Ranking The NHL's Three Selke Trophy Finalists
The NHL revealed the three finalists for the Selke Trophy on Wednesday.
Tampa Bay Lightning center Anthony Cirelli, Colorado Avalanche center Brock Nelson and Montreal Canadiens center Nick Suzuki are the final three players up for this award.
The Selke Trophy is awarded "to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game." The members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association vote on this trophy.
Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov is the only active NHL player to have won this award in the last five years, doing so three times. Retired Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron won it twice in that span.
Ranking The NHL's Three Calder Trophy Finalists: No Doubt About No. 1
New York Islanders D-man Matthew Schaefer, Anaheim Ducks right winger Beckett Sennecke and Montreal Canadiens right winger Ivan Demidov are the NHL's 2025-26 Calder Trophy finalists.
1. Nick Suzuki, C, Montreal Canadiens
Suzuki has been the anchor of the Canadiens this season. Along with recording the first 100-point season of his NHL career, he continues to grow defensively and could land himself his first Selke Trophy.
When Suzuki is on the ice for the Habs, chances are Montreal will be in the positive in terms of goals for and against. Throughout the season, the Canadiens have outscored their opponents 94-58 when Suzuki is on the ice at even strength.
Montreal's captain has also been stellar in the faceoff dot, taking a total of 1,449 draws this year and winning 731 of them.
Suzuki is the first Selke Trophy finalist to represent the Canadiens since Guy Carbonneau won the award in 1992.
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This story was originally published May 6, 2026 at 11:53 AM.