Patrice Bergeron is widely regarded as one of the best two-way forwards in hockey. Just not by everyone.
The Boston Bruins center finished second in voting Friday for the 2021 Frank J. Selke Trophy, which is awarded to the NHL's best defensive forward. Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov won the award with 62 first-place votes on 100 total ballots, while Bergeron received the most second-place votes with 30.
Here's a breakdown of the voting distribution, with Bergeron receiving 15 first-place, 30 second-place, 24 third-place, 11 fourth-place and nine fifth-place votes:
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SIGN UP HERE But if you add those votes up, you only get 89 -- which means 11 voters left Bergeron off their Selke ballots completely.
To be fair, even Barkov didn't receive a vote on eight ballots despite winning the award. But it's hard to imagine how any of the 100 voters don't view Bergeron as one of the game's top five defensive forwards.
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After all, Bergeron has been a top-three Selke Trophy finalist in 10 consecutive seasons and has won the award four times. He played in 54 of Boston's 56 games this season and was a team-best plus-27 while ranking third in the NHL in Corsi-for percentage at even strength (62.5%).
Simply put, Bergeron has been a top-five defensive forward at minimum for most of his NHL career. So, if the Bruins captain can't land on 100% of Selke Trophy ballots, it's hard to envision any other forward earning that distinction.
Bergeron's Bruins teammate, Brad Marchand, finished ninth in Selke Trophy voting and received two first-place votes.
