Patrice Bergeron Receives Record 10th Straight Selke Nomination

The NHL announced Sunday that Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron has been nominated for the Frank J. Selke Trophy for a record tenth-straight time.

The award is given “to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game”. Bergeron’s four Selke Trophy wins are tied for the most ever with former Montreal Canadiens forward and hall of famer Bob Gainey who won the award in each of the first four seasons the Selke Trophy was awarded. Aleksander Barkov and Vegas Golden Knights forward Mark Stone were the other nominees.

“People are continuing to pay attention because he deserves it,” Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said after being informed that Bergeron was nominated again. “Certainly, he emulates what that award is all about it, did it again this year. A couple of good candidates as well he’s up against, so that’s always a tough call for the people deciding.

But I’m glad to see him get his just due and good luck to him. I obviously am biased, but I feel he should be the winner. I’m sure the coaches of their players probably feel the same way, but good for Patrice. And I’m proud of him again for bringing it every year. He’s another year under his belt [and] to be able to keep playing that way on both sides of the puck is kind of a testament to not only his physical ability but his mental toughness to do it every night.”

Patrice Bergeron has four goals and four assists in nine Stanley Cup Playoff games after a 12th 20-goal regular season. Bergeron scored 23 goals and had 25 assists in 54 games. Once again though, not only was he a steady offensive presence skating on the Bruins’ top line with David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand but also matching up against opponents’ top players every game as a dominant defensive force. Patrice Bergeron is viewed as one of, if not the best faceoff men in the NHL, and in the 2021 regular season, Bergeron showed why. He led the league in faceoff wins with 714 and in faceoff win percentage with a career-best 62.3 percent. Patrice Bergeron also led the B’s with a +27 rating and ranked third in the NHL in the puck possession metric SAT% (62.5).