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Aleksander Barkov, Anthony Cirelli, Sam Reinhart Named Selke Trophy Finalists

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Panthers center Aleksander Barkov, Lightning center Anthony Cirelli, and Panthers winger Sam Reinhart have been named Selke Trophy finalists for the 2024-25 season, the NHL announced.

According to the league, the award is given “to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.” It’s voted on at the end of the regular season by media members, like most other major NHL honors, and has been in circulation since the 1977-78 campaign, with former Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron holding the record with six wins.

Despite the verbiage, the Selke is almost never given out to a pure shutdown forward, at least not anymore. More of a “best two-way forward” than “best defensive forward” honor in reality, Barkov headlines the list as he looks to take home the hardware in back-to-back years and for the third time in his career.

Now a four-time finalist, Barkov’s boxcar stats actually point toward a down year for the Stanley Cup champion Finn. His 1.06 points per game and plus-one rating were both post-COVID lows for the 29-year-old, but he still added 54 blocks, 87 hits, and a 56.5% win rate in the faceoff dot. A look at his possession numbers makes it easy to see why he’s continuously regarded as the game’s best two-way center, though. His 60.8% Corsi share at even strength this year was a career-high and led the team.

Stepping into the finalist’s circle for the first time is Barkov’s cross-state counterpart in Cirelli. The 27-year-old finished fourth in Selke voting in 2019-20 and fifth in 2021-22 but never cracked the top three. That changes this year on the heels of a season full of career-highs for Cirelli, who scored 27 goals, 32 assists, 59 points, and logged a +30 rating in 80 appearances. His 18:41 of ice time per game was also a career-high. While he doesn’t receive Barkov’s 5-on-5 deployment, Cirelli is Tampa’s top penalty-killing forward and finished seventh among forwards in plus-minus this season.

Reinhart is the unlikeliest candidate to win, although it’s not really in his control. A winger hasn’t won the award in over 20 years – the Stars’ Jere Lehtinen was the last to do it in 2003. The 29-year-old finished just outside of being a finalist last year during his career-defining 57-goal campaign, and his nomination means the Panthers are the first team with two Selke finalists in a season since the Red Wings’ Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg in 2007-08. He finished 2024-25 with a 39-42–81 scoring line, a plus-six rating, 103 hits, and a 59.2 CF% in 79 games.

Panthers’ Aaron Ekblad Receives Two Game Suspension

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6:32 p.m.: Ekblad will miss Game 5 and Game 6 of Florida’s series against the Lightning or Game 5 against Tampa and Game 1 against their Round Two opponent. The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced they have suspended Ekblad for two games for elbowing.

10:43 a.m.: Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad is facing another suspension after knocking Lightning winger Brandon Hagel out of last night’s Game 4 with a high hit, Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet was first to report. It’s a phone hearing with the Department of Player Safety, so he’s ineligible to be suspended for longer than five games.

Midway through the second period, Ekblad came down the halfwall to deliver a check to Hagel. Instead of making body-on-body contact, Ekblad raised his forearm to contact Hagel’s head, forcing the latter into concussion protocol. He did not return to the game, nor was Ekblad penalized on the play, in what many chastised as a missed call. Florida scored three goals in the final four minutes of the game to win 4-2 and take a 3-1 series lead, with Ekblad scoring the game-tying goal.

While the hit itself likely warrants a second look for supplemental discipline regardless of the context, the length of Ekblad’s likely pending suspension could be increased if DoPS determines it was a retaliatory hit. Hagel had just returned to the lineup after serving a one-game suspension for interference against Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov.

Ekblad wasn’t the only Panthers defenseman to lay a controversial hit in Game 4. Niko Mikkola was ejected from the game early in the third period and given a major penalty for boarding Lightning forward Zemgus Girgensons. He won’t face a suspension, though. DoPS announced Tuesday he’s been fined $5,000 for the play but won’t have a hearing.

The 29-year-old Ekblad had just returned from a 20-game suspension for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substances rules in Game 3 of the series. His goal was his first point since returning. He posted a minus-three rating across Games 3 and 4 while averaging 21:16 of ice time.

Lightning’s Brandon Hagel To Miss Game 5

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Lightning top-six winger Brandon Hagel has been ruled out for Wednesday’s Game 5 matchup against the Panthers as he remains in suspected concussion protocol, head coach Jon Cooper said (per the team).

Tampa Bay now faces elimination without its second-leading point getter from the regular season. Even if they manage a win at home to stay alive in the series, there’s no timeline yet for Hagel’s return.

“He’s not playing tomorrow, and you know why,” Cooper said (per the team’s Benjamin Pierce). The reason Cooper’s referring to is a high hit from Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad midway through the second period of last night’s Game 4 loss that earned him a hearing with the Department of Player Safety today. Ekblad will presumably miss Game 5 as well, if not longer, due to his pending suspension.

“There’s that catchy word called adversity, so the script doesn’t always go as planned,” Cooper said (via Pierce). “But I tell the players, let’s be the ones that write our own story.” The Lightning are trying to avoid their third straight first-round exit after making three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals from 2020 to 2022. Last year’s defeat also came at the hands of the eventual champion Panthers in five games.

Hagel, who erupted for a career-high 35 goals and 90 points in the regular season while playing in all 82 games, has only been available for two and a half games of this series. He was suspended for Game 3 after delivering an illegal hit to Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov in Game 2 and was limited to 11 minutes of ice time in Game 4 before the Ekblad hit. He’s been held without a point, only managing three shots on goal and a minus-four rating.

Nick Paul hopped up to Hagel’s spot on Anthony Cirelli’s wing in Game 3 when Hagel was unavailable. It’s unclear if he’ll do so again. Cooper has opted to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the majority of the series, with the Hagel and Cirelli duo routinely going without a consistent winger as a result.

Panthers Matthew Tkachuk Avoids Suspension

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Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk will not face any supplemental discipline for his late-game hit on Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jake Guentzel in game three. Despite Tkachuk receiving a five-minute major for interference on the hit, the NHL has determined no additional punishment is justified. As Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman notes, the reasons could be related to several factors, including there being no head contact and that Guentzel did touch the puck prior to the hit.

Brandon Hagel Receives One-Game Suspension

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Down 2-0 in their opening-round series to Florida, the Lightning will be without one of their top wingers for Saturday’s game as the league announced late Friday that Brandon Hagel received a one-game suspension for his hit on Aleksander Barkov on Thursday.

The incident occurred just before the midway mark of the third period with Hagel receiving a major penalty for interference on the play but not a game misconduct.  Barkov left the game and did not return; head coach Paul Maurice revealed Friday that the center hasn’t been ruled out or in for tonight’s contest.

In the video explaining the decision, the Department of Player Safety noted that supplemental discipline was warranted because Barkov was never in possession of the puck and therefore was not eligible to be checked.  After the puck was well past the players, Hagel delivered “a high, hard body check that makes some head contact.”

Hagel made the case that he approached the play as if Barkov would eventually play the puck as it came to him, but the ruling stated that “the onus is on Hagel to ensure that the player he is hitting is eligible to be checked” and that he intentionally delivered “an extremely forceful body check to an unsuspecting opponent with sufficient force.”

This is Hagel’s first career suspension in 375 regular-season and 36 playoff games. However, it’s not his first supplemental discipline for a playoff incident against the Panthers as he was fined for boarding Florida’s Eetu Luostarinen back in May 2022.

Lightning’s Brandon Hagel Facing Suspension

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Lightning winger Brandon Hagel will have a player safety hearing today for his major interference penalty against Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov in last night’s loss, the league announced.

Officials upheld the major for Hagel after reviewing the play, which occurred midway through the third period of Tampa’s eventual 2-0 loss in Game 2. While Hagel was forechecking on Barkov as the puck got dumped into the Tampa zone, he delivered a huge check as the two neared the corner. While there wasn’t a ton of head contact and the mechanics of the hit appeared rather clean, there was one problem – Barkov never had nor came close to having possession of the puck, resulting in a five-minute power play for the Cats (video via Sportsnet). Barkov didn’t return to the game after the collision, and the team has yet to issue an update on his status for Game 3 in Sunrise on Saturday.

Generally, supplemental discipline for interference doesn’t result in particularly long suspensions. That should hold true, especially considering the time of year, but Barkov leaving the game doesn’t bode well for Hagel’s case to walk away with just a fine. After scoring a career-high 35 goals in the regular season and setting the all-time record for goals in a season without a power-play marker, Hagel has no points and a minus-four rating through two games against Florida.

The 26-year-old isn’t the only one struggling to produce. Only Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point have scored for the Bolts thus far, and notable secondary names like Anthony Cirelli and Nick Paul have yet to record a point. Still, potentially missing him for Game 3 as the series shifts to South Florida will certainly make life harder for the higher-seeded Lightning as they try to avoid going down 3-0 in the series against the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Eastern Conference Notes: Martin, Puljujarvi, Lukashevich

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The New York Rangers have opted to sign general manager Chris Drury to a multi-year extension even after a convoluted and disappointing campaign. That decision could leave assistant general manager Ryan Martin open to finding a promotion elsewhere this summer, and maybe even a move to the New York Islanders, per ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski.

Martin has served as the general manager of the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack for the last four seasons, in addition to his assistant role with the Rangers. He’s an experienced professional in the hockey world, set to reach his 20th season in an NHL front office next season. The bulk of that time was spent in the Detroit Red Wings organization, where Martin began his career as the Director of Hockey Administration in 2005. He served in that role for five seasons before a promotion to assistant general manager in 2010.

The Red Wings added AHL general manager to his title two years later. Martin led the Grand Rapids Griffins to an AHL championship in his first year at the helm in 2012-13, then won again with a new head coach in 2016-17. The Griffins made the postseason in seven out of eight years under Martin, and missed back-to-back playoffs after he left in 2020-21.

Martin continued his strong streak in Hartford. After only making the playoffs once in the prior seven years, the Wolf Pack have made two of a possible four postseason appearances under Martin’s reign – missing in his first season with the club (2021-22) and this season. That’s a dazzling record for a seasoned executive, and could be exactly what some NHL teams  consistently on the fringe of the postseason – like the Islanders – are looking for in their next managerial hire.

Other notes from out East:

  • The Florida Panthers have recalled forward Jesse Puljujarvi but plan to soon send him back down, per Colby Guy of The Palm Beach Post. Guy shares that Puljujarvi will serve his two-game suspension for an illegal check to the head of Tampa Bay Lightning forward Mitchell Chafee, before returning to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers for their Calder Cup Playoff run. Puljujarvi received the suspension after Florida’s final game of the regular season. He only played in five games on the Panthers roster this year, with one goal and 15 penalty minutes to show for it. Puljujarvi has been far better in the minors, with 13 points in 22 games with Charlotte and a combined 16 points in 26 games on the full season. Puljujarvi began the season in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization.
  • Sticking in Florida, 2021 fourth-round pick Vladislav Lukashevich has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal per NHL.com’s Mark Divver. Lukashevich is expected to transfer to Miami University per Divver and sources available to Pro Hockey Rumors. In Miami, Ohio –  Lukashevich will reunite with former USHL head coach Anthony Noreen. Lukashevich scored seven points in 29 games with Michigan State University this season, while serving in a bottom-pair role. A move to a smaller school should offer a path to more opportunity and, hopefully, more scoring.

Panthers Activate Matthew Tkachuk From LTIR

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April 22: As expected, Tkachuk is off LTIR ahead of tonight’s Game 1. He’s officially a game-time decision.

April 17: The Panthers will have all their injured players in the lineup for Game 1 of their first-round series against the Lightning, head coach Paul Maurice told reporters today (via George Richards of Florida Hockey Now). As such, star winger Matthew Tkachuk will come off long-term injured reserve in the next few days before Florida begins their Stanley Cup defense on Sunday or Monday.

Tkachuk, 27, will return to the Panthers’ lineup after a two-month absence. He missed the final 25 regular-season games due to a groin injury he sustained while playing for the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

The news is far from unexpected. Maurice said earlier this week that Tkachuk would return to practice with the team after skating on his own. He wouldn’t commit to Tkachuk being available for Game 1 but said his return would be early in the first round in a worst-case scenario. Now, it looks like he’ll be available as soon as the Cats hit the ice for the fourth Battle of Florida in the last five years. Maurice adds that Tkachuk won’t skate during Florida’s practice tomorrow but will do so Monday, indicating that’s when Game 1 will take place (via Colby Guy of The Palm Beach Post).

Florida underwhelmed without Tkachuk down the stretch, posting a 13-11-1 record and a plus-two goal differential coming out of the 4 Nations break. That was enough to keep them in the playoff race, but not enough to keep them atop the Atlantic Division, where they were tracking to finish for a good portion of the season. Instead, they were lapped by the Maple Leafs and Lightning and lost home-ice advantage in their matchup with the latter. Of course, Tkachuk wasn’t the only player missing for an extended stretch. Trade deadline pickup Brad Marchand and defenseman Dmitry Kulikov each missed more than four games at a time, and top right-shot defenseman Aaron Ekblad hasn’t been available since early March while serving a 20-game suspension for consuming a performance-enhancing substance. Of course, that discipline will keep him out for the first two games of the first round.

Before the injury, Tkachuk clinched his fourth consecutive season above a point per game. The 6’2″, 202-lb pot-stirrer posted 22-35–57 in 52 regular-season contests, leading the Panthers in points (1.10) and shot attempts (6.08) per game. Only one Florida skater shot at a higher rate than Tkachuk’s 14.1% – that was Sam Reinhart at 18.3%.

A minus-three rating indicates a poor defensive outing for Tkachuk at face value, but that’s not the case. He continued to boast elite two-way impacts, logging a 59.9 CF% and 58.6 xGF% at even strength. The former ranked second on the team behind Aleksander Barkov.

Of course, the two-time All-Star has been instrumental in Florida’s back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances. He’s scored 17-29–46 with a +12 rating in 44 postseason games as a Panther, ranking fourth in the NHL in playoff scoring over the last two seasons. They’ll look for a repeat performance, presumably in a familiar second-line role at even strength with Sam Bennett and ex-rival Marchand on his opposite wing, to help them get over the first-round hump against a highly formidable Tampa squad in their quest for a repeat.

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro-Imagn Images.

Minor Transactions: 4/18/25

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There will be several small roster moves today as playoff teams recall their required third goalie for practice and emergency backup purposes, and non-playoff teams conduct some end-of-season roster trimming. We’ll cover all those moves here:

  • The Blues announced they’ve recalled goaltender Will Cranley from ECHL Florida to serve as their emergency backup. St. Louis selected the 23-year-old in the sixth round of the 2020 draft. He was previously added to the Blues’ practice roster for a day during the 4 Nations break while Jordan Binnington was traveling back from the tournament. He finished his second professional season with a 2.71 GAA, .896 SV%, two shutouts, and an 11-9-3 record in 23 ECHL games. He also logged a .867 SV% in a pair of appearances for AHL Springfield, the first of his career.
  • The Stars added defensemen Lian Bichsel and Alexander Petrovic back to the active roster after reassigning them to AHL Texas yesterday for cap purposes. They needed the space to activate Tyler Seguin from long-term injured reserve for the final game of the regular season. They’re expected to serve as the third pairing in Game 1 of the first round against the Avalanche tomorrow, per Sam Nestler of DLLS Sports. It’ll be the postseason debut for Bichsel, Dallas’ first-round draft choice in 2022. They also recalled goaltender Ben Kraws from ECHL Idaho as their EBUG. An undrafted free agent signing out of St. Lawrence last year, the 24-year-old impressed with a 2.88 GAA, .910 SV%, five shutouts, and a 23-12-5 record in 40 games for Idaho. He also posted a 3.01 GAA and .889 SV% in three appearances for AHL Texas, logging a 2-1-0 record.
  • Serving as the Avalanche’s EBUG will be Kevin Mandolese, the team announced. The 24-year-old has spent the year as Trent Miner’s backup with AHL Colorado after being acquired from the Senators over the offseason. He has a 2.87 GAA, .903 SV%, 11-6-0 record, and one shutout in 19 games.
  • Since the Wild’s AHL affiliate is one of the few to miss the cut for the Calder Cup Playoffs, they’re going with a higher-profile option for their EBUG. Top prospect Jesper Wallstedt will fill the role for them, according to a club announcement. The 2021 first-rounder is expected to succeed the retiring Marc-André Fleury as Filip Gustavsson’s backup next season, but is coming off a disastrous injury-plagued campaign with Iowa. He finished the year with a 3.59 GAA, .879 SV%, one shutout, and a 9-14-4 record in 27 showings.
  • The Panthers summoned Evan Cormier from ECHL Savannah to be their EBUG, per George Richards of Florida Hockey Now. The 27-year-old struggled with a 3.38 GAA, .887 SV%, one shutout, and a 17-13-4 record in 36 showings in 2024-25. He filled the same duties for the Cats in the first half of last year’s playoff run, signing a two-way deal at the trade deadline for the second season in a row.
  • The Penguins returned forwards Ville Koivunen, Joona Koppanen, Vasiliy Ponomarev, Samuel Poulin, Valtteri Puustinen, and defenseman Filip Král to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after their late-season call-ups. They’ll aid the Baby Pens as they aim to capture a Calder Cup. Not joining them is top prospect Rutger McGroarty, who sustained a lower-body injury last week and isn’t yet ready to return.
  • The Flames assigned forward Sam Morton and defenseman Hunter Brzustewicz to AHL Calgary after they made their NHL debuts in last night’s regular-season finale. Morton scored his first NHL goal in the outing, while Brzustewicz impressed with a plus-two rating. They’ll join the Wranglers for the postseason.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled enforcer Ryan Reaves from the minor leagues. Reaves recently played in his first AHL games since the 2010-11 season. He recorded one goal and, surprisingly, no penalty minutes in three games of play. The 38-year-old also recorded two assists and 28 penalty minutes in 35 NHL games this season. He’ll provide a boost of muscle to the Leafs lineup as they head towards a First Round matchup against the Ottawa Senators.
  • Defenseman Emil Andrae has been reassigned to the minor leagues after holding down a routine role on the Philadelphia Flyers lineup since early March. Andrae split his time between the major and minor rosters this season, with seven points in 42 NHL games and 16 points in 25 AHL games. He was primarily a minor-leaguer last season and managed a stout 32 points, 66 penalty minutes, and minus-10 in 61 games. With the Flyers season over, Andrae will look to again support the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in a late-season push.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have recalled depth forward Derek Ryan from the minor leagues. Ryan split time between the NHL and AHL this year, with one goal and six points in 36 games in the Oilers lineup. He also managed eight points in 13 AHL games. Ryan has played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on five different occasions, racking up 10 points in 60 games. That includes appearing in 19 games of Edmonton’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals last season. Ryan contributed one assist to the effort. He’ll now be returned to the NHL roster to support another long run.
  • The Rochester Americans are getting a wave of strong recruits, as the Buffalo Sabres have reassigned each of Jiri Kulich, Tyson Kozak, Noah Ostlund, and Isak Rosen back to the minor leagues. Rosen leads Rochester in scoring this season with 28 goals and 55 points in 60 games. Ostlund has 36 points in 44 games, while Kozak has 14 points in 31 games. Kulich has been the only of the bunch to spend the bulk of the season in the NHL. He carved out a top-six role through points of the season. Kulich finished what was his rookie NHL season with 15 goals and 24 points in 62 games.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Jesse Puljujärvi Suspended Two Games

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  • Panthers winger Jesse Puljujärvi was sent to AHL Charlotte yesterday ahead of the playoffs, but he won’t be available immediately if Florida decides to recall him during the postseason. The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced they’ve suspended him for two games for an illegal check to the head of Lightning winger Mitchell Chaffee in Tuesday night’s game. It’s the first supplemental discipline of Puljujärvi’s eight-year career.

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