Lightning Center Anthony Cirelli Named Selke Finalist

The positive news came the Tampa Bay Lightning‘s way after a first-round exit a few nights ago. Anthony Cirelli has been named a finalist for the Selke Trophy, which is awarded to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.

He was named a finalist alongside Montreal Canadiens center Nick Suzuki and Colorado Avalanche center Brock Nelson. This marks the second straight year that he has been named a finalist, and it’s the eighth straight that he has received votes.

If Cirelli were to win, he’d be the first player in Lightning history to do so. In 71 games this season, he finished with a defensive points share of 2.6, blocked 47 shots, made 50 hits and had 25 takeaways.

Along with the defensive honor, he scored 23 goals and tallied 29 assists for 52 points. The center led the team with 1,075 faceoffs, winning 48.2% of them, and helped the Lightning finish second in the NHL with a plus-57 goal differential. He also helped lead the team to a second-place finish in the Atlantic Division with 106 points.

While not a finalist for the award, a teammate of Cirelli’s who likely received votes as well is Brandon Hagel. He has received votes during the previous three award seasons, including a ninth-place finish last season.

The Lightning have had their share of award finalists so far this season. Nikita Kucherov has been named a Ted Lindsay Award finalist, the MVP as voted by the players, an award he won last year. Andrei Vasilevskiy has a chance to win his second Vezina Trophy, which goes to the goalie who is viewed as the best that season, one year after finishing second in the voting behind Connor Hellebuyck. Head coach Jon Cooper was named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award, which goes to the head coach who was voted the best that season.

An upcoming award to watch for the Lightning is the Hart Memorial Trophy. Since Kucherov was named a finalist for the Ted Lindsay, there’s a strong chance he’s a finalist for this award as well. The Norris Trophy finalists are also set to be announced, but no Lightning defenseman is expected to be among them.