Bergeron, Couturier, O'Reilly tabbed as Selke Trophy finalists

Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins, Sean Couturier of the Philadelphia Flyers, and Ryan O'Reilly of the St. Louis Blues are the NHL's 2019-20 Selke Trophy finalists, the league announced Monday.

The Frank J. Selke Trophy is voted upon annually by the Professional Hockey Writers Association and awarded to the forward "who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game."

Bergeron is up for the award for a record ninth time, and if he wins, he'll be the only player in NHL history to win the Selke five times. The Bruins' pivot earned the honor in 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2017, and has a good shot to win it again after posting 56 points in 61 games this season while averaging nearly 19 minutes per night against top competition.

Couturier is a finalist for the second time in his career after being the runner-up to Anze Kopitar in 2018. The Flyers' star had 59 points in 69 games, winning 59.7% of his draws, and owning a sterling five-on-five Corsi For rating of 57.2%.

O'Reilly won the award last year, and followed up with another strong season at both ends. The Blues' top-line center had 61 points in 71 games, averaging over 20 minutes of ice time. O'Reilly also won 56.6% of faceoffs, and was seventh in the NHL with 69 takeaways.