Patrice Bergeron Wins Selke Trophy For Fourth Time
BOSTON (CBS) -- Patrice Bergeron has once again won the Frank J. Selke Trophy.
Bergeron won the award Wednesday night in Las Vegas at the NHL Awards show.
Bergeron became just the second player in history to win the award four times, joining Bob Gainey, who happened to be presenting the award.
"It's a huge honor to receive this trophy from the man himself, Mr. Gainey, a great role model for any kid that wants to play hockey," Bergeron said on stage. "Thanks to my teammates, they're the reason why I'm standing here right now. Thanks for the friendship and everything that we've built so far in Boston."
Bergeron, 31, had won the Selke Trophy three times before for being the best defensive forward in the NHL.
This past season, Bergeron's offensive game dipped a bit, as he posted 21-32-53 totals to go with a plus-12 rating.
He won 60.1 percent of his faceoffs, which was the best mark in the entire NHL for centermen who took at least 1,100 draws.
The Bruins shared the following information after Bergeron's win:
He led the league in faceoffs taken (1,812), faceoffs won (1,089), even strength faceoffs won (817), even strength faceoff win percentage (62.3), neutral zone faceoffs won (324) and neutral zone faceoff win percentage (63.7). Bergeron also ranked first overall in the team puck possession metric SAT (shot attempts differential), as the Bruins registered 439 more shot attempts than they allowed when Bergeron was on the ice while each team had five skaters per side. The 31-year-old forward was also second in the NHL in offensive zone faceoffs won (420), third in faceoff win percentage (60.1), third in shots (302) and fourth in defensive zone faceoffs won (340). Bergeron won 17-of-17 faceoffs in Boston's 4-0 playoff-clinching win vs. Tampa Bay on April 4.
The finalists for the 2017 Selke Trophy were Bergeron, Ryan Kesler and Mikko Koivu.
Bergeron previously won the award in 2012, 2014 and 2015.
