Patrice Bergeron finishes second in Selke Trophy voting, Barkov wins

The Patrice Bergeron Trophy was awarded to someone other than Patrice Bergeron again tonight, as the Professional Hockey Writers Association continues to find creative ways to not give the award to Bergeron.

This year’s winner was Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers, with Mark Stone of the Vegas Golden Knights finishing third.

Per the league, Barkov received 780 points, Bergeron received 522, and Stone received 463.

You can see the full voting results below:

It’s worth noting that there were 100 ballots submitted, according to the league. This means that eight voters didn’t even list Barkov, and 11 voters didn’t even list Bergeron.

Maybe they should let the unprofessional bloggers vote instead!

In explaining why Barkov won, the league cited:

• The Panthers’ team GAA of 2.70 (worse than the Bruins’ 2.39)
• His being 9th among forwards in TOI (Okay...?)
• His 54.9% faceoff percentage

Well at least it all makes sense!

Barkov is a good player, and isn’t a horrible choice. Still, at this point it seems like the PHWA is holding Bergeron’s past success against him, giving it the ol’ “he’s won enough” treatment (even if it’s subconscious).

Regardless, it’s a nice nod for Barkov, who has been an under-the-radar guy for years now. He deserves a bit of a spotlight on him, even if it comes at Bergeron’s expense.