Selke Smooth: Shane Pinto Voted NHL's Sixth-Best Defensive Forward

In Ottawa, Shane Pinto has long been regarded as one of the top two-way forwards in the game. But the rest of the league is now seeing it too.

On Friday morning, the NHL announced the voting results for the Frank J. Selke Trophy, which recognizes “the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game,” as selected by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

Pinto finished sixth in the final voting, and if you're measuring by first-place votes, he got the third-most in that department.

Montreal's Nick Suzuki was the man who took home the award and did so by a landslide. He was the first choice on 151 of the 198 ballots and a top-five pick of 191 voters.

In a clever bit of double misdirection, Suzuki thought he was surprising teammate Cole Caufield with the Lady Byng trophy inside the Montreal locker room, not knowing that Caufield had agreed to surprise him with the Selke.

But was Suzuki really that much better than Pinto this year? Near the end of this season in mid-April, The Hockey News' Graeme Nichols made a highly compelling argument for why Pinto's defensive ability stacks up with that of any NHL forward, including the man who won the award.

As the checking line centre for one of the best defensive teams in hockey, it makes sense for Shane Pinto to get credit for the work that he has put in this season.

When Pinto has been on the ice this season, the Senators have generated 50.21 percent of the shots (CF%), 53.72 percent of the shots on goal (SF%), 50.59 percent of the total goals (GF%), and 55.04 percent of the expected goals (xGF%).

In other words, when he has been on the ice, the Senators have tilted the ice in their favour, generating a higher percentage of shot and goal metrics than the opposition.

What is especially impressive about this development is that Shane Pinto's offensive zone start percentage is 30.87.

Of the 250 forwards who have logged more than 800 minutes of five-on-five ice time, only five players have a lower offensive zone start percentage than Pinto: Connor Dewar (PIT, 18.71%); Frederic Gaudreau (SEA, 24.91%); Nic Dowd (WSH/VEG, 26.97%); Michael McCarron (NSH/MIN 27.92%); and Jason Dickinson (CHI/EDM, 27.97%).

When players have a high volume of defensive zone starts, they typically spend more time in their own end defending, as reflected in the numbers above.

Despite playing against the opposition's best players and facing a high volume of defensive zone draws, Pinto's metrics are incredibly strong.

Using HockeyStats.com's graph tool, it is easy to visually see how players fare across metrics like quality of competition and the rate of expected goals allowed at five-on-five.

In the top-right quadrant of the graph, it is clear that Pinto has some separation from the pack. He is having a unique season in that few players can match his workload, the quality of competition he faces, and how he has helped limit the opposition's chances when he's been on the ice.

To put that into perspective, Nick Suzuki is represented by the Montreal Canadiens logo at the top of the graph on the Y-axis. The centre is regarded as a strong two-way player who has enjoyed an excellent season, recording 20 goals and 98 points in 78 games. Last season, Suzuki earned some Selke consideration, finishing 13th in the balloting. Without Barkov, the campaigning for him as a prospective favourite for the Selke this year is underway.

Suzuki is a great player. He plays in all situations and against tough competition, but he has not been able to limit the volume of chances as Pinto has. Another major difference between the two is how Suzuki has an offensive zone start percentage of 51.40.

Unlike Suzuki, Pinto does not benefit from getting the lion's share of offensive draws. Those responsibilities fall to Tim Stützle and Dylan Cozens's lines, and without them, it is more challenging for Pinto's line to win draws, break the puck out efficiently, and sustain pressure in the offensive zone.

To Pinto's credit, however, his lines have been doing just that. He has won 51.6 percent of his total faceoffs this season, but that number climbs to 55.9 percent for just his defensive zone draws.

According to Evolving-Hockey's line combinations tool, Pinto's two most common lines this season have been the Michael Amadio-Pinto-Claude Giroux and Nick Cousins-Pinto-Amadio combinations. Both checking lines have been dominant.

Amadio/Pinto/Giroux: 54.67 CF%, 58.27 SF%, 65.54 GF%, and 58.21 xGF%

Cousins/Pinto/Amadio: 52.90 CF%, 57.94 SF%, 47.86 GF%, and 62.20 xGF%

Unfortunately, for the Cousins-Pinto-Amadio line, their percentage of total goals (GF%) has suffered from bad luck. Despite their strong underlying metrics, the Senators' goaltenders have stopped 88.94 percent of the shots when this trio have been on the ice. Goaltending in Ottawa has been problematic for the lion's share of the season, with the Sens having the fourth-lowest five-on-five save percentage in the league (89.11)

Pinto is a unique player.

He has not been sheltered at all with his usage and deployment. Despite facing difficult circumstances, Pinto's metrics at five-on-five and on the penalty kill have thrived.

HockeyViz's data visuals corroborate that point. Pinto's presence has a profound effect on the Senators' defensive play, irrespective of the situation.

And, that is before mentioning that Pinto had his best offensive season, setting new regular-season highs in goals (23) and points (46).

Everything about Shane Pinto's 2025-26 campaign points towards a player who absolutely should merit serious consideration for the Selke.

It should be noted as well that Michael Amadio, Pinto's linemate and partner in crime on the penalty kill, finished 20th in the voting.

By Steve Warne/Graeme Nichols
The Hockey News