Patrice Bergeron acknowledged by the NHL as a nominee for a prestigious award.

Patrice Bergeron acknowledged by the NHL as a nominee for a prestigious award.

The NHL announced its nominees for the Selke Trophy today, and the list featured some familiar names. 

The distinction is awarded to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of hockey, while maintaining a high-level of all around play. In short, it’s been used to single out the NHL’s best defensive forward. For Patrice Bergeron, he’s exemplified the spirit of the award throughout his career and has claimed the trophy on three separate occasions and being named a nominee for the sixth consecutive season.

In 79 games this season as the Bruins top-line center, Bergeron produced 21 goals and 53 points. He also dominated the league in possession statistics and advanced statistics. His Corsi-For %, that is the percentage of scoring chances for his team while on the ice, was a league-leading 61.2%, while his Corsi-For per 60 minutes was an outstanding 69.44.

If Bergeron does in fact claim his fourth Selke Trophy this summer he’ll join rarified air by transcending Guy Carbonneau, Jere Lehtinen and Pavel Datsyuk as the only other three time winners and join Bob Gainey as the only player to winner the award four times.