[UPDATE: Patrice Bergeron is now a five-time winner of the award.]
The NHL has started announcing winners of the 2021-22 awards. Anze Kopitar is your Mark Messier Leadership Award winner for this season and Darryl Sutter was named winner of the Jack Adams Award for coach of the year Thursday night. Over the next week we’ll find out who will take home the Bill Masterton Trophy, Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award, Lady Byng Trophy, and King Clancy Trophy.
We will find out the winners of the other major NHL awards on June 21 in a one hour live show during the 2022 Stanley Cup Final. That night, we’ll learn who won the Hart, Norris, Calder, and Vezina Trophies, along with the Ted Lindsay Award.
(According to the NHL, the finalists for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year, which is voted on after the Second Round, will be announced on June 21. The winner will be revealed during the NHL Draft on July 7-8.)
The Pro Hockey Talk staff made our own votes for a collective ballot. Each place was given a numerical value with 10 points for first, 7 points for second, and 5 points for third.
Votes were submitted by PHT writers Sean Leahy, James O’Brien, and Adam Gretz, as well as Michael Finewax, Rotoworld Senior Hockey Writer/Editor, and Jake Abrahams, NBCSports.com Managing Editor of NHL content. All ballots were submitted before the start of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Patrice Bergeron, Aleksander Barkov, and Elias Lindholm are the finalists for the 2021-22 Frank J. Selke Trophy, which is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
Here is how the ballots came out from the PHT team:
1. Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins (40-7-0) 47 pts.
2. Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers (10-7-5) 22 pts.
3. Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs (0-7-0) 7 pts.
Mikael Backlund, Calgary Flames (0-7-0) 7 pts.
Valeri Nichushkin, Colorado Avalanche (0-7-0) 7 pts.
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4. Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary Flames (0-0-5) 5 pts.
Joel Eriksson Ek, Minnesota Wild (0-0-5) 5 pts.
Elias Lindholm, Calgary Flames (0-0-5) 5 pts.
Marcus Foligno, Minnesota Wild (0-0-5) 5 pts.
SELKE TROPHY (Awarded to the forward voted as “the best to excel in the defensive aspects of the game.”)
Adam Gretz, NHL writer: Bergeron is still the best of the best when it comes to defensive forwards and is still an elite two-way player. Just sensational in every phase of the game. Nichushkin has always been a stellar defensive player and is finally starting to get his dues for it in recent years. Jonathan Huberdeau may be Florida’s top offensive player right now, but Barkov is still the engine that drives that team.
Jake Abrahams, Managing Editor, NHL content: They may need to re-name this award at some point in the future. Patrice Bergeron has been a Selke finalist 10 years in a row, and after another stellar two-way season, he could be headed for a 5th Selke crown. Last year’s winner, Barkov, has established himself as a perennial contender as well, and props to Calgary’s Elias Lindholm for a career year centering what was arguably the best line in hockey in 2021-22.
[NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs 2022 schedule, TV info]
James O’Brien, NHL writer: You’re simply not supposed to be able to accomplish what Patrice Bergeron pulled off this year at age 36. The threat of his retirement feels downright cruel. Matthews and Tkachuk stand out by putting up absurd offensive numbers while also generating some wonderful defensive stats. Don’t be surprised if both players end up with a Selke at some point (though Tkachuk will get dinged for being a wing, and some will excessively penalize Matthews for his lack of PK time).
Michael Finewax, NBC Sports Edge Senior Hockey Writer/Editor: Barkov and Bergeron are the two best two-way players in the NHL. Barkov has surpassed Bergeron ever so slightly. Eriksson Ek has had a strong season once again in Minnesota and deserves to be a finalist.
Sean Leahy, NHL writer: If this is the final season for 36-year-old Patrice Bergeron, what a way to go out. At 5-on-5, he led all forward in unblocked shot attempts, expected goals for percentage, and had a .923 on-ice save percentage. This could be his fifth Selke win, which would break a tie with Bob Gainey, meaning one day the award should just named after the future Hall of Famer from the Bruins.