Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews Recognized For Defensive Game With NHL’s Frank J. Selke Trophy Nomination
The NHL announced Sunday morning that Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews is among the top three two-way forwards being honored for their defensive presence throughout the 2023-24 regular season. The Arizona native joins Aleksander Barkov (Florida Panthers) and Jordan Staal (Carolina Hurricanes) as the finalists for the 2024 Frank J. Selke Trophy for best defensive forward.
Matthews scored a career-high 69 goals in the 2023-24 regular season and won his third Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy in the past four seasons. Although he’s known for his scoring abilities, Matthews has asserted himself as an established two-way center.
Earlier in April, his teammate and captain John Tavares mentioned that “He plays in all areas of the game. He carries play, wins so many puck battles. Obviously, his takeaways are exceptional. I don’t think he always gets enough credit for just how smart he is,” Tavares said. “He’s just as well-rounded as the players you’re going to find in our game today.”
As Tavares mentioned, he may not always get the credit, but the stats are there to back it up. Matthews finished second in the league in takeaways among forwards (85), only five behind Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin. He tied for second among forwards in blocked shots (93) across the NHL while leading all Leafs forwards. The eighth-year forward was seventh in plus-minute (+31) and was fifth in even-strength ice time (1,346:28).
This is not the first time Matthews has entered the Selke conversation either. He has received votes in six of his eight years in the league so far, but it’s the first time he’s been nominated for the award. If Matthews went on to win the Frank J. Selke Trophy, he would become the first Leaf to win it since Doug Gilmore in 1993.
The award represents the third that Matthews is appointed to for the 2023-24 campaign. In addition to the Frank J. Selke Trophy and the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy nods, he was also nominated as a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy alongside forward Elias Petterson (Vancouver Canucks) and defenseman Jaccob Slavin (Carolina Hurricanes).
The trophy is awarded “to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability,” the National Hockey League states.
Matthews finished with a career-high 107 points, which is the most points by a Maple Leafs player since 1993-94 as he played in 81 out of 82 regular season games. Matthews had only 20 penalty minutes across his 81-game span – impressively, the least accounted for among the NHL’s top 15 scorers for the 2023-24 season.
cf1808c0-6a82-4298-9049-3eb2eae105b0
Related
‘I’m Not Going to Get Into That Tonight’: Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews Discreet on Specifics of Injury Following Game 7 Loss to Bruins
‘How To Push Your Team Through’: Bruins Head Coach Jim Montgomery Revealed That He Got Advice From Former Maple Leafs Head Coach Mike Babcock During Series Against Toronto
Maple Leafs’ William Nylander Reveals What Kept Him Out of First Three Playoff Games of Playoff Series Loss to Bruins
News from THN.com
NHL Draft Notebook: McKenna, Hagens and Martone Lead Underagers at U-18 World Championship
NHL Announces 2024 Calder Trophy Finalists
NHL Playoffs Opinion: Why Has This Year’s First Round Been Such a Dud?