Frank J. Selke Trophy

Frank J. Selke Trophy
Established	1977–78 NHL season
Current holder(s)	Pavel Datsyuk
Awarded to the	National Hockey League forward who demonstrates the most skill in the defensive component of the game

The Frank J. Selke Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League forward who demonstrates the most skill in the defensive component of the game. The winner is selected by a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association following the regular season.^[1] It has been awarded 31 times to 20 different players since the 1977–78 NHL season. The current holder is Pavel Datsyuk, winning it two years in a row.

History

The trophy was first awarded at the end of the 1977–78 NHL season. It was named after Frank J. Selke, former general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens.^[1] The Selke Trophy was the fifth and last of the major NHL awards to be introduced that have been named after General Managers and owners of the Original Six teams, the other awards being the Art Ross Trophy, James Norris Trophy, Conn Smythe Trophy, and Jack Adams Award.

The first recipient was Bob Gainey of the Canadiens, who won the trophy the first four years it was given, and to date he has won it more times than any other player.^[2] Players from the Montreal Canadiens have won the trophy the most times, a total of 7 times, though these 7 trophies were amassed by only two players. Bob Gainey has won the most, winning it four times while Guy Carbonneau and Jere Lehtinen have each won it three times. During the late 90's, Lehtinen and Carbonneau both played on the Dallas Stars, under then GM, Bob Gainey. The team with the most different winners is the Detroit Red Wings, as Sergei Fedorov (twice), Steve Yzerman, Kris Draper, and Pavel Datsyuk (twice) have combined for six Selke Trophies, all wins coming since 1994.^[1]

There has been only one instance in which a Selke Trophy winner was also awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy for Most Valuable Player—Sergei Fedorov captured both trophies during the 1993–94 NHL season.^[3] There has not been an instance in which the Art Ross Trophy winner has been awarded the Selke Trophy, though Fedorov finished second in regular season scoring in 1994,^[3] while Hart Trophy winner and Art Ross Trophy runner-up Joe Sakic finished second in Selke voting in 2001.^[4]

Winners

Steve Yzerman, 2000 winner.

Kris Draper, 2004 winner.

Rod Brind'Amour, 2006 and 2007 winner.

Jere Lehtinen, three-time winner (1998, 1999, 2003.

     Player is still active

References

See also

• two-way forward
• List of NHL players
• List of NHL statistical leaders