Awarded annually to the Canadiens player who best exemplifies leadership qualities in the community, the trophy is accompanied by a $25,000 donation made to a charity of the player's choice. As a result, Phillip Danault chose to donate $20,000 to the Marie-Pierre and Phillip Danault Fund of the Fondation Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais, whose mission is to fight bullying, discrimination and violence in schools, in addition to donating $5,000 to the
Montreal Canadiens Children's Foundation
, which encourages physical activity and the adoption of a healthy lifestyle among underprivileged youth aged 4 to 17.
Established in 2003 to commemorate the 50 years of association between Mr. Jean Béliveau and Montreal Canadiens, this award aims to celebrate the values that characterized the great man and player that he was, he who devoted an important part of his career to supporting various organizations mainly helping the most disadvantaged children. Candidates are evaluated based on their commitment, their leadership, as well as the implication and time invested in collective and personal initiatives that are close to their hearts. The list of the 2018-19 finalists for the Jean Béliveau Trophy also included Jonathan Drouin, Jeff Petry, Carey Price and Tomas Tatar.
Since joining the Montreal Canadiens in 2016, Phillip Danault has taken to support many causes, especially those affecting children. In 2018, he and his wife Marie-Pierre joined forces with the Fondation Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais to counter violence, intimidation, and exclusion in schools and in sports. The "Marie-Pierre and Phillip Danault Star Team" award was set up in collaboration with the organization to reward the primary and secondary schools that have stood out the most in terms of developing healthy emotional and relational lifestyle habits in sports or physical activities during the school year. The couple pursued their commitment to the Fondation Jasmin Roy Sophie Desmarais by announcing, in September of 2019, the creation of the Marie-Pierre and Phillip Danault Fund, which will be used to finance school and extracurricular initiatives that help create healthy, safe and caring environments for students, so that all young people can participate in sports without experiencing bullying or rejection.
Motivated by his belief that all young people should have the right to play, be active and participate in the sport of their choice, Phillip Danault also lent his name to the Montreal Canadiens Children's Foundation on numerous occasions throughout the 2019-20 season, by supporting it in its fundraising efforts and in its recognition initiatives with its volunteers and donors.
Phillip Danault succeeds captain and defenseman Shea Weber who was the recipient of the award last season. Past winners of the trophy are Brendan Gallagher, Max Pacioretty, P.K. Subban, Carey Price, Brian Gionta, Michael Cammalleri, Maxim Lapierre, Patrice Brisebois, Alex Kovalev, Francis Bouillon, Steve Bégin and Saku Koivu.
