Florida Panthers forwards Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart have been named finalists for the 2024-25 Frank J. Selke Trophy, the National Hockey League announced Friday. The award is given annually to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.
Tampa Bay Lightning forward Anthony Cirelli rounds out this year's finalists.
This marks the first time since the 2007-08 season that teammates have been nominated as finalists for the prestigious defensive award. The last pair was Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg of the Detroit Red Wings.
Earlier this season, the Fox 4 Morning Morning team got a chance to speak with Barkov. Watch what he said about playing and living in South Florida here:
Barkov, 29, is a finalist for the fourth time in his career, having previously won the award in 2020-21 and 2023-24. The Finnish center led Florida with 51 assists and 34 takeaways while producing 71 points this season.
His faceoff win percentage of 56.5% ranked ninth among NHL players who took at least 1,000 draws, marking his eighth straight season above 50%.
"It's always an honor to be recognized for the defensive side of the game," Barkov said.
At five-on-five play, Barkov posted a 59.3% shot attempts percentage, fourth among NHL forwards who played at least 50 games. He averaged 1:31 of shorthanded ice time per game while taking only eight penalties all season.
Reinhart, 29, is a first-time Selke finalist. The West Vancouver native led the Panthers in goals (39), power-play goals (13), shorthanded goals (5) and points (81) for the second consecutive season.
"This nomination means a lot because it recognizes the complete game I've been working to develop," Reinhart said.
Reinhart led all Panthers forwards with 62 blocked shots while being assessed just seven penalties throughout the regular season. His five shorthanded goals tied for third most among all NHL skaters.
The Panthers duo joins rare company as only the fourth pair of teammates to be finalists for the Selke in the same season. Previous teammate finalists include Sergei Fedorov and Steve Yzerman (Red Wings, 1995-96), Dirk Graham and Steve Larmer (Blackhawks, 1990-91), and Craig Ramsay and Don Luce (Sabres, 1979-80).
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