Can Jonathan Toews Win the Selke Trophy?

This is a pretty powerful question to ask, but it's one that Blackhawks fans should be thinking about as the time for deciding the winner of this prestigious trophy draws ever closer.

The Frank J. Selke Trophy will be awarded to the NHL’s best defensive forward, and that honor will be given to the winner on June 22nd at the NHL Award Ceremony in Las Vegas.

The three players that are up for the honor include Vancouver Canucks center Ryan Kesler, Detroit Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk and our own Chicago Blackhawk Jonathan Toews.

The award is given to the forward that shows the most skill in the defensive part of the game of hockey.

So which of these three players is the most deserving of this honor?

Datsyuk has won the award three straight seasons and he’s the odds-on favorite to win it again this season.  Datsyuk played in 56 games for the Red Wings, scoring 23 goals with 36 assists for a total of 59 points.

Compare that to Kesler’s statistics, as he played in 82 games and had 41 goals with 32 assists and 73 points overall.  Kesler is part of the possible Stanley Cup champion Canucks, a team that has had a very good season, and their capacity to win just might thrust Kesler ahead of everyone else in the voting and earn him the trophy.

Toews was the clear-cut leader on the Blackhawks this past season and is considered by almost any fan (of the Blackhawks) to be the best player on the team.  Towes played in 80 games for the Blackhawks last season and had 32 goals with 44 assists for a total of 76 points.

If the award was based on leadership and value to a team then Towes would definitely win it hands down.  Still, the Canucks' Kesler is currently helping to lead his team to a Stanley Cup Championship, and Datsyuk has won the award three times in a row. The odds are seemingly stacked against Toews.

Can the leader of the Blackhawks and last year’s Conn Smythe Trophy win this highly touted honor?  Putting the three together and looking at their numbers side by side (and if they were to ever go strictly off of numbers) it’s easy to see that Toews would have the advantage in points with 76.  But would that be enough to earn him this honor?

If tradition holds true, it looks like Datsyuk could end up winning this award, but with Kesler’s team in the Stanley Cup Finals, Kesler’s and his team’s performance there could end up making voters take a much more serious look at him.

Toews's play this season should be noticed by voters and he should get strong consideration.  As Blackhawks fans, we know that we would love to see him earn this to add to his ever-growing list of honors, but with a three-time winner and potential Stanley Cup champion going up against him, it may be difficult for him to secure the Selke Trophy.

Who do you think should win the Selke Trophy?