Honoring the Players

The NHLPA regularly recognizes the achievements of players with Milestone Awards honoring both longevity and performance. Skaters receive awards for playing in 1,000 career games, as well as for reaching the 1,000-point, 400-goal and 600-assist marks. Goaltenders receive equal recognition once they have played in 500 games, or recorded 200 wins or 25 shutouts.

Lester B. Pearson Award

The highest honor for any player, however, is the Lester B. Pearson Award, which is presented annually to the “most outstanding player” in the NHL as voted by fellow members of the National Hockey League Players' Association.

Named after the former Prime Minister of Canada, the Lester B. Pearson Award has been presented by the players since the 1970-71 season, with Phil Esposito as the inaugural recipient. Wayne Gretzky has captured the players' choice award an unmatched five times. Sidney Crosby was the 2006-07 winner and became the youngest player to ever win the Pearson, surpassing a 21-year-old Gretzky (1982).

Alumni Association

For years, the NHLPA has been an important resource for ex-NHLers, beginning in 1994 when it helped a group of former players create the NHLPA Alumni Association. In November 1998, the NHL Alumni Association was established as an independent association, by amalgamating two Alumni groups formed by the National Hockey League Players' Association and the National Hockey League. Today, more than 3,000 former players - each with at least one game played in the NHL - belong to the Alumni Association.

Supporting Players

Off the rink, the NHLPA is active in providing players on-going assistance in their daily lives. One such area of support involves a program that the NHLPA and the NHL set up in September 1996 to assist players and their families in the treatment of health problems, including substance abuse. Funded jointly by the NHLPA and the NHL, the program is the first of its kind in NHL history.