The Vancouver Canucks are having one of their best seasons in over a decade and will have several players in the running for some awards after it is all said and done.
Unfortunately, the Selke Trophy won’t be one of the awards coming to the West Coast, as Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov was announced as the winner last night. There were, however, three Canucks players who received some love down the ballot from some voters.
The award, given out to the league’s best defensive forward, is voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writer’s Association.
Aleksander Barkov is the winner of the Frank J. Selke Trophy! 🏆 #NHLAwards
This trophy is awarded annually to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game. pic.twitter.com/jH8EyoVk6m
— NHL (@NHL) May 18, 2024
J.T. Miller was the Canucks player who received the most love from voters. He finished 15th in voting with one vote each for first place, second place, and third place, while he received two votes for fourth place. This made him end up with a total of 28 points which was ahead of superstars like Brad Marchand, Connor McDavid, and Nathan MacKinnon.
In contrast, Barkov received 165 first-place votes and won the award with 1817 points. Carolina Hurricanes forward Eric Staal was the runner-up with 539.
Heading down the list, Conor Garland is the next Canucks player to show up on the ballot. The 28-year-old was tied for 23rd on the ballot with Tampa Bay Lightning forward Anthony Cirelli. Garland received one vote for third place and two votes for fifth place which was good enough for seven points.
Elias Pettersson is the last Vancouver player to make an appearance as he finished 26th in voting with a single vote for fourth place and three votes for fifth place.
The Canucks have only ever had one player win the Selke in their entire 54-year history and that came rather recently. Ryan Kesler took home the award in 2010-11 and remains the only Vancouver player to do so.
We’ll see if these three can improve on their defensive play next season to make it two.