Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov has filled the Selke Trophy vacuum left by Patrice Bergeron

With Patrice Bergeron hanging up his skates following last season, he opened the door for someone else to win the Selke Trophy. Aleksander Barkov has already slammed that door and made it clear he is the best defensive forward in the game with a terrific start to the 2023-24 season.

Bergeron won the Selke Trophy six times, and he has probably earned the right to have the award named after him. Bergeron even went out as the two-time defending Selke Trophy winner, doing so at the ages of 36 and 37. There may not be another Bergeron ever again, but Barkov seems determined to give him a run for his money.

Barkov is the last non-Bergeron player to win the Selke, doing so in the 2020-21 season, and he has upped his game this year. When it comes to his impacts at five-on-five, Barkov has been irreplaceable for the Florida Panthers, and he has been even better than Bergeron in some areas.

Five-on-five data courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.

It should also be noted that, without Barkov on the ice, things have gone rather poorly for the Panthers this season. Their five-on-five goal differential while Barkov is riding the pine is minus-10 at five-on-five. Some of that disparity can be chalked up to poor shooting luck for the rest of the Panthers, but it’s not much of a surprise that Florida’s save percentage dips a few points when the best defensive forward in the NHL is on the bench.

At the risk of pointing out the obvious, the Bruins were always better with Bergeron on the ice as well, but they were still usually on the right side of the scoreboard. That was especially the case last year, when Boston still outscored opponents 153-96 without Bergeron at five-on-five.

In all fairness to Bergeron, the team’s expected goals numbers were fairly mediocre without him, but having a Vezina Trophy winner in net can erase some mistakes.

One thing that separates Barkov is that he has about two inches and 20 pounds on Bergeron, and he’s not afraid to use that size. Standing at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, Barkov can employ his reach, his physicality, or both to thwart an opposing player’s scoring chance.

Watch any Panthers game, and you’ll see multiple examples of the opposing team cooking up something off the rush when Barkov reads the play perfectly, picks someone’s pocket, and immediately transitions from defense to offense.

That last part is especially important because the Panthers have needed Barkov’s offensive contributions this season — and it’s another thing that gives him a leg up on Bergeron’s latter years. Bergeron was always good for 20-30 goals and around 30 assists down the back stretch of his career, but the last time he averaged a point per game was in 2018-19.

Barkov, on the other hand, has 11 goals and 21 assists in his 30 games this season. His ability to turn excellent defense into dangerous scoring chances has been a key part of the Panthers’ offense, especially since Matthew Tkachuk hasn’t fully hit his stride yet.

After scoring 40 goals last season, Tkachuk has just five in 32 games this year. That means Florida has needed contributions from other players, and Barkov’s 200-foot game has facilitated just that. It probably isn’t a coincidence that Sam Reinhart is on pace for a career year while riding shotgun with Barkov.

Barkov is doing everything for the Panthers this season, and he has taken the mantle from Bergeron as the league’s best defensive forward. He still needs five more Selke trophies to catch the Bruins legend, and that’s a lofty goal, but Barkov looks like a lock to close that gap this year.