This is the moment that the Philadelphia Flyers and their fans have all been waiting for. Sean Couturier is officially a finalist for the Frank J. Selke Trophy. It’s the award that has been eluding the grasps of Couturier throughout his career. On four separate occasions, Couturier has finished top ten in votes for this award. It is the second time of his career that he’s named a finalist.
Last time Sean Couturier was named a finalist for the Frank J. Selke Trophy was in the 2017-2018 season. He finished that season with 76 points and a plus-minus of 34 throughout a complete season. In that season, Couturier was the runner up for the Selke Trophy behind the Los Angeles Kings’ Anze Kopitar. The Selke Trophy goes to the forward who demonstrates the most skill in the defensive component of the game. To this day, I feel that Couturier should have won the Selke Trophy back in 2017-2018.
In 2019-2020, Sean Couturier was on pace to replicate those 2017-2018 numbers. The shortened season disrupted that. If Couturier finished second in voting back in 2017-2018, could his efforts this season be enough to secure the Frank J. Selke Trophy for the first time?
He faces stiff competition if he plans to walk away with the Frank J. Selke Trophy for the 2019-2020 season. Sean Couturier is the only forward of the three finalists who hasn’t won the Selke Trophy yet. He’s up against the Boston Bruins’ Patrice Bergeron and the St. Louis Blues’ Ryan O’ Reilly. O’ Reilly is the reigning Selke Trophy winner. Bergeron has won the trophy four times previously.
Through 69 games this season, Sean Couturier has amassed 59 points, a plus-minus of 21, a face-off winning percentage of 59.7%, 26 blocked shots, 60 hits, and a plus-4 differential of takeaways to giveaways. He’s on the positive side of every defensive metric that a forward can achieve, but he’ll have to outperform Ryan O’Reilly and Patrice Bergeron, according to the PHWA writers.
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