Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov, Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews, and Carolina Hurricanes veteran Jordan Staal were named the finalists for the Frank J. Selke Trophy on Sunday.
The Selke Trophy is awarded "to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game," as voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association at the end of the regular season.
Barkov is the favorite to take home the honor after leading all full-time NHL centers in Evolving-Hockey's defensive goals above replacement in 2023-24. He won the award in 2021 and has been a finalist three times.
The 6-foot-3 Finn was a major reason the Panthers tied for the league lead in goals-against per game. While Barkov was on the ice at even strength, the puck was in the defensive zone just 35.3% of the time, which ranks in the 97th percentile of NHL skaters, per NHL EDGE tracking data.
This marks Matthews' first time as a Selke finalist after regularly contributing to the penalty kill this campaign for the first time in his career. He ranked fourth among full-time centers in defensive goals above replacement, second among NHL skaters with 85 takeaways, and tied for second among forwards with 93 blocked shots.
Matthews may need a bigger trophy case, as he also won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy by leading the league with 69 goals and is nominated for the Lady Byng Trophy. Matthews is the first player to win the "Rocket" and be nominated for the Selke in the same season. He's also expected to be a Hart Trophy finalist.
Staal has long received down-ballot Selke votes, but this is the 35-year-old's first time being a finalist since his age-21 season in 2009-10 with the Pittsburgh Penguins. That 14-year gap is the longest in NHL history for a voted award.
The rugged veteran was a key cog in Carolina's No. 1-ranked penalty kill, logging the most shorthanded minutes of the team's forwards. Staal also ranked sixth among full-time centers in defensive goals above replacement and fourth in faceoff percentage among players who took at least 1,000 draws this campaign. He took the ninth-most defensive zone draws in the NHL but ranked second among all skaters in five-on-five shot-attempt percentage.
Future Hall of Famer Patrice Bergeron won the Selke for a record sixth time in 2023.
The 2024 winner is expected to be announced on June 27.
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