Barkov on First Selke Win: 'It Feels Unbelievable'

Aleksander Barkov's phone was bursting with missed calls and text messages this morning.
With the long-awaited news breaking sometime around 4 a.m. in Finland, the Panthers captain, somehow able to sleep through the non-stop rings and buzzes, awoke on Saturday to a wave of congratulations from friends, family, teammates and others after it was announced he'd won the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the best defensive forward in the NHL for the first time in his career.

"It was great," Barkov said with a smile. "I got more messages than I did for my birthday."
Beating out Boston's Patrice Bergeron and Vegas' Mark Stone for the award, Barkov had never been named a finalist for the Selke before this season, but had finished in the top-six in voting three times, including a fifth-place finish following a strong 2018-19 campaign in which he did win the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy as the player that best combines sportsmanship and ability.
Named on 92 of the 100 ballots submitted by the PHWA (it looks like eight people need to get their eyes checked, right?), Barkov essentially ran away with the Selke this season, earning 62 first-place votes and 780 voting points. Finishing second, Bergeron, a four-time winner, received 15 first-place votes and 522 points, while Stone had 11 first-place votes and 463 points for third.
With two major awards now on his mantle, Barkov joined Pavel Datsyuk, Ron Francis, Anze Kopitar and Ryan O'Reilly as the only players in NHL history to win both the Selke and Laby Byng.
"It feels unbelievable," Barkov said. "This is one of the biggest honors I've had in my life and in my hockey career. Obviously, it's a team sport. It would have never been possible without my teammates, coaches, trainers, GM and everyone in our organization. A big thank you to them."
Helping the Panthers achieve their lowest goals-against average (2.70) since 2015-16, Barkov ranked ninth among NHL forwards in average ice time per game (20:56) and 10th in total face-offs (1,026) while also posting a career-high 54.9% winning percentage in the dot this season. Using his extra-long stick to make passing lanes disappear, he also swiped a team-best 39 takeaways and was a crucial penalty killer, accruing 71:15 minutes of shorthanded ice time.

With two-way play typically factoring in heavily among Selke voters, Barkov also impressed on the offensive side of the puck. Producing at better than a point-per-game clip, he registered 58 points in 50 games while tallying a team-high 26 goals, including eight over his final 10 contests.
"This recognition of Sasha's ability stands as a testament to his growth as a player and as a leader," Panthers General Manager Bill Zito said of Barkov's latest honor in a release from the team. "The Florida Panthers organization is tremendously proud of our captain's achievements. The Selke Trophy is synonymous with sacrifice, and over the past eight seasons Sasha has demonstrated time and again that he is willing to do what it takes for the team to succeed."
A model of consistency in all three zones, Barkov, despite facing down the opposition's top lines during most games, also helped the Panthers grow into one of the best possession teams in the NHL this season, with their 53.5 CF% at 5-on-5 finishing as the fifth-best mark in the league. With his personal CF% falling below 50% in just nine of the 50 games that he played in this season, Barkov's career-high 58.90 CF% at 5-on-5 also ranked first among Florida's regulars.

"You want to do the right things every game, starting from Game 1 until the end," Barkov said. "I played the way I really wanted to, starting from Game 1 and almost all the way through the end. I had ups and downs, but pretty much the whole season I was consistent. I was happy with it, the way I was consistent. But, obviously, I need to get better. I can get better. I know what I need to work at and just get better for the next season. A big honor, but I want to keep it going."
Not turning 26 until September, it's safe to assume that this won't be the last time Barkov is in the conversation for the Selke. After all, given the nuance surrounding how the award is voted upon, reputation often comes into play when it's time to cast ballots at the end of each season.
No longer on the outside looking in, Barkov's first win has moved him beyond the velvet rope and right to a spot at the VIP table at what could best be described as the NHL's "Selke Club," a group that features many recurring vote-getters such as Bergeron, Stone, O'Reilly and Kopitar.
"It feels great even to be nominated for this trophy," said Barkov, who joined three-time winner Jere Lehtinen as the only other Finnish player to take home the Selke. "I've always considered myself a two-way player, and this is like the biggest honor you can get as a two-way player."