South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Barkov wins Selke Trophy as top forward on defense
Florida Panthers’ captain and star center, Aleksander Barkov, was named the recipient of the 2020-21 Frank J. Selke Trophy Friday night.
The award recognizes “the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game,” as selected by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
Barkov was first in the voting by a landslide, with 62 first-place votes, 16 second-place votes and seven third-place votes.
“This is one of the biggest honors I’ve had in my life and my hockey career,” Barkov said on a Zoom call with the media Saturday morning. “It is a team sport.
It would have never been possible without my teammates, coaches, trainers, GM and everyone in our organization. A big thank you to them.”
Also finalists for the award were Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins and Mark Stone of the Vegas Golden Knights. Bergeron came in second place with 15 firstplace votes, 30 second-place votes and 24 third-place votes. Stone came in third (11-26-23).
“This recognition of Sasha’s ability stands as a testament to his growth as a player and as a leader,” Panthers general manager Bill Zito said in a press release. “The Florida Panthers organization is tremendously proud of our captain’s achievements. The Selke Trophy is synonymous with sacrifice, and over the past eight seasons Sasha has demonstrated time and again that he is willing to do what it takes for the team to succeed.”
Barkov, 25, led the Panthers with 26 goals this season, 126 shots on goal and total time on ice with 1,046 minutes, 52 seconds. He also recorded 32 assists and 39 takeaways. In the faceoff dot, Barkov was ranked 10th in the NHL in total face-offs with 1,026, posting a 54.9 win percentage.
With the Panthers’ 37-14-5 record and second place finish in the Central Division this season, more eyes are turning towards the team.
Aside from Barkov, coach Joel Quenneville was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award (finished third) and general manager Bill Zito has been named a finalist for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award (winner will be announced on Monday).
“That shows you that we did something right this season,” Barkov said. “It didn’t end the way we wanted it to, but we had a great regular season and good games in the playoffs. We did a lot of great things this year and that is why we are getting recognized more and more.”
After winning the Lady Byng Trophy in 2018-19, Barkov became the fifth player in NHL history with career Selke and Lady Byng Trophy wins, joining Pavel Datsyuk, Ron Francis, Anze Kopitar and Ryan O’Reilly.