Poll: Who Should Win The 2020 Selke Trophy?
The finalists have been announced for all the major awards, but like every year there is much debate over who should take home each piece of hardware. In fact, with a shortened season and unorthodox playoff scenario, the views and reasoning behind each vote will perhaps vary even more wildly.
So as we get closer to the return of NHL hockey in Edmonton and Toronto, where 24 teams will try to chase the Stanley Cup, we’re going to ask you, the PHR faithful, to explain who you would vote for if given the chance.
After looking at the Calder Trophy finalists, Jack Adams nominees and Norris Trophy contenders, let’s shift our focus to the James Norris Memorial Trophy, given to “the forward who demonstrates the most skill in the defensive component of the game.” Despite being purely about defensive skill, the Selke is almost always given to a player who also excels at the offensive side of things. That makes it one of the most divisive major awards, especially since defensive acumen is so difficult to judge in many cases.
This year’s finalists are no different, with Ryan O’Reilly of the St. Louis Blues, Sean Couturier of the Philadelphia Flyers, and Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins also showing their strengths at the offensive end of the rink. The award also strongly leans towards the center position, which all three finalists are.
You have to start things with O’Reilly, given he took home the award a year ago. The Blues center has been one of the best faceoff men in the league for basically his entire career, posting a 55.4% win percentage over nearly 15,000 draws. He also is always available to help penalty kill, given he doesn’t take penalties—his ten PIM this season earned him another finalist spot in the Lady Byng voting.
O’Reilly won the award for the first time last season, but is up against the player who it may be renamed for one day. Patrice Bergeron has won the Selke four times in his career, finishing in the top-5 in each of the previous ten seasons. Taking his fifth trophy this year would move him ahead of Bob Gainey for the most all-time, a record that would be incredibly difficult to beat moving forward.
It’s easy to understand why Bergeron is always in the mix when you look at his incredible possession numbers, faceoff stats, and consistent takeaway totals. There are few players in history you’d rather want checking the opponent’s best talents, but Bergeon continues to just pour in 30-goal seasons year after year.
O’Reilly and Bergeron may be looking to repeat as winners, but they’ll have to defeat Couturier who has really taken over as the leader of the Flyers forward group. Once just known as a strong checking center, the 27-year old is now also an excellent offensive talent that rarely gives up the puck once he has it. Add that to his league-leading 59.7% faceoff percentage this season and it may finally be time for Couturier to win an individual award.
Perhaps more than any other award it is tough to know who came close to these three finalists, given how subjective the voting tends to be. Mark Stone, usually regarded as the best defensive winger in the game finished second last season and had another outstanding season in Vegas. Jonathan Toews, who won the award in 2013, had another strong year but has faded from Selke consideration in recent seasons. Sidney Crosby, whose defensive attributes are sometimes overlooked, played only 41 games and is likely to drop out of the top group.
Who do you think should take the 2020 Selke Trophy home? Feel free to vote outside the top three and explain your choice in the comments!
[Mobile users click here to vote]
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
AHL Issues Update On 2020-21 Season
The AHL has finally released some information regarding the 2020-21 season, announcing today that the anticipated start date will be December 4, 2020. The league canceled the remainder of the 2019-20 season in May after the coronavirus outbreak.
Because of the nature of revenue streams in the AHL, next season was still very much in doubt. The league relies on ticket sales even more than the NHL, meaning playing games without fans will require a large financial commitment. Still, minor league hockey is so imperative for the development of players around the league that a start date is an encouraging sign at this point.
Should they return to play in early December, it seems likely that they would be able to fit in a full schedule. The league has not released any details on that schedule, however, and will continue to monitor health guidelines before committing to anything.
Injury Notes: Carlson, Ritchie, Johnsson
The Washington Capitals were without Norris Trophy finalist John Carlson at practice today after he left yesterday’s game. Carlson fell awkwardly into the boards after a collision, but head coach Todd Reirden told reporters today including Samantha Pell of the Washington Post that the hope is to have him back on the ice on Saturday.
Losing Carlson would be a huge blow for the Capitals, though they do have the round-robin games to prepare before getting into elimination territory. The 30-year old had 75 points in 69 games this season to lead all defensemen.
- Nick Ritchie was back on the ice for the Boston Bruins at their optional practice this morning, along with a good number of other players. The deadline addition won’t play tonight for the team when they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets, but is obviously getting closer to a return for the team. Ritchie came over from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Danton Heinen and had two points in seven games before the shutdown.
- Speaking of players returning, Andreas Johnsson took part in special teams practice for the Toronto Maple Leafs today. The depth winger was given a six-month recovery timeline in February when he underwent knee surgery and could potentially return for Toronto should they get a little deeper into the playoffs.
Seattle Hires Dave Baseggio, Adds To Scouting Department
The Seattle Kraken have made a large addition to their scouting department, hiring Dave Baseggio as the team’s first director of pro scouting. Baseggio comes over from the Anaheim Ducks where he spent more than a decade holding different job titles. Kraken GM Ron Francis released a statement explaining why Baseggio is the right choice:
Dave played at Yale, he was an economics major and captained the hockey team as a senior. He played professionally beyond that. He’s been around the game a long time. He’s bright and a good person who will fit into the culture we are building with the Kraken. He will generate a lot of ideas and earn the respect of our pro scouting staff.
The team also hired Andrew Allen, Lorne Henning and William White as pro scouts, while extending the contracts of five other scouts—Cammi Granato, Ulf Samuelsson, Stu Barnes, Dave Hunter and John Goodwin—through the end of 2019-20 “with the intention” of re-signing them for the 2020-21 season as well.
The group will have to use video to scout players in the 24-team 2020 playoffs as they work to prepare for the expansion draft.
Minor Transactions: 07/30/20
The NHL is back, kicking things off with some exhibition action between rivals. As the hockey world focuses on exhibition games, minor league and European teams continue to build their depth for an upcoming season. As minor signings roll in, we’ll keep track of them right here.
- Former St. Louis Blues defenseman Petteri Lindbohm has signed on with a new NLA team for the 2020-21 season, inking a deal with EHC Biel. The 26-year old played 40 games for the Blues between 2014-2017 but recorded just three NHL points.
- 2008 second-round pick Danny Kristo will play for Kunlun Red Star of the KHL this season after spending last year in Switzerland. Picked 56th overall in his draft year by the Montreal Canadiens, Kristo never did make it to the NHL.
- Chicago Blackhawks prospect Roope Laavainen has signed a contract with IPK in the Finnish second league, meaning he won’t be coming to North America this season. The 21-year old fourth-round pick played 40 games in the top league in Finland last season, recording four points.
Snapshots: Bubble Life, Belzile, Omsk
Life in the NHL is different these days, with regular afternoon games, no fans in the stands and a lockdown outside the rink. If the Stanley Cup playoffs weren’t unpredictable enough, things are sure to amaze this year when teams come together in the early rounds.
Though the league has done everything possible to make the players as comfortable as possible there are bound to be some oddities. Marcus Foligno of the Minnesota Wild will be giving fans an inside look at “bubble life” in Edmonton with a diary for The Athletic, and in his first edition, perhaps unsurprisingly, he mentions that most of the players took advantage of a Tim Hortons pop-up truck on day one. The continuing diary is sure to be interesting, though fans will have to hope the Wild make it through the qualifying round.
- After taking a punishing hit from Jake Muzzin last night, Montreal Canadiens forward Alex Belzile did not participate today at practice. Belzile played under two minutes thanks to the hit, which forced him out of the game after he slammed his head into the boards. As with any injury these playoffs, the exact diagnosis is not expected to be released publicly.
- After reporting earlier today that SKA St. Petersburg had shut down training camp temporarily, Rick Dhaliwal of TSN gives us some more news on the KHL COVID-19 situation. According to Dhaliwal, up to 20 players on Avangard Omsk have been “infected” and most of the team is being quarantined. Reid Boucher, who signed with the club for 2020-21, had not yet arrived.
Mike Babcock Joins UVM As Volunteer Advisor
The highest-paid coach in the NHL will be back on a staff next season, but not at the professional level. Mike Babcock has taken a volunteer position as an “advisor” with the University of Vermont’s coaching staff. Babcock joins head coach Todd Woodcroft and assistants Jeff Hill and former NHL defenseman Mark Stuart.
Babcock will not be paid by Vermont, but still receives his salary from the Toronto Maple Leafs after he was fired as head coach earlier this season. The veteran coach is still under contract through the 2022-23 season, though a new position in the NHL could take over part of that deal or buy it out completely.
For now, he’ll be helping shepherd the young men coming through the college level. Babcock does have experience with student-athletes from his days as head coach of the University of Lethbridge in 1993-94.
The Vermont release terms Babcock’s role as “a resource for the coaching staff, lending his experience and perspective as one of the top hockey minds in the world.” He has previous experience with Woodcroft form their time together with Team Canada in 2004, when they won a gold medal as part of the coaching staff at the IIHF World Championship. At that tournament, however, Babcock was the head coach and Woodcroft just a video coach–things will be different this time around.
Boston Bruins Extend Anders Bjork
The Boston Bruins have finished some paperwork ahead of their round-robin matches, signing Anders Bjork to a three-year extension. The deal will carry an average annual value of $1.6MM and keeps Bjork under contract through the 2022-23 season.
Some may be wondering why the Bruins would commit three years to a player who has only 14 goals in 108 NHL games, but there is a real belief that he can still turn into a top-six option for the team. Bjork will turn 24 in a week and has impressed during the return to play training camp, enough to make head coach Bruce Cassidy unsure of whether Ondrej Kase will even have a roster spot when he returns.
A fifth-round pick in 2014, Bjork really found his game while attending Notre Dame, becoming a dominant offensive presence and recording 52 points in 39 games during his junior year. He was a Hobey Baker finalist that year and quickly made the jump to the NHL in 2017-18. Though he hasn’t been able to show that same sort of offensive touch at the professional level, he was about to have an opportunity to really establish himself with a strong playoff performance. Like the many unrestricted free agents trying to improve their value, pending RFAs are also looking to put down statistical accomplishments that they can use in arbitration hearings.
It’s important to remember that Bjork will not be a UFA at the expiration of this deal, meaning the Bruins hold some control over him even if he does improve. The deal is also not prohibitive to their cap, but does somewhat guarantee him a roster spot going forward.
With Bjork’s deal done, the Bruins now have negotiations with Jake Debrusk and Matt Grzelcyk to look forward to, all while keeping in mind the flat cap and the pending free agency of Torey Krug.
Winnipeg Jets Loan Arvid Holm To SHL
The Winnipeg Jets will allow one of their prospects to return to Sweden for the 2020-21 season, loaning Arvid Holm to Farjestad BK of the SHL. Holm signed his entry-level contract last month but will spend at least the first year outside of the Jets organization.
Holm, 21, was a sixth-round pick in 2017 but has been quickly climbing the list of goaltending prospects around the NHL. The 6’4″ netminder posted a .914 save percentage this year in his first full season in the SHL, along with a 20-10-0 record and 2.27 goals-against average.
The Jets have their net locked up long-term with Connor Hellebuyck, so they can afford to slowly bring along their young goaltenders in the best development situations. With the 2020-21 AHL season still uncertain, sending Holm to Sweden is likely the best way to get him playing time and move him towards his potential ceiling.
Return To Play Represents Opportunity For Pending Free Agents
For an NHL player, the Stanley Cup playoffs represent a fleeting opportunity to cement your legacy. By hoisting that chalice even once in your career, you join a relatively small group of players that can be identified as champions.
It doesn’t happen for everyone.
Just ask Patrick Marleau, who played the first of his 191 career playoff games on April 24, 1998, and is still chasing that elusive Cup to this day. Or Jason Spezza, who reached the Finals in 2007 as a 23-year old but ended up taking a minimum-salary contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs this season—more than a decade later—in the hopes that he could get another chance.
After such a long break in 2020, players across 24 of the league’s 31 teams will get the chance to write their names in the history books, their legacy forever changed.
But for a select group, the Stanley Cup is not the only thing that could be raised. For those on expiring contracts, a strong playoff (or a particularly weak one) could result in a huge difference in salary they can demand this offseason.
Take Braden Holtby, who must have licked his lips when he watched Sergei Bobrovsky sign a seven-year, $70MM contract with the Florida Panthers last offseason. Holtby, whose own deal expires after the 2019-20 season, was comparable to Bobrovsky in many ways and potentially could have demanded a similar contract. For whatever reason though, Holtby struggled this season to find the form that won him a Vezina Trophy in 2016 and a Stanley Cup in 2018. He finished the year with an .897 save percentage, easily the worst number in his ten-year career.
Holtby was also pushed by young goaltender Ilya Samsonov, who looked ready to take over as the Washington Capitals starter when the older netminder moved on. There was no guarantee that Holtby would even be the team’s starter in the playoffs, but now he has been given that opportunity with an injury to Samsonov. As we saw in 2018 after he took the net back from Philipp Grubauer, Holtby only needs a chance. Should he take Washington deep and play to his former caliber, there will be many who point to the 2019-20 season as an exception, not a trend.
What about Robin Lehner, who is battling with a playoff legend for the chance to start for the Vegas Golden Knights? The outspoken goaltender has been one of the league’s best for several years now (if not longer, despite his unfortunate record in Buffalo), but still found himself taking short-term “prove-it” deals with the New York Islanders and Chicago Blackhawks. Lehner will only be 29 when he starts the 2020-21 season and deserves a long-term contract at this point. Wrestling control of the Vegas net from Marc-Andre Fleury (a three-time Cup winner) and taking the Golden Knights deep would only strengthen his case.
And then there is Taylor Hall, the enigmatic forward who just can’t seem to get to the playoffs. The first-overall pick from 2010 has played just five games in the NHL postseason (scoring six points), missing the tournament altogether in nine of his ten seasons.
By no means was Hall at his best this year, but his 2017-18 Hart Trophy-winning season has shown us that when he is he can carry a team nearly singlehanded. Could a strong playoff for the Arizona Coyotes push that five-year, $7.25MM price tag substantially higher?
For some pending free agents like Alex Pietrangelo and Torey Krug, an excellent playoff would just be par for the course at this point. They are expected to perform at that level and have done it many times in the past. But for others—how about Alex Galchenyuk‘s spiraling career?—this postseason is about more than just their legacy, it’s about the future.