On Sunday, May 5, the NHL and the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PWHA) announced the finalists for the 2024 Selke Trophy. The Selke Trophy is annually awarded “to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.” This year’s finalists are Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers, Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Jordan Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes.
Alexander Barkov is the only returning winner of the finalists having taken home the award following the 2020-21 NHL season. This season marks the third time in the past four seasons that he’s been named a finalist. In 73 games during the regular season, he accumulated 23 goals and 80 points for the Atlantic Division-winning Panthers. He also led the Panthers in faceoffs (1,100) and won 57.3% of them, which ranked ninth in the league. He also took home the 2019 Lady Byng Trophy.
Auston Matthews has been named a Selke Trophy finalist for the first time in his career. A prominent goalscorer who won his third Rocket Richard Trophy this season for leading the league in goals, Matthews is a surprising finalist for an award given to a player who excels at the defensive aspects of the game. However, he finished second among NHL forwards in takeaways (85) and tied for second in blocked shots (93). In 81 games during the regular season, he had 69 goals, the most in the salary cap era, and 107 points, a career-high. He is also a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy and is likely to finish high in Hart Trophy voting as well.
An often-overlooked member of the Carolina Hurricanes, veteran captain Jordan Staal has been named a Selke finalist for just the second time despite receiving votes in 16 of his 18 NHL seasons. He has one third-place and one fourth-place finish in his career. Staal didn’t have his greatest offensive season in 2023-24 with only 30 points in 80 regular-season games, but he was counted on to take the team’s most difficult defensive assignments. He also still managed to win 58.1 percent of his faceoffs, the sixth-best percentage in the league. He even led Hurricanes forwards in shorthanded ice time this season. Earlier in his career, he won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year after the 2006-07 season.