With the regular season winding down, it’s time to debate who will take home the hardware for this year’s NHL awards. With lots of conversation over who will take the Hart Trophy and Norris Trophy, let’s take a look at the award for the forward with the most defensive skill, the Selke Trophy.
One player who has never really been in the running for the award is Pittsburgh Penguins’ forward Sidney Crosby, who is now in his 19th NHL season but has never finished higher than fourth in Selke Trophy voting (2018-19). But in a season where the Penguins have been forced to heavily rely on Crosby’s two-way game, the 36-year-old has shined both offensively and defensively.
On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discuss who will win the Selke Trophy, and why Crosby should be in the running.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Today we’re on the Selke Trophy. It isn’t always the sexiest award, but we’ll have a new winner this year, as last year’s winner in Patrice Bergeron retired before this season. Who are some of the frontrunners in your opinion?
Frank Seravalli: I’m going to give a healthy amount of props to Sidney Crosby. He’s never won the Selke Trophy, and his best finish in voting was fourth. When you look at his season and how excellent it’s been, it’s more than just being one of the greatest seasons for a 36-year-old in NHL history.
Go and watch the first period against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday, and tell me why someone like Crosby shouldn’t win the Selke Trophy. His attention to detail, his back pressure, his intelligence and smarts, winning faceoffs, there’s so many facets to it. At the same time, he’s asked to carry the Penguins offensively.
I just feel like the overall state of his game is well documented but he doesn’t get the love for his play in the defensive zone.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…
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