Matthews named Selke finalist a day after Leafs get eliminated from playoffs
The Toronto Maple Leafs may still be reeling from yet another Game 7 loss at the hands of the Boston Bruins last night, but they got some good news this morning.
Not even a full day after their elimination, the NHL announced that Auston Matthews was named a finalist for this year’s Selke Trophy, given the league’s best defensive forward. He joins Carolina Hurricanes veteran Jordan Staal and former Selke winner Aleksander Barkov as finalists.
Aleksander Barkov, Auston Matthews and Jordan Staal are the three finalists for the 2023-24 Frank J. Selke Trophy. #NHLAwards: https://t.co/JQoBODvcft pic.twitter.com/pDHhWOvxaM
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) May 5, 2024
This is the first time in Matthews’ career that he has been nominated for the award and the second consecutive year that a Leafs player has been a finalist. Mitch Marner cracked the top three last season before losing out to Boston Bruins legend Patrice Bergeron.
Looking at Matthews’s season, which included scoring 69 goals and 107 points, it’s hard to believe that such an offensive player could be nominated for being one of the best defensive players in the league.
Being a responsible defensive player is nothing new for Matthews. Despite his high-octane offensive skillset, he does a great job of ensuring that business in the defensive end is taken care of. According to Natural Stat Trick, Matthews was fifth in the NHL in takeaways this season with 67 and led all forwards with 79 blocked shots.
Winning the award will be no easy feat for the 26-year-old. Though he may have Staal beat out, surpassing Barkov, who many see as the natural successor to Bergeron as the perennial award winner, will be tough.
However, an argument should be made about Matthews’ ability to create an all-around defensive game without sacrificing his offensive output.
Matthews already has this year’s Rocket Richard Trophy locked up, and we’ll see if he can add the Selke Trophy alongside that when the NHL Awards take place later this summer.
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