Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins, Sean Couturier of the Philadelphia Flyers and Ryan O’Reilly of the St. Louis Blues were named finalists Monday for the 2019-20 Frank J. Selke Trophy.
Voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association, the award goes to “the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.” The award will be presented during the conference finals.
Bergeron is a four-time Selke Trophy winner, O’Reilly won it last year and Couturier is a finalist for the second time in three seasons.
Bergeron, who turns 35 on Friday, is a finalist for a record ninth consecutive year. A fifth Selke Trophy would break the record he shares with Montreal Canadiens legend Bob Gainey.
Bergeron, whose most recent Selke win came in 2016-17, tallied 31 goals and 25 assists in 61 games and won 57.9 percent of his faceoffs.
O’Reilly, 29, registered 12 goals and tied his career high with 49 assists in 71 games. He could become the first back-to-back Selke winner since Bergeron in 2013-14 and 2014-15.
Couturier, 27, contributed 22 goals and 37 assists in 69 games. The runner-up for the award in 2017-18, he could be the first Flyers player to win the Selke Trophy since Dave Poulin in 1986-87.
-Field Level Media
