Earlier this week, we wrote about an ESPN article that praised Anthony Cirelli’s chances for the Selke Trophy, but also said that he probably can’t realistically win against more recognized defensive masters like Sean Couturier or Patrice Bergeron. Yesterday, the Athletic published an article (paid content) which also agrees with this opinion, despite having Cirelli as an objective front-runner
Based on the criteria, Anthony Cirelli should be the front-runner as I noted at the half-season mark. He plays some of the toughest minutes in the league and is the primary reason the Lightning have elevated their defensive game this season. Of the top 10 candidates, he has the best goal suppression and the second-best expected goal suppression, and that goes the same by his regularized adjusted plus-minus in the same categories. He’s also one of two players listed to play more than half his team’s penalty kill minutes, something only 15 other forwards (including Philip Danault in sixth) in the league can boast.
In his article, Dom Luszczyszyn also has Alex Killorn as one of the favorites for the Selke Trophy. The Tampa Bay Lightning forward has boosted his offensive production this season, but also has been very effective around his team’s net and established himself as a penalty kill specialist.
Another player who has been acknowledged in this article is Victor Hedman. Over the last several seasons, we’ve already got used to the Swedish defenseman is a permanent front-runner for the Norris Trophy and this season is not an exception. According to Dom Luszczyszyn’s article, Hedman is one of the better defencemen in the league with all-round ability (both effective at preventing goals and creating offense) alongside the Nashville Pradators’ Roman Josi. If Hedman gets nominated for the Norris Trophy this season, it would be the fourth time in four consecutive seasons when he’s one of the finalists. He already won this award in the 2017-18 season. This season, Hedman has 55 (11+44) points in 65 games and is on pace for 67-68 points, which would be the second highest result in his career.
Lightning Org News
The Syracuse Crunch were defeated by the Toronto Marlies last night 2-5. Alex Barre-Boulet and Taylor Raddysh scored the only goals for Syracuse. Both teams will face each other again tonight.
The Orlando Solar Bears also fell to the Atlanta Gladiators, falling to a 2-8-0-0 result in their past ten games.
Other Hockey News
Former Montreal Canadiens player and 11-time Stanley Cup winner Henri Richard has passed away at the age of 84 on Friday. The NHL honored his memory with a minute of silence before yesterday’s games.
The Edmonton Oilers have signed Josh Archibald for another two years.
The NHL sent a memo to its teams recommending them to limit contact with fans due to spreading of Coronavirus.
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