Montreal Canadiens center Nick Suzuki, Colorado Avalanche center Brock Nelson and Tampa Bay Lightning center Anthony Cirelli are the finalists for the NHL's best defensive forward award.
The NHL revealed the three finalists for the Selke Trophy on Wednesday.
Tampa Bay Lightning center Anthony Cirelli, Colorado Avalanche center Brock Nelson and Montreal Canadiens center Nick Suzuki are the final three players up for this award.
The Selke Trophy is awarded "to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game." The members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association vote on this trophy.
Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov is the only active NHL player to have won this award in the last five years, doing so three times. Retired Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron won it twice in that span.
For this year's Selke Trophy, here is how I'd rank the three finalists, based purely on regular-season performance.
3. Anthony Cirelli, C, Tampa Bay Lightning
Cirelli is the only player of the three finalists this year who was named a finalist before. Last year, he finished third for the Selke Trophy behind Panthers right winger Sam Reinhart and Barkov.
In 71 games, Cirelli had 23 goals and 52 points and was the second-best forward on Tampa Bay in the plus-minus department with a plus-38.
He finished first on the team in shorthanded time on ice per game at 2:38, which is also the seventh-most time averaged among all NHL forwards.
2. Brock Nelson, C, Colorado Avalanche
On a roster full of elite offensive talent, the 34-year-old Nelson can be turned to for a shutdown role.
What really stood out for Nelson's defensive efforts this season is his usage on Colorado's penalty kill and how effective they've been with him leading the way.
Nelson averaged 1:51 of shorthanded ice time, and the Avalanche finished the regular season with the NHL's top penalty kill at 84.6 percent.
Nelson also took the fourth-most faceoffs in the NHL with 1,459, winning 735 for a win percentage of 50.38. That's better than Cirelli's rate of 48.2 percent and slightly below Suzuki's rate of 50.45 percent.
1. Nick Suzuki, C, Montreal Canadiens
Suzuki has been the anchor of the Canadiens this season. Along with recording the first 100-point season of his NHL career, he continues to grow defensively and could land himself his first Selke Trophy.
When Suzuki is on the ice for the Habs, chances are Montreal will be in the positive in terms of goals for and against. Throughout the season, the Canadiens have outscored their opponents 94-58 when Suzuki is on the ice at even strength.
Montreal's captain has also been stellar in the faceoff dot, taking a total of 1,449 draws this year and winning 731 of them.
Suzuki is the first Selke Trophy finalist to represent the Canadiens since Guy Carbonneau won the award in 1992.
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