These Four Players Have Best Opportunity To Win NHL’s Selke Award

Now that the six-time Frank J. Selke Trophy winner Patrice Bergeron has retired after an illustrious NHL career, top defensive forwards have a greater chance of being named the league’s top defensive forward.

At the conclusion of last season, Bergeron captured his second straight win and NHL-best sixth-overall after being named a finalist in 12 straight seasons. He received 187 of a possible 196 first-place en route to the most decisive win in the award’s history with 1,914 points.

The two other finalists were New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier and Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Mitch Marner. Hischier was the runner-up with 804 points followed by Marner’s 480. It was the first time both players had been named as finalists for the Selke, but with Bergeron hanging up the skates, it could only be the beginning.

Since the 2011-12 season, only Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar has won the award more than once in the 2015-16 and 2017-18 seasons.

Marner has received votes in the last five seasons, solidifying himself as an elite, two-way winger for the Leafs. One thing going against Marner is his position. The last non-center to win the Selke Award was Dallas Stars right wing Jere Lehtinen in 2002-03. Lehtinen beat out Devils center John Madden and Minnesota Wild center Wes Walz. Maybe Marner can beat the odds this season and take home the hardware.

The other big name that is a past winner that shouldn’t be overlooked is Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov who beat our Bergeron in 2020-21. Barkov not only beat out Bergeron that season, but he was a finalist the next year as well.

With the Selke being the most reputation-based of all the NHL awards, Hischier may end up at the top of the list simply because he was the runner-up last season, but Kopitar could earn his third trophy if he plays as consistently as he has in years past. Marner is certainly the dark horse of the group, but he is a favorite among the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

With Bergeron out of the running, who does the future Hall of Famer think will capture the trophy that Bruins fans are hoping to be renamed?

“(Nico) Hischier is a good player coming up,” Bergeron told NESN.com at the Bruins Gold Carpet event on opening night at TD Garden on Oct. 11. “There’s a lot of good players so it’s hard to pinpoint.”

While Bergeron didn’t name a clear favorite, it’s hard to overlook his nod at Hischier.