Bergeron, Hischier, Marner voted finalists for Selke Trophy

Boston Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron, New Jersey Devils forward Nico Hischier, and Toronto Maple Leafs winger Mitch Marner were announced as the 2022-23 Frank J. Selke Trophy finalists on Tuesday.

The award is voted on annually by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association at the end of the regular season and is presented "to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game."

This is Bergeron's 12th consecutive nomination. He won the Selke Trophy for a record fifth time last season. If he wins this year, it would be the second time he's captured the award in back-to-back campaigns.

Bergeron, 37, put up 27 goals and 31 assists in 78 games and was a plus-35 on the season while averaging 17:24 minutes of ice time per contest. He also won 61.1% of his faceoffs, good for the fourth-best clip of his career.

The underlying numbers were exceptional as per usual; the Bruins controlled 72.6% of the goals, 63% of the expected goals, 61.2% of the shots, and 61.1% of the shot attempts at five-on-five with Bergeron on the ice this season, according to Evolving Hockey.

This is Hischier's and Marner's first nomination for the coveted honor.

Hischier ranked second on the Devils with 80 points (31 goals, 49 assists) in 81 contests while seeing 19:17 minutes of ice time per game. The captain led his team with 64 takeaways and won 53.9% of his draws.

New Jersey owned 60.4% of the goals, 59.1% of the expected goals, 57.5% of the shots, and 55.4% of the shot attempts with Hischier out there at five-on-five.

He also led all Devils forwards in shorthanded ice time per game (2:06) and was a key reason why New Jersey owned the fourth-best penalty kill in the league during the regular season.

Marner, meanwhile, can become the first winger to win the Selke Trophy since Jere Lehtinen in 2003.

The Maple Leafs star paced all skaters with 104 takeaways in the regular season - 12 clear of Brandon Hagel in second place. Marner averaged the fifth-most ice time (21:17) out of all forwards, trailing only Leon Draisaitl, Mikko Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon, and Connor McDavid.

Marner's minutes were extremely productive during the regular season; Toronto outscored the opposition 64-39 with Marner on the ice at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick, and owned 53.8% of the shots, 54.2% of the shot attempts, and 55.4% of the expected goals.

The 2023 NHL Awards will begin at 8 p.m. ET on June 26.

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