May 17, 2022

NEW YORK (May 17, 2022) – Centers Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers, Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins and Elias Lindholm of the Calgary Flames are the three finalists for the 2021-22 Frank J. Selke Trophy, awarded “to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game,” the National Hockey League announced today.

Members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association submitted ballots for the Selke Trophy after the conclusion of the regular season, with the top three vote-getters designated as finalists. The winners of the 2022 NHL Awards will be revealed during the Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Final, with exact dates, format and times to be announced.

Following are the finalists for the Selke Trophy, in alphabetical order:

Aleksander Barkov, C, Florida Panthers

Barkov led all forwards on the 2021-22 Presidents’ Trophy-winning Panthers in average ice time per game (20:18), marking the fifth consecutive season he has led all Florida forwards and surpassed the 20-minute average. The Panthers captain ranked fourth among NHL forwards with a career-best +36 rating, exceeded only by the Calgary Flames trio of Johnny Gaudreau (+64), Lindholm (+61) and Matthew Tkachuk (+57). He also topped Florida in face-offs (1,252) and face-off wins (713) for a career-best 57.0% win percentage. Barkov, who captured the Selke Trophy in 2020-21, is looking to join Bergeron (2013-14 and 2014-15) as a repeat winner and add to a list that features Bob Gainey (1977-78 through 1980-81), Guy Carbonneau (1987-88 and 1988-89), Jere Lehtinen (1997-98 and 1998-99), Rod Brind’Amour (2005-06 and 2006-07) and Pavel Datsyuk (2007-08 through 2009-10).

Patrice Bergeron, C, Boston Bruins

Bergeron kept his familiar place atop NHL face-off and puck possession categories, leading the League in face-off wins (991) for the seventh time in his career and posting the top win percentage (61.9%). He also led the League in the puck possession metric SAT% (65.1), with Boston accounting for 65.1% of all shot attempts 5-on-5 when Bergeron was on the ice (min: 25 GP) – the best figure by any player since the statistic was first recorded in 2009-10. Bergeron is a Selke Trophy finalist for the 11th straight season, extending his own mark in that category, and surpasses the 10 consecutive years of top-three Hart Trophy finishes by Wayne Gretzky (1980 through 1989) as the longest ever for a voted NHL Award. Bergeron’s four Selke wins (2011-12, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2016-17) are tied for the most in NHL history with Bob Gainey, who captured the trophy each of the first four years it was awarded (1978-81 w/ MTL).

Elias Lindholm, C, Calgary Flames

Lindholm posted a +61 rating in 82 games, behind only linemate Johnny Gaudreau (+64) as the NHL’s best in the past 34 years. He led Flames forwards in several key categories on a team that posted its lowest goals-against total over an 82-game season (206) since 2009-10, including blocked shots (52), takeaways (t-1st, 55), time on ice (19:57 per game) and average time while shorthanded (2:07) for the League’s sixth-best penalty-killing unit (83.2%). He also was one of the NHL’s top face-off performers, ranking third overall in total face-offs (1,592) and fifth in face-off wins (842) for a 52.9% win percentage. Lindholm, a first-time NHL Awards finalist, is the first Flames player voted a Selke finalist in 20 years, following the second-place finish by Craig Conroy in 2001-02. He is aiming to become the first player in franchise history to take home the award.

History

The Frank J. Selke Trophy was presented in 1977 by the NHL’s Board of Governors in honor of Frank J. Selke, one of the great architects of Montreal’s and Toronto’s championship teams.

Announcement Schedule

The three finalists for the 2022 NHL Awards are being announced through Friday, May 20. The series of announcements continues Wednesday, May 18, when the three finalists for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy will be unveiled.

COURTESY NHLmedia.com