Barkov, Bergeron, Stone named Selke Trophy finalists

Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers, Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins, and Mark Stone of the Vegas Golden Knights have been voted Selke Trophy finalists, the league announced Sunday.

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

Barkov is a Selke finalist for the first time in his career. Florida's captain posted 58 points in 50 games this season and maintained his reputation as a stellar two-way forward. The Panthers had 60.06% of all goals and 59.85% of all shot attempts at five-on-five with Barkov on the ice, according to Evolving Hockey. The 25-year-old also won 54.9% of his draws and registered 39 takeaways while averaging nearly 21 minutes of ice time per game.

Bergeron, a four-time Selke winner, is nominated for a remarkable 10th straight season. Should he win this year, he'll surpass Bob Gainey for most Selke wins by a single player. The 35-year-old had 48 points in 54 games this season while controlling 65.8% of all goals and 63.18% of all shot attempts at five-on-five. He saw his average ice time dip in 2020-21 but still won 62% of his faceoffs while notching 35 takeaways.

Stone is a finalist for the second time in his career and would be the first winger to win the award since Jere Lehtinen in 2003. The 29-year-old had the best offensive regular season of his career with 1.11 points per game and led all Golden Knights forwards with 19:04 in average ice time. Stone also led the NHL with 58 takeaways and had sparkling underlying metrics; Vegas scored 64.8% of all goals and controlled 53.03% of all shot attempts with its captain on the ice at five-on-five.