2013 NHL Awards – Frank J. Selke
Today we’ll continue with our breakdown of the awards by talking about the Selke Trophy.
6/2 – Jack Adams
6/3 – Selke
6/4 – Calder
6/5 – Vezina
6/6 – Hart
Frank J. Selke Trophy – The Frank J. Selke Trophy is presented to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game. Last year’s winner: Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins.
The Finalists:
Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins – Bergeron, the reigning Selke Trophy winner, is up for the award again. Bergeron was a force all over the ice. Offensively, Bergeron fulfilled his duties as a forward, recording 10 goals and 32 points, both ranking 4th on his team. Defensively though, Bergeron was fantastic. He led all forwards on his team in ice time per game, playing 19:17 a game. He also played the 2nd most minutes of any Bruins’ forward on the penalty kill, playing 2:12 a game. Bergeron led the NHL in faceoff percentage at an outrageous 62.1%. That 62.1% is the 2nd highest mark in the last 6 seasons. If we go to advance statistics, we see that Bergeron started 42.4% of his shifts in the offensive end which was the 2nd-fewest mark among Bruins forwards, but he ended 47.2% of his shifts in the offensive zone. Bergeron has won this award one time previously in 2012.
Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings – The Magic Man had yet another great two-way season. Offensively, Datsyuk led all Red Wings players in goals (15), points (49), plus/minus (+21), powerplay points (8), and shooting percentage (14.0%). Defensively, Datsyuk was a terror. Datsyuk led the NHL in takeaways (56), and posted a very strong faceoff percentage of 55.0%. But probably the most damning piece of evidence for Datsyuk comes from Corsi’s quality of competition rating. According to Corsi, Datsyuk had a quality of competition rating of 1.340 which meant that Datsyuk faced the 19th-toughest competition of any NHL forward to play at least 30 games. Of the 18 forwards ranking ahead of him, none of them posted a better +/- than the +7 posted by New York Islanders forward Josh Bailey. Datsyuk has won this award three times previously in 2008, 2009, and 2010.
Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks – Captain Serious often flies under the radar on the superstar-laden Chicago Blackhawks. However, when it comes to two-way play, there are few better. Offensively, Toews led his team in goals, +/-, shorthanded points, and shots on goal. However, Toews was even better on the defensive end. Toews finished 1st in the league in takeaways (tied with Datsyuk at 56), 2nd in the league in faceoff percentage (59.9%) and 3rd in +/- (+28). However, there are two statistics that show just how dominant Toews was defensively. First, when Toews was on the ice, his team scored an average of 3.99 goals per 60 minutes, but gave up just 1.60 goals per 60 minutes. That differential of +2.39 is the 4th best mark among all players, ranking just behind the Pittsburgh Penguins’ top line of Sidney Crosby, Pascal Dupuis, and Chris Kunitz. When Toews’ was off the ice, his team scored an average of 2.45 goals per 60 minutes, but gave up 1.90 goals per 60 minutes. That differential drops from 2.39 all the way down to just 0.56. That’s how big of an impact Toews has on the game.
The Pick: Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins. Yep, I’m thinking Bergeron goes back-to-back. Think about this. When Bergeron was on the ice, the Bruins scored an average of 3.38 goals per 60 minutes and gave up an average of 1.29 goals per 60 minutes. When Bergeron was off the ice, the Bruins scored just 2.29 goals per 60 minutes and gave up 2.37 goals per 60 minutes. The Bruins go from being +2.09/60 minutes when Bergeron is on the ice (7th best mark in the NHL) to be -0.08/60 minutes when he is off the ice. If I want to make that statement even more impressive, when Bergeron is on the ice, the Bruins’ goaltenders have a save percentage of .949, compared to just .923 for the season. Simply unreal, and that’s why he’s my pick to win the Selke Trophy.
Prashanth Iyer
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