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Ryan O'Reilly

Snapshots: Clarke, O’Reilly, Rousek

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Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News reports that Los Angeles Kings’ prospect Brandt Clarke will take home Player and Defenseman of the Month honors for the month of March in the Ontario Hockey League. In just nine games, playing for the Barrie Colts, Clarke put up an extremely impressive 11 goals and 11 assists, all while carrying a +/- of 16.

Drafted eighth overall in the 2021 NHL Draft, Clarke has spent the majority of his last four seasons playing in Barrie, while also spending one season for HC Nove Zamky of the Slovak Extraliga on loan. The young defenseman has now suited up in 143 OHL games, scoring 40 goals and 118 assists. Clarke has primarily been commended for his ability as a defenseman to create the rush and join in with it.

This season, Clarke was able to suit up in nine games for the Kings earlier in the season, scoring two assists during his time. Averaging over two points a game in the OHL this season, Clarke should be expected to earn a full-time job with the Kings next season.

More from around the league this afternoon:

  • After speaking with the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Sheldon Keefe, this morning, Mark Masters of TSN passes on that center Ryan O’Reilly is unlikely to return to Toronto this week. This is still within the timeline that the Maple Leafs initially gave, as they stated O’Reilly would be out for four weeks with his injury. Getting off to a dismal start to the year with the St.Louis Blues, O’Reilly picked up his play a bit, scoring three goals and two assists after eight games in Toronto.
  • After scoring one goal and one assist in his first-ever game in the NHL, Buffalo Sabres’ forward Lukas Rousek will be returned to the team’s AHL affiliate Rochester Americans. Drafted 160th overall in 2019, the Sabres forward has scored 49 points in 62 games for Rochester and seemed to translate that talent to the NHL in the team’s loss to the Montreal Canadiens. As Rochester is in the midst of a playoff hunt coming down the wire, expect Rousek to be a big part of that.

Ryan O’Reilly Expected Back Before Playoffs

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The Toronto Maple Leafs spent big at the NHL trade deadline to try and improve their team before the playoffs but ended up losing Ryan O’Reilly after just a few games when he was accidentally hit with an Auston Matthews shot. Today, general manager Kyle Dubas told reporters, including Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets that O’Reilly should be able to return ahead of the playoffs.

After breaking a finger, the veteran forward was moved to long-term injured reserve on March 6, meaning he can return at the end of the month. The team has eight games in April to get him back up to speed, should he be ready to go for April 1.

It seemed like a perfect fit for the Maple Leafs and O’Reilly through his first few games with the team. After scoring just 19 points in 40 games with St. Louis, he had five in his three with Toronto, including an impressive hat trick performance against the Buffalo Sabres. However, things had gone quiet before the injury, as O’Reilly was scoreless in his other five games with the Maple Leafs.

While he won’t be asked to carry the load offensively, his addition was meant to give the team another high-impact forward for the playoffs. Winning faceoffs and playing strong defense is one thing, but it’s not exactly what the team was hoping for when they used several high draft picks to acquire him from the St. Louis Blues.

Luckily for Toronto, the other player they received in that deal—Noel Acciari—has also been making an impact, including a pair of goals against the Edmonton Oilers a few days ago. The bang-and-crash forward has already recorded 40 hits in his 11 games as a Maple Leaf, taking him over 200 on the season.

East Notes: O’Reilly, Gaudreau, Dach, Wilson

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While it’s a frequent occurrence that a team acquires a player on an expiring contract and then quickly signs him to an extension, that won’t be the case for the Maple Leafs and center Ryan O’Reilly.  Speaking with reporters today (video link), GM Kyle Dubas indicated that there have been no discussions about an extension nor are there plans to do so.  Instead, the plan is to see how he fits in with his new team and then assess whether there’s mutual interest in trying to extend his stay with Toronto.  With more than $72.6MM committed to just a dozen players for next season per CapFriendly, it’s going to be quite difficult for them to keep their new middleman unless they’re able to free up considerable cap space this summer.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • The Blue Jackets announced (Twitter link) that winger Johnny Gaudreau will miss tonight’s game against Dallas due to a lower-body injury. That means his Ironman streak will come to an end at 349 games; only two players (Phil Kessel and Brent Burns) had longer active streaks.  Gaudreau hasn’t been able to put up the production he had with Calgary last season but still has 52 points in 55 games, good for an 18-point point lead on Patrik Laine who sits second.  Lane Pederson will make his Columbus debut in Gaudreau’s place.
  • The Canadiens announced (Twitter link) that center Kirby Dach will miss his second straight game tonight against Toronto due to a non-COVID illness. The 22-year-old tried to take part in the morning skate but left just minutes in.  Dach has had a breakout year in his first season with Montreal as he has 12 goals and 23 assists in 54 games so far, good for third on the team in scoring.
  • The Capitals have activated winger Tom Wilson from injured reserve, reports NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti (Twitter link). The 28-year-old has been out for more than three weeks after blocking a shot off his ankle late last month.  Between that and his recovery from knee surgery last spring, Wilson has been limited to just eight games so far, where he has two goals, an assist, and 33 hits.

Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Ryan O’Reilly In Three-Team Trade

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The Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Blues, and Minnesota Wild have completed a three-team, blockbuster trade.

In the deal, Toronto has acquired St. Louis’ captain, Ryan O’Reilly, veteran forward Noel Acciari, and prospect Josh Pillar. St. Louis has received Mikhail Abramov, Adam Gaudette, Toronto’s 2023 first-round pick, Ottawa’s 2023 third-round pick, and Toronto’s 2024 second-round pick. Minnesota received Toronto’s fourth-round pick in 2025.

As part of the deal, St. Louis will retain 50% of O’Reilly’s salary, while Minnesota will retain 25% of the cap hit. Both O’Reilly and Acciari are set to hit unrestricted free agency at year’s end.

It goes without saying that this is an extremely significant trade, and one that represents a major push from Toronto to try to finally get the franchise past the first round of the NHL playoffs. The Maple Leafs will, in all likelihood, once again be playing the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, assuming there are no major changes in the standings.

The Lightning have won the Eastern Conference for three straight seasons, so for Toronto to really gear itself up for that expected first-round matchup, they would need to increase their firepower from their already talent-rich position.

Now, after this trade, Toronto boasts Auston Matthews, John Tavares, and O’Reilly as the team’s top-three centers. Most would be hard-pressed to find another team in the NHL that can boast such a strong trio of pivots.

It’s true that O’Reilly’s offense is down from the rate he normally scores at.

He’s got just 12 goals and 19 points in 40 games this season, which is just two points more than current Maple Leafs third-line center David Kampf.

But O’Reilly isn’t being acquired for what he’ll bring to Toronto’s scoring attack, they already score goals in bunches.

He’s been acquired by the Maple Leafs because he brings exactly what many have felt Toronto has lacked in recent years in their biggest moments: competitive fire, the ability to rise to the occasion, and a willingness to rally in the face of challenges in order to get a job done.

O’Reilly’s exploits in the Blues’ 2019 Stanley Cup championship run cemented his status as a beloved St. Louis Blue. O’Reilly captured the Conn Smythe Trophy scoring 23 points in 26 games, as well as playing absolutely stellar defense that often left the line he was matched up against suffocated and unable to build offensive momentum. Overall, he has 56 points in his 64-game playoff career, a higher career playoff point-per-game scoring rate than Matthews, Tavares, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander, despite the fact that those players are normally considered to be in a different stratosphere of offensive talent.

With O’Reilly in tow, head coach Sheldon Keefe will be able to build a shutdown line that he can match with the deadliest scoring lines he faces in the playoffs. While the Maple Leafs have had competent defensive centers in the past, none boast the type of resume O’Reilly has built, especially in the unique environment of the playoffs. With forwards who are strong in their own end such as Kampf, Acciari, or even Zach Aston-Reese, Keefe could be able to complement his two deadly scoring lines with a premier shutdown line as well, boasting the kind of three-line mix that could handle any in-game situation.

O’Reilly is also a highly-regarded leader and someone whose locker room presence has played a major role in a Stanley Cup victory and in last season’s playoffs, where O’Reilly’s Blues were one of the few teams who truly gave the eventual champions, the Colorado Avalanche, a run for their money.

There are some who would rather the Maple Leafs spent these assets on a forward with some more points than O’Reilly has scored this season. But when looking at the problems that have plagued Toronto in prior years, it’s hard to say there is anyone available on the trade market who would be better fit than O’Reilly.

Beyond just O’Reilly, Toronto has also acquired Acciari, a well-respected, versatile bottom-six forward. The 31-year-old has scored 10 goals and 18 points this season, and can play both center and on the wings. While he doesn’t bring the scoring pedigree or star value that comes with O’Reilly, Acciari has 54 games of playoff experience and has been to a Stanley Cup final. He’ll undoubtedly be an upgrade for Toronto’s bottom six and helps with their overall goal of adding character players with playoff experience.

They also acquire prospect Josh Pillar, who currently plays for the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL. He’s a 21-year-old winger who was a fourth-rounder of the Wild at the 2021 draft. He’s scored decently well in the WHL and just returned from injury. He plays a polished game but his ultimate professional upside remains unclear. Per CapFriendly, the Maple Leafs will have exclusive rights to sign Pillar to his entry-level deal until June 1st.

From St. Louis’ point-of-view, this deal might be a tough pill to swallow but it’s ultimately a positive move for the team. It’s never ideal for any team to lose its captain and especially so if that player was a crucial part of the franchise’s first-ever Stanley Cup championship. But looking at this trade with the emotion of losing O’Reilly aside, this is a deal that should leave Blues fans satisfied.

Firstly, they landed another top draft pick for this upcoming NHL draft, adding another premier selection in a class that has drawn rave reviews from scouts.  In addition, the reality of the Blues’ season and O’Reilly’s contract status makes this a trade that the Blues simply had to make. The team has spent significant dollars locking up Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas recently, and sinking significant cap space into O’Reilly for the rest of what is shaping up to be a lost season (and a few years beyond) simply wouldn’t make sense, especially at the opportunity cost of adding the sort of draft pick haul they received.

If adding Acciari helped GM Doug Armstrong coax the best possible package of picks from the Maple Leafs in this deal, then that’s fine. Acciari likely could have been traded on his own, but adding him into this deal is a reasonable choice if it helped the Blues add that 2024 second-rounder.

In addition to the bounty of draft choices they received, the Blues also got Abramov, who is a 21-year-old 2019 fourth-rounder. He has scored 16 points in 34 AHL games this year and is someone for the team to plug into their AHL affiliate in Springfield to see what their development staff can do with his offensive skill.

They also received the 2017-18 Hobey Baker award winner, Gaudette, who has been a top scorer for the Toronto Marlies this season. With 34 points in 40 AHL games, he could either serve as an experienced depth NHLer to help fill a spot on St. Louis’ roster (he does have experience playing center) or could help Springfield.

For Minnesota, this is a tidy, if a relatively insignificant bit of business for the team. Their trade of Pillar indicates that they likely were going to let his rights lapse in the summer anyway, so for their relatively minor retention on O’Reilly, they net a mid-round draft pick. While much as been made of the Wild’s precarious cap position, they do actually have some room to maneuver this year. Turning some of that vacant space into a mid-round draft pick is nothing to complain about.

Overall, this is a trade that has the potential to serve as a significant moment for both the Maple Leafs and Blues franchises. For Toronto, they add a player whose resume seems almost perfectly tailored to address the problems that have ailed them in the playoff runs of the past. For St. Louis, they turn an expiring asset into a multitude of draft picks that could allow them to quickly move on from this disappointing campaign.

If the Maple Leafs don’t end up winning the Stanley Cup or even getting out of the first round, it will be easy to look back at this deal and criticize their management for paying so many draft picks for rental players.

But ultimately, this trade is simply a team hungry for some playoff success adding one of the most accomplished playoff performers on the market. Even if it doesn’t end up working out as the involved teams hope, this is a difficult deal to criticize.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Blues Notes: O’Reilly, Buchnevich, Perunovich, Tucker

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The St. Louis Blues stole today’s thunder by dealing Vladimir Tarasenko to the New York Rangers, but there’s even more Blues news to discuss on the injury front. Head coach Craig Berube said today that another trade chip, Ryan O’Reilly, is possible for Saturday night’s game against the Arizona Coyotes but has yet to be cleared.

O’Reilly added to his coach’s comments, saying he has to be 100 percent sure his injured foot is healed before returning to avoid re-injury. A 12-year NHL veteran, O’Reilly last played in their New Year’s Eve matchup against the Minnesota Wild. He’s missed the following 14 games with the injury. The winner of the 2019 Selke and Conn Smythe Trophies, O’Reilly is in a down season with a -28 rating and just 16 points in 37 games. He’s in the final season of a seven-year, $7.5MM average annual value contract.

Per The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford, O’Reilly resumed skating on Tuesday, and NHL.com’s Lou Korac said the Blues captain practiced in full equipment today.

  • Berube also told reporters Pavel Buchnevich is possible for Saturday after missing the past two weeks with an ankle injury. Buchnevich, with 38 points in 38 games, is the team’s leader in points per game, just ahead of Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou. If he’s cleared to return, along with O’Reilly, they’ll likely skate together on the second line alongside Brandon Saad.
  • In a very positive development, top defense prospect Scott Perunovich has been cleared for contact and, per Berube, is “ready to do everything.” Perunovich, 24, hasn’t played in all in 2022-23 after sustaining a preseason shoulder injury. After missing the entirety of 2020-21 and most of 2021-22 with injuries, a strong finish to the season could salvage Perunovich’s stunted development. He showed true flashes of stardom in the minors last season, recording 22 points in just 17 games with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds.
  • Defenseman Tyler Tucker is coming up from Springfield to replace Niko Mikkola’s now-vacant spot on the roster, as he was included in the trade to New York earlier today. Tucker, a seventh-round pick in 2018, has shot up the Blues’ depth chart to play in 12 games this season, recording one assist.

Ryan O’Reilly Hopes To Stay With St. Louis

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There are two big question marks for the St. Louis Blues as they head into the trade deadline. What happens to Vladimir Tarasenko, a player who has spent his entire career with one organization, and what happens to captain Ryan O’Reilly, the addition that put them over the top a few years ago?

Tarasenko returned from injury this week, topping 17 minutes in his first game back, a loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Losses are piling up for the Blues these days, who are now sitting sixth in the Central Division with a 23-22-3 record. The 31-year-old sniper once submitted a trade request to try and start fresh somewhere else, and it seems like that’s where the relationship is headed again. A Tarasenko trade is likely, unless the next few weeks hold a remarkable turnaround for the Blues.

For O’Reilly, the other notable pending free agent forward that has been the subject of trade rumors, things aren’t so clear. He isn’t back on the ice yet, nearly a month after breaking his foot in a New Year’s Eve game against the Minnesota Wild. He also isn’t ready to say goodbye to St. Louis, where he won a Conn Smythe trophy en route to the Stanley Cup.

In an exclusive interview with Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic, O’Reilly was clear:

This is where I want to be. I hope I don’t get moved, but I think things will probably progress, especially with the deadline coming up and the talks with that. We’ll see how it goes. We’re starting to get into that.

“That” in this case is extension talks, though it doesn’t seem like things are very far along at this point. O’Reilly went as far as saying he would give the Blues a discount, given his success there.

But even with a team-friendly deal, can the Blues afford to pass up the assets they would get for O’Reilly at the deadline?

The veteran center will turn 32 in a few weeks, and has seen his offensive production almost disappear this season. A player who was once known for his playmaking ability, he has just six assists through 37 games. Ten goals puts him on his regular pace, but it just hasn’t been the same for O’Reilly or the Blues this year.

He also carries no trade protection in the seven-year, $52.5MM deal that will expire at the end of this season. It wouldn’t be the first time he finds himself on the move. O’Reilly was originally drafted by the Colorado Avalanche, before a 2015 trade took him to the Buffalo Sabres. Three years after that he was on his way to St. Louis, and now after five years with the Blues, he might be headed to another team.

There are few players in the league that seem so perfectly built for the playoffs as O’Reilly. At his best, he can be one of the most productive two-way centers in the league, shutting down opponents and driving offense at the same time. That’s what he was in 2019, when he led all postseason players with 23 points. Just last year he had seven goals and 12 points in 12 games for the Blues, and that success will be intriguing to contenders looking to beef up a second or third line.

If he had his way, there would be no trade. O’Reilly wants to stay in St. Louis, but it’s not up to him.

Ryan O’Reilly, Vladimir Tarasenko Placed On Injured Reserve

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There are two big trade chips for the St. Louis Blues this season. Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko are both on expiring contracts and will likely fetch high prices at the deadline, if the team decides to move on. Unfortunately, there is now also the question of whether they will be healthy enough to contribute.

O’Reilly and Tarasenko have both been moved to injured reserve with long-term issues. O’Reilly is dealing with a broken foot and will be re-evaluated in six weeks, while Tarasenko has a hand injury and will be re-evaluated in four weeks. The team has recalled Jake Neighbours to fill in.

It’s brutal timing for a club that is trying to get back into the playoff race, or at least pump the value of these players before the deadline. The Blues are 17-17-3 on the year and sit in fifth place in the Central Division.

O’Reilly, 31, has ten goals and 16 points on the year, not exactly the season many expected as he approaches free agency. The veteran center has been known for his playmaking ability, racking up at least 35  assists in each of the last nine non-shortened seasons. With just six in 2022-23, he’s on pace for his worst season in more than a decade.

The 31-year-old Tarasenko on the other hand is having another strong offensive campaign, scoring 29 points in 34 games so far. One of the most impressive stories of 2021-22, Tarasenko came back from major shoulder surgery to score 34 goals and 82 points. A threat to light the lamp every time he touches the ice, the Russian winger figured to be a perfect trade deadline target for clubs looking to inject offense into their top-six.

Snapshots: O’Reilly, Edmundson, Schmidt

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While the Toronto Maple Leafs have been among the NHL’s most successful regular-season teams for the past half-decade, playoff success has eluded them. One player who had similarly spent an extended period without any playoff success is Ryan O’Reilly, who spent nearly his first decade in the NHL without making it to the second round. In 2019, though, O’Reilly bucked that career trend, leading the St. Louis Blues to a Stanley Cup victory and winning the Conn Smythe Trophy along the way.

The Maple Leafs want to do the same this spring, and it seems that they view O’Reilly as someone who can help them get there. Per Pierre LeBrun in The Athletic’s first 2022-23 trade board, Toronto has “talked about O’Reilly internally,” debating the prospect of acquiring him from the Blues. (subscription link) While O’Reilly’s scoring numbers have slowed down, Toronto could add him to a center corps that already boasts Auston Matthews and John Tavares, forming what would be likely the best trio of centers in the NHL. He remains a player with a sterling reputation as a playoff performer, and as a pending unrestricted free agent acquiring him would pose no long-term financial complications.

For some other notes from across the NHL:

  • The Montreal Canadiens have been better than expected this season, as they were the NHL’s worst team last year but have hovered around the .500 mark so far in 2022-23. Despite that, the team is still anticipated to engage other teams as a seller in next year’s trade market, and one of the players reportedly garnering interest from other teams is defenseman Joel Edmundson. On TSN’s Insider Trading segment, LeBrun reported that the Edmonton Oilers had interest in adding Edmundson, a 2019 Stanley Cup champion who has taken an important leadership role on a young Canadiens team.
  • The Winnipeg Jets announced tonight that defenseman Nate Schmidt has suffered an upper-body injury, and will not return to their game against the Nashville Predators. Schmidt appeared to suffer the injury after a high hit from Predators forward Tanner Jeannot. The loss of Schmidt costs the Jets one of their top-four defensemen, as he has skated in over 20 minutes per night, including time on the second units of both special teams phases.

Afternoon Notes: Crosby, Allvin, O’Reilly

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When the Pittsburgh Penguins signed Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang to extensions this summer, they committed themselves to a “win-now” short-term competitive plan, focusing the energy and resources of their franchise into squeezing one last Stanley Cup victory out of their three franchise pillars. The face of the franchise, Sidney Crosby, has three years remaining on his current contract, and as things currently stand he’s not thinking beyond that point.

In an interview with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek for their 32 Thoughts Podcast, Crosby was asked about his playing future and whether he’d like to play into his forties as Zdeno Chara has. Crosby responded that he wouldn’t, and added on that he’s “thinking about [the] three more years” remaining on his contract before considering the next step for his career. At 35 years old, Crosby isn’t “Sid the Kid” anymore, but he did score 84 points in 69 games last year and remains an elite player. But based on these comments, the Penguins will need to consider that Crosby may not be playing for the entirety of Malkin or Letang’s new extensions.

Now, for some other notes from across the NHL:

  • Vancouver Canucks GM Patrik Allvin has been a busy man this summer, signing major contracts with J.T. Miller, Ilya Mikheyev, and Andrei Kuzmenko. And despite the fact that training camps are close, he may not be done. In a conversation with The Athletic’s Thomas Drance, Allvin stated that the team would still be looking to add to its current group of players, saying that there is enough “cap space, and roster spots, and contract slots” to be able to facilitate an addition. (subscription link) We’re certainly late into the offseason free agent market, but with the preseason waiver wire set to be active and a few free agents still remaining, it’s possible that the Canucks get a new face or two into the mix before they open their 2022-23 campaign.
  • The St. Louis Blues have signed some major extensions recently, specifically with their two top young players: Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou. While the Blues are undoubtedly better off having signed those deals, they could come with a cost. As Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes, the byproduct of these extensions is that the team could find it difficult to match the sort of offer captain Ryan O’Reilly could receive on the open market. Since both O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko will be unrestricted free agents next summer, the Blues seem to have made retaining their two franchise pillars a more difficult task with their recent moves.

Poll: Who Should Win The 2020 Selke Trophy?

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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]

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