Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron has broken the NHL record as the NHL’s best defensive forward by winning the Selke Trophy for the fifth time in his career.
Bergeron, 36, was named on 194 of the 195 ballots submitted by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, and was ranked first on 160 of those ballots. Calgary Flames forward Elias Lindhome is in second place (21 first place votes), while Florida Panthers center Alexander Barkov (10 first place votes) is in third place.
The victory took Bergeron to the Montreal Canadiens’ Hall of Fame forward, Bob Ganny, with whom he equaled four Selke victories. Bergeron had previously won the award in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2017.
It was the 11th consecutive season that Bergeron was shortlisted for the award, setting another NHL record. He equaled Wayne Gretzky’s 10-straight season as the Heart Trophy finalist for the most consecutive seasons for the NHL Awards.
Bergeron led the NHL for the seventh time in his career, winning a 61.9% draw. Overall, Bergeron had 25 goals and 40 assists in 73 games for the Bruins.
Burgaron, who has no contract for next season, has played all 18 NHL seasons in Boston.