This certainly isn’t anything new, or surprising, for Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron.
Even in his 19th NHL season and with the possibility of retiring looming over his head, the 37-year-old Bergeron continues to prove he is one of the best two-way forwards the league has to offer.
That was justified yet again Tuesday with the NHL announcing Bergeron as a finalist for the Selke Trophy for the 12th consecutive season. Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner and Nico Hischier of the New Jersey Devils are also up for the award alongside Bergeron.
The Bruins captain has already won the Selke Trophy a record six times, including garnering the honors last season. He has taken home the hardware in back-to-back seasons only one time in his career.
Bergeron has a strong case for the award as he totaled 27 goals and 31 assists for 58 points in 78 regular-season games. He also finished with a plus-35 rating, which is the fourth-best mark in the NHL among forwards.
As he has done throughout his career, Bergeron excelled at the faceoff dot, winning a league-best 1,043 draws along with having a 61.1% faceoff winning percentage, a mark which was tops in the NHL as well. Bergeron also chipped in on a Bruins defense that yielded just 2.1 goals per game and contributed to a penalty kill that had an 87.3% success rate, which was another NHL-leading mark.
Given his strong play, Bergeron just might have to make more room in his trophy case for another Selke.
