The NHL will announce the winner of the 2020-21 Frank J. Selke Trophy during Friday’s Game 3 of the Canadiens-Golden Knights series (8 p.m. ET; USA Network / Peacock). The award is given “to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.”
It is an award that is voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association at the end of the regular season.
Florida’s Aleksander Barkov, Boston’s Patrice Bergeron, and Vegas’ Mark Stone are this year’s finalists.
Prior to the start of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Pro Hockey Talk team submitted their ballots for the major individual NHL awards. Here’s our voting breakdown for the Selke Trophy, using the NHL’s 5-3-1 points allocation for places:
1. Aleksander Barkov, Florida - 17 points (10-6-1)
2. Mark Stone, Vegas - 14 points (10-3-1)
3. Patrice Bergeron, Boston - 7 points (0-6-1)
4. Joe Pavelski, Dallas - 5 points (5-0-0)
5. Philip Danault, Montreal - 1 point (0-0-1)
Brad Marchand, Boston - 1 point (0-0-1)
(Note: No PHT staff who are part of the PHWA had a vote for this season’s NHL awards.)
James O’Brien, NHL writer
1. Joe Pavelski
2. Patrice Bergeron
3. Aleksander Barkov
The Selke and Norris fields both were full of great candidates, but this season should serve as a reminder that Joe Pavelski’s been massively underrated over the years. Claude Giroux, Joel Eriksson Ek, and (dare I say it) Auston Matthews deserved consideration, and role players like Marcus Foligno are interesting, too. But Pavelski, Bergeron, and Barkov all do massive two-way damage in their teams’ favor.
Marisa Ingemi, NHL writer
1. Aleksander Barkov, Florida
2. Patrice Bergeron, Boston
3. Mark Stone, Vegas
Barkov has been one of the best two-way defenders in the league his entire career. All three of the finalists here are the usual suspects. It feels like it’s Barkov’s turn right now, though any of the three would be a deserving winner.
[NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs 2021 schedule, TV info]
Adam Gretz, NHL writer
1. Mark Stone, Vegas Golden Knights
2. Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers
3. Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins
Stone is such a complete player, such a dominant player away from the puck, and I just see him at the top of my list. A remarkable player that impacts the game in all three zones, in all phases, every single time he is on the ice. He also does it while playing on the wing.
Sean Leahy, NHL writer
1. Mark Stone
2. Aleksander Barkov
3. Philip Danault
While the voting was already over, the job Stone did on Nathan MacKinnon in the Second Round is proof he’s the best two-way player in the NHL. Stone was strong on the offensive side of the ice, averaging a career high of 3.5 points per 60. He was his usual dynamic self in the defensive zone leading the NHL with 58 takeaways and helping the Golden Knights to control 53% of shot attempts with him on the ice at 5-on-5.
Michael Finewax, NBC Sports Edge Senior Hockey Writer/Editor
1. Aleksander Barkov
2. Mark Stone
3. Patrice Bergeron
Barkov is a favorite of mine as he is such a good two-way player. Stone is a rarity as the Selke Trophy usually goes to a center. Bergeron is a perennial candidate for the Selke.