Panthers' Aleksander Barkov Wins 2024 Selke Trophy: Could He Catch Bergeron? (ct)

Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov has won his second career Selke Trophy. Could he catch Patrice Bergeron before his career is done?

The NHL has announced that Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov is the winner of the 2024 Selke Trophy.

The Frank J. Selke Trophy is awarded to the player “who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.” Members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association voted for the winner.

Barkov beat Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews and Carolina Hurricanes Jordan Staal for the award, and it was well deserved. Barkov was magnificent defensively this season as the Panthers star won 57.3 percent of his faceoff draws, sported a plus-33 rating, and was a significant reason why Florida allowed the second least goals this season.

Aleksander Barkov

Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

This is Barkov’s second Selke Trophy win, as he also won the award in 2021. At just 28 years, the 2013 second-overall pick has plenty of time to win more. If he continues to play this well, he could even flirt with catching Patrice Bergeron’s NHL-record six Selke Trophy wins.

With Bergeron retired, the competition for the Selke Trophy has drastically changed. It is still a difficult award to win, but Bergeron was a consistent finalist as his career continued. He also, of course, ended his career with back-to-back wins.

A lot would need to go right for Barkov to have a chance of catching Bergeron’s record. First and most importantly, Barkov must stay healthy and maintain his status as an elite two-way forward. As noted above, he is still very well in his prime and will be for multiple more years. This naturally helps his chances.

However, the NHL also has some excellent two-way forwards left. Matthews, for example, is only 26 years old and took a major step forward with his defensive play. He could be a long-term candidate for the Selke because of it.

Yet, at the same time, Barkov’s 2023-24 campaign showed that he is, without a doubt, the NHL’s top defensive forward. The final vote count for the Selke effectively displayed that, as he won by a landslide. He received 165 first-place votes, while Staal came in second with just four.

Clearly, Barkov is the new NHL’s top two-way forward, and it will be fun to see how many more Selkes he can win before it’s all said and done. Even if he does not catch Bergeron, it would be shocking if he does not win at least one more.