Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron has won the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward for a record-breaking fifth time.
The honour unveiled Sunday before Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final could be Bergeron’s last if he decides to retire on the verge of his 37th birthday. He does not have a contract for next season and has declined to say whether he plans to come back for a 19th season.
The Frank J. Selke Trophy is given to the NHL forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.<br><br>For the fifth time in his career, Patrice Bergeron is taking it home. He thanks the <a href=”https://twitter.com/NHLBruins?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@NHLBruins</a> fans and his teammates for the continued support. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/NHLAwards?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#NHLAwards</a> <a href=”https://t.co/3Cq7ir9beq”>pic.twitter.com/3Cq7ir9beq</a>
—@NHL
Bergeron wouldn’t be calling it a career because of diminished performance. He is still on top of his game.
Bergeron winning the Selke for a fifth time broke a tie with Montreal Canadiens Hall of Famer Bob Gainey, who won the award in its first four years of existence. This was his 11th consecutive season as a finalist — the longest streak in league history, surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s 10-year run finishing in the top three in voting for the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP from 1980-89.
Florida’s Aleksander Barkov and Calgary’s Elias Lindholm were the other finalists as voted by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Bergeron was a runaway winner with 160 first-place votes.