Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron, New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier and Toronto Maple Leafs winger Mitchell Marner were named the finalists for the 2022-23 Frank J. Selke Trophy given to the best defensive forward in the NHL on Tuesday.
Bergeron has won the Selke a record five times, most recently last season, and he was named a finalist for the award for the 12th straight season to extend his record for most consecutive top-three finishes for an NHL award.
Bergeron, 37, led the league in faceoff wins for the eighth time in his career and won 61.1 percent of his draws. He is the captain of a Boston team that produced the best regular-season record in NHL history (65-12-5, 135 points).
Hischier, 24, captained the Devils to the third-best record in the NHL (52-22-8, 112 points) and a 49-point turnaround from last year. He helped the Devils’ penalty-killing unit rank fourth in the NHL at 82.6 percent and also paced the team with 64 takeaways.
Marner, 25, led the NHL with 104 takeaways and also played a key role in his team winding up seventh in the league with an average of 2.68 goals allowed per game. Marner ranked fifth among all NHL forwards in short-handed ice time.
Hischier and Marner are finalists for an NHL award for the first time in their careers.
Also on Tuesday, the NHL announced that Jack Hughes of the Devils, Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings and Brayden Point of the Tampa Bay Lightning were selected finalists for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, given to the player who “exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.”
Kopitar was assessed just four penalty minutes, the lowest total among the NHL’s top 100 scorers this season. Hughes had six penalty minutes and Point had seven.
–Field Level Media
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