancy Trophy which is given annually “to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community”.  It was announced that Devils defenseman P.K. Subban is this year’s winner.  He created the P.K. Subban Foundation in 2014 while playing with Montreal and pledged $10MM over seven years to Montreal Children’s Hospital.  Subban also founded Blueline Buddies in 2016 when he played for Nashville and earlier this year, he donated $1MM in support of Le Spot, a Montreal mental health clinic while also matching donations to help Ukrainian cancer patients.  It’s the fourth time that Subban has been a finalist for the award with this being his first win.  Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf and Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse were the other finalists.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

• Oilers goaltender Mike Smith met with reporters today (video link) and indicated that it’s “too early to tell” if he’s going to return next season. The 40-year-old had an up-and-down season and acknowledged that he played through injuries for most of the year but still managed to post a .915 SV% in 28 games during the regular season, a number that he came close to maintaining in the playoffs (.913).  Smith is signed for next season already with a $2.2MM cap hit but he is not subject to the 35-plus rule that many veterans are.  In the last CBA, a provision was put in that says the rule does not apply if the compensation in each year is uniform or if the salary increases each year.  The latter applies to Smith so Edmonton wouldn’t face a cap penalty if he opted to retire.
• Pending Lightning RFA forward Otto Somppi has decided to head overseas for next season as Lukko of the Finnish Liiga announced that they’ve signed the 24-year-old to a one-year deal. Somppi has spent the last four seasons in Tampa Bay’s farm system but never received a recall to the NHL.  In 50 games this season with AHL Syracuse, he had 23 points.  Tampa Bay can retain Somppi’s NHL rights through 2025 by issuing him a qualifying offer next month.