Each year, the NHL awards the Frank J. Selke Trophy to Patrice Bergeron the “forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.” In practice, it often means the best “two-way” player, which can be a pretty high bar:
“If you’re going to talk about a guy in a Selke conversation, every decision they make on the ice has to be about what’s best for the team,” [Dallas Stars head coach Pete] DeBoer said. “Putting the puck in the right place, getting off at the right time, not turning it over, not being reckless – all of those things.”
And while he may not win, the newly extended Roope Hitnz fits that bill perfectly. Even if he ultimately doesn’t bring home some hardware, Hintz’s elite two-way style has helped both his line and team achieve amazing results this year:
“You can’t win without a guy like that,” DeBoer said, comparing Hintz to Kings center Anze Kopitar. “He’s big and fast, powerful. I remember reading Rick Bowness’ comments on him and what a good two-way player he is. When you’re signing a No. 1 center, they have to be able to create offense, make other people better, but they also have to be able to go up against the best players in the league and tilt the ice in your favor. There’s only a handful of guys who can do that.”
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Around the League
While Hintz may not be the Selke favorite, Robertson just might be for the Hart:
New NHL Awards Watch! In which actual awards voters tell us what their ballots look like at this point in the season:
– Jason Robertson vs. Connor McDavid for MVP
– Huge shakeups for Calder and Vezina
– Erik Karlsson *not* Norris favorite?https://t.co/Jf0pVpDBOS— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) December 1, 2022
It’s not just vibes either — the numbers back it up too:
NHL Awards Watch 🏆
Jason Robertson leads a stacked MVP race, Adam Fox looks like the league’s best all-around defenseman, and Ilya Sorokin is the early Vezina frontrunner.https://t.co/tFK590IMnf pic.twitter.com/8kNB0KA1lF
— dom 🕰️ (@domluszczyszyn) December 1, 2022
Speaking of Robertson, he and Joe Pavelski might very well be “un-dislikeable:”
From earlier: I tried to come up with a list of ten active NHL players that nobody hates.
The comment section is nothing but people saying “yes absolutely, we agree entirely”.https://t.co/U17XLTn2vt pic.twitter.com/LgOyTdQ0h2
— Down Goes Brown (@DownGoesBrown) November 30, 2022
Dallas couldn’t lock up Jake Oettinger long term, but is that perhaps for the best?
.@Proteautype argues that the consequences of signing a goalie long-term can hurt a franchise much more than gambling on a short-term contract: https://t.co/GNnviaAfZa
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) November 30, 2022
Scary stuff: Kris Letang will be out indefinitely after suffering a stroke.
Kris Letang is out indefinitely after suffering a stroke on Monday.
Letang is not experiencing any lasting effects of the stroke and will continue to undergo a series of tests over the next week. https://t.co/dQeKuhrBH2
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 30, 2022
Everyone’s waiting for the shoe to drop on a Jacob Chychrun trade, but are the Coyotes asking for too much?
The Coyotes are asking for a big return in a Jakob Chychrun but is he worth it?@AdamVingan looks at the value Chychrun would bring to his new team. https://t.co/xmJESWVzo0
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 30, 2022