Marc-Andre Fleury nominated for King Clancy Trophy

Marc-Andre Fleury was the Golden Knights’ nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, the NHL announced Tuesday.

The award is presented “to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.”

Each team nominated one player, and the winner will be chosen by a committee of senior league executives led by commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly.

The winner receives a $25,000 donation to a charity or charities of his choice, and the two runners-up each will have a $5,000 donation in their names.

Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba was the recipient of last season’s King Clancy Memorial Trophy. Dumba, who delivered a powerful message against systemic racism and intolerance in hockey during the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers, co-founded the Hockey Diversity Alliance.

He also spearheaded the Rebuild Minnesota initiative to assist businesses in Minneapolis impacted by riots and protests following the wake of the murder of George Floyd.

Longtime Las Vegas resident Jason Zucker won the award in 2019 while playing for the Wild.

Fleury made a $100,000 contribution to assist part-time staff at T-Mobile Arena and the team’s own part-time employees whose jobs were affected when the NHL season was paused March 12, 2020, because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The veteran goalie previously was nominated for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy that is given to the player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

Quick draw

Neither the Knights nor the Wild were good in the faceoff circle, ranking 20th and 28th in the league during the regular season.

But there was a distinct gap between the teams in Game 1, with the Knights going 41-25 overall. Chandler Stephenson led the way winning 76 percent of his draws (13-4), and Nicolas Roy (10-6) and William Karlsson (14-11) also were above 50 percent.

“They do a real good job of getting in and helping,” Minnesota coach Dean Evason said after Tuesday’s morning skate. “We think we have quality faceoff people for that initial faceoff draw. But a lot of times that thing doesn’t get back there immediately and quickly. There’s a scrum. We have to do a better job of getting in there and helping our center icemen out for sure.”

Love in the air

There has been a rise in marriage proposals at T-Mobile Arena, and Knights coach Pete DeBoer was asked for his thoughts of all the fans saying, “I do.”

He compared it to the baby boom after World War II.

“I’m sure you’re going to see a spike in all that,” DeBoer said. “Everyone’s been locked up for a year and a half, so I think it’s awesome. The fact people are celebrating being out and in public, in places like T-Mobile watching hockey is great to see.”

Silver Knights on TV

Game 2 of the Silver Knights’ first-round Pacific Division playoff series will be televised on The CW Las Vegas (Channel 33, cable 6) and include a 30-minute postgame show.

All the games can be found at AHLTV, the American Hockey League’s streaming service. They also can be heard on 1230 AM with Brian McCormack and analyst Mike McKenna.

The Silver Knights open the playoffs Friday at Orleans Arena. Their opponent will be determined by a play-in tournament.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.