The Frank J. Selke Trophy is an annual award given to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game. The winner is selected in a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association at the end of the regular season. The trophy was first awarded at the end of the 1977–78 NHL season. It was named after Frank J. Selke, former general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens. The Selke Trophy was the fifth and last of the major NHL awards to be introduced that have been named after General Managers and owners of the Original Six teams, the other awards being the Art Ross Trophy, James Norris Trophy, Conn Smythe Trophy, and Jack Adams Award. The first recipient was Bob Gainey of the Canadiens, who won the trophy the first four years it was given, and to date he has won it more times than any other player. Players from the Montreal Canadiens have won the trophy the most times, a total of 7 times, though these 7 trophies were amassed by only two players. Bob Gainey has won the most, winning it four times while Guy Carbonneau and Jere Lehtinen have each won it three times. During the late 90's, Lehtinen and Carbonneau both played on the Dallas Stars, under then GM, Bob Gainey. The team with the most different winners is the Detroit Red Wings, as Sergei Fedorov (twice), Steve Yzerman, Kris Draper, and Pavel Datsyuk have combined for five Selke award trophies, all wins coming since 1994.

The Selke Trophy was presented to the National Hockey League in 1977 by the Board of Governors of the NHL in honor of Frank J. Selke, one of the great architects of NHL championship teams.