Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov is a finalist for a major trophy for the second straight year
Even after an injury-shortened regular season, Aleksander Barkov is getting his due as one of the best all-around forwards in the NHL.
For the second year in a row, the star center is a finalist for the Frank J. Selke Trophy, which is given annually to the league’s best defensive forward. Barkov won the Selke Trophy for the first time last year as he guided the Florida Panthers to the best regular season in franchise history and he’s once again a contender for the award after helping the Panthers one-up themselves this year.
“Obviously, we know what kind of skill he has offensively,” said All-Star left wing Jonathan Huberdeau, who has played with Barkov since 2013. “Defensively, he has a long stick and he just uses it. ... He just plays hard every time he’s on the ice.”
The winner of the trophy, which is voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association of America, will be announced next month at the NHL Awards. Boston Bruins star Patrice Bergeron and Calgary Flames star Elias Lindholm are the other two Selke finalists this year.
Last year, Barkov garnered 78 percent of the vote, and beat out Bergeron and Vegas Golden Knights star Mark Stone to win the biggest trophy of his career. The 26-year-old Finn also finished sixth in voting for the Hart Memorial Trophy and fourth for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy — the NHL’s sportsmanship award — which he won in 2019.
This year, Barkov played in only 67 games because of a knee injury, but led Florida’s forwards in time on ice per game and ranked second in short-handed time on ice, third in blocked and fifth in takeaways. He was also tied for eighth in faceoff percentage and led the group of finalists with 88 points to help the Panthers win the Presidents’ Trophy for the first time.
He’s also still playing. Florida opens the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs Tuesday against the rival Tampa Bay Lightning and Barkov has been one of the best players in the postseason so far, tied for fourth in the NHL in plus-minus at plus-8.
Panthers, Lightning dealing with injuries
Both the Panthers and Lightning will be missing one lineup fixture for Game 1, with no clarity about when their injured forwards might return.
For Florida, winger Mason Marchment will miss his third straight game with an unspecified injury and did not practice at all leading up to Round 2. For Tampa Bay, star forward Brayden Point will sit out at least the first game of the series after sustaining an apparent lower-body injury in the Lightning’s Game 7 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
Both forwards will be “day to day” after Game 1, both coaches said.
“He’s not going to be available tonight and probably day to day throughout the rest of the series,” interim coach Andrew Brunette said of Marchment.
Point’s absence is potentially series-altering development. The 26-year-old Canadian was second on the team with 28 goals in the regular season and has led Tampa Bay with 14 goals in each of the last two postseasons.
With Marchment out, forward Noel Acciari is set to take over as the left wing on the Panthers’ third line. Winger Anthony Duclair will also rejoin the lineup and play right wing on Huberdeau’s line after Brunette boldly benched him for Game 6 against the Washington Capitals.
This story was originally published May 17, 2022 at 12:27 PM.
