Patrice Bergeron, Pavel Datsyuk and David Backes Contend for Selke Honors

The Frank J. Selke Trophy is not as glamorous as the Hart (MVP), Norris (best defenseman) or Vezina (best goaltender) trophies, but if you have a player who can contend for this award, chances are your team will win a lot of games.

The Selke Trophy goes to the forward who excels “in all defensive aspects of the game.”

In most cases, that means a player who plays the defensive game with skill. Players who can take the puck away, use their body to break up scoring chances and then use their minds to anticipate what the opponent will do next have a chance to contend for this top defensive honor.

Centers may have an advantage when it comes to winning this award.

When you can control the draw and gain possession for your team, you are stopping your opponent from making a play with the puck. If you keep your opponent from taking possession, you are playing great defense.

Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins, Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings and David Backes of the St. Louis Blues—all playoff teams—are this year’s contenders for the Selke Trophy.

Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins

He is the picture of responsibility for the Boston Bruins. He put his name in the Bruins’ record book with Bobby Orr when he scored the Stanley Cup winning goal against the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals.

Bergeron certainly can score when he gets the opportunity.

He was second on the team in scoring with 64 points, trailing only Tyler Seguin. Bergeron is a wizard on faceoffs as he was successful on 59.3 percent of the draws. Claude Julien depended on Bergeron more than any other forward in short-handed situations, and he was clearly a focused player who made limited mistakes. Bergeron finished the season with a league-best plus-36 rating.

More than the numbers, Bergeron performs well in all aspects of the game. He does not appear to be a potential 40-goal scorer, but he will help the Bruins win games as long as he dons his black and gold "Spoked B" jersey (sweater, in hockey parlance).

Odds on Bergeron winning Selke Award: 5-2

Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings

He is a perennial contender for this award and a three-time winner. Datsyuk is one of the most highly skilled all-around players in the game. He is a brilliant skater and if he wanted to concentrate on just the offensive aspects of the game, he probably could make a run at the scoring leaders.

But that is not how Datsyuk rolls.

He does it all, and he takes pride in his ability to shut down opposing offensive stars. When the Wings are facing a highly-skilled opponent, Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock will send out Datsyuk to play shut-down defense.

Datsyuk is traditionally one of the best faceoff men in the league. He won 56.2 percent of his faceoffs last season and he took 34.2 percent of his team’s draws.

Datsyuk scored 19 goals and 48 assists last season and he finished with a plus-21 rating. He scored five game-winning goals and was whistled for just 14 penalty minutes.

Odds on Datsyuk winning Selke Award: 9-2

David Backes, St. Louis Blues

When Ken Hitchcock took over as head coach in St. Louis early in the season, the first thing he wanted to do was build a defensively responsible team.

That was music to the ears of David Backes, who wants nothing more than to frustrate opponents and shut them down.

Hitchcock had Backes on the ice for an average of 19:59 per game, the top mark among St. Louis forwards. Backes does it with an intense physical style. He dished out 226 hits last season, and he will not hesitate to throw his body in front of shots. He had 72 blocked shots for the best defensive team in the league

Backes scored 24 goals and 30 assists last season, including two short-handed goals. His 48.6 winning percentage on faceoffs is significantly below Bergeron and Datsyuk, but he took more faceoffs than any other St. Louis center.

Odds on Backs winning Selke Award: 4-1