Florida Panthers captain and centre Aleksander Barkov of Tampere, Finland has won the 2024 Frank J. Selke Trophy on Saturday. The award is presented to the best defensive forward in the National Hockey League. This is the second time in Barkov’s career he has won the award. He previously won in 2020-21. Barkov is the only Panthers player in franchise history to receive this honour. This is also the third time Barkov has won an individual NHL award as he previously won the 2019 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.
Barkov in 2023-24
Barkov had 23 goals and 57 assists for 80 points. He was a +33 with 24 penalty minutes, 29 power-play points, two shorthanded points, four game-winning goals, 193 shots on goal, 630 faceoff wins, a face-off winning percentage of 57.3%, 50 blocked shots, 104 hits, 61 takeaways, and 341 giveaways.
Barkov’s two shorthanded points
Both of Barkov’s shorthanded points came in Panthers wins. The first was a shorthanded assist on December 27 in a 3-2 Panthers win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Barkov helped set up Sam Reinhart for the game-winning goal at 3:11 of the third period. At the time, the Panthers took the 3-1 lead. The second was a shorthanded assist on February 29 in a 4-3 Panthers shootout win over the Montreal Canadiens. Barkov once again set up Reinhart. This time Barkov helped tie the game at three with six minutes and 55 seconds left in the third period.
Who were the other two finalists?
Barkov beat out Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Jordan Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes. Matthews is also a finalist for the Lady Byng, which will be announced on May 30.
Panthers one of five teams left in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Florida is one of five teams left in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. At the moment they have a 25% chance of winning their first Stanley Cup Final in franchise history as they have already qualified for the Eastern Conference Final where they will face the New York Rangers. The other teams left in the West are the Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks.
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