Patrice Bergeron Named 2017-18 Selke Trophy Finalist

It should come as no surprise that Patrice Bergeron was in consideration for the 2017-18 Frank J. Selke Trophy, awarded to the forward who “demonstrates the most skill in the defensive component of the game”. The 4x winner had another strong year, albeit injuries and a noticeable change in zone deployment had many wondering if he would miss being a finalist for the first time since the 2010-11 season, which saw him place 4th overall behind Ryan Kesler, Johnathan Toews, and Pavel Datsyuk. He is joined by Philadelphia’s Sean Couturier, considered by many to be the odds-on favorite, and a first-time finalist, as well as Anze Kopitar, a former controversial winner over Bergeron in 2016.

As any Bruins fan can tell you, a win for Bergeron would cement his already strong case as the greatest two way forward in NHL history. He is currently tied with Canadiens great Bob Gainey at 4 Selke Trophies, although Bergeron has had arguably the longest stretch of dominance since the award was introduced in 1977-78. Bergeron has received Selke votes every year since 2009-2010 where he finished 5th, his lowest career showing. He finished 4th (10-11), 1st (11-12), 2nd (12-13), 1st (13-14), 1st (14-15), 2nd (15-16, and 1st (16-17), and shows no sign of slowing down in the coming years.

Between missing 18 regular season games, seeing favorable offensive zone usage and being outside of the top 5 in faceoff win %, Bergeron’s case for winning is arguably his weakest in years, especially against two players having career years in Kopitar and Couturier. Congratulations on another fantastic year to Patrice Bergeron.