Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell
Patrice Bergeron, Ryan O'Reilly, and Mark Stone were recently announced as the finalists for the Selke. In this edition of the hotstove, we share our picks for the award.
Todd Cordell
Mark Stone is a pretty easy choice for me.
On a Senators team that had its teeth kicked in on a nightly basis, Stone still managed to post excellent numbers across the board. The Sens controlled 52.24% of the attempts, 57.19% of the expected goals, and 57.43% of the actual goals with Stone on the ice at 5v5. In other words, the Senators were an elite team with him out there. Elite. I don't need to tell you what they were without him.
Stone's success continued in Vegas, where he was arguably the team's best player down the stretch while the Golden Knights re-established themselves as legitimate contenders.
Evolving-Hockey has Stone worth 4.4 wins above replacement, compared to 3.6 for O'Reilly and 3.2 for Bergeron. His two-way impact on both the Senators and Golden Knights was clearly nothing short of incredible, and I think he deserves to be rewarded for that.
James Tanner
Based on the nominees, the award should go to Mark Stone, no questions. I don't think Bergeron or ROR are even in the top five and seem to be lazy, reputation picks only.
The hockey news first line about Bergeron cites his gd face-off percentages, just in case you're wondering how these get decided.
The award should go to Alex Kerfoot, but 93% of voters wouldn't recognize him if they hit him with their car. If Kerfoot isn't famous enough to attend the award ceromony, why not vote for Crosby? He's only the 3rd best scorer of all time and has now become the games premier defensive centre. That seems worthy of recognition. Either way, Patrice Bergeron is a safe pick if you only watch your home team and want a guy no one will complain about. But Kerfoot and Crosby would be the best choices. Stone is the one I pick out of the available choices.
Recent posts
Early takeaways from the 2019 playoffs
Stanley Cup predictions
Predicting 1st round upsets
Most underrated defenseman in the NHL?
Most underrated forward in the NHL?
Thoughts on Nick Schmaltz' extension with the Coyotes?
Join the Discussion:
»