For the first time since 1993-94 a Toronto Maple Leafs has been nominated for the Franke J. Selke Trophy after Mitch Marner was announced Tuesday night as a finalist for the award.
Doug Gilmour was the last Toronto Maple Leafs player to be a finalist for the award when he finished second in voting after the 1993-94 season when Detroit Red Wings forward Sergei Fedorov took home the trophy.
This was one season after Gilmour had become the only Leafs player to win the Selke Trophy after winning it in 1992-93 in a season where he also finished second to Mario Lemieux in Hart Trophy voting (hockey-reference.com).
Marner has received consideration for the top defensive forward award in the four previous seasons, finishing as high as tenth in voting after the 2020-21 season.
The shifty forward finishes alongside New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier and Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron as the three finalists for the award.
Hischier had a career season with 80 points in 81 games, finishing with four shorthanded points and 63 takeaways. Bergeron is the face of the award over the last decade as he has won the award five times over the previous 11 seasons, while being named a finalist in the six other seasons he did not win the award.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Mitch Marner Top Defender
The Toronto Maple Leafs winger should be the front runner for the award as he has grown his game defensively. Marner is the teams top penalty kill forward and led the league in takeaways with 104 and finished one shorthanded goal off the league leader in that category, while finishing with five shorthanded points.
His constant high pressure attack causes a team to play their power play more cautious as the risk of an attack is imminent. On the season, Marner set career highs in assists (69) and points (99) while averaging 21:17 ice-time per night.
Where Marner may struggle for votes is that he is a winger and the award is typically won by a center. The last winger to win the award was during the 2002-03 season when Jere Lehtinen won his third award over two centerman.
The NHL awards show happens on June 26, 2023 and hopefully the Selke award is the second trophy that Marner wins this season, as the Toronto Maple Leafs are currently in a battle against the Florida Panthers in the second round.