Nick Suzuki gets absolutely robbed for a prestigious NHL award

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Elias Edmonson
May 5, 2024 (2:23 PM)

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The NHL has just made a surprising announcement, and it's really unfortunate for Nick Suzuki, the captain of the Montreal Canadiens.

The NHL has indeed named its three finalists for the Selke Trophy, awarded to the forward who has demonstrated the most defensive skill, and these are probably the most controversial nominations to date.

"The finalists for the 2023-24 Frank J. Selke Trophy: Aleksander Barkov, Auston Matthews, and Jordan Staal." - Sportsnet

The nominations for the Norris, Vezina, Jack Adams trophies were relatively unanimous, but those for the Selke Trophy are surprising.

Auston Matthews, Jordan Staal, and Aleksander Barkov nominated: Nick Suzuki ignored

The nomination of Aleksander Barkov is absolutely logical and justified (he should win, by the way), but those of Auston Matthews and Jordan Staal are causing talk.

"Are you telling me that if there is a critical defensive situation, Auston Matthews is one of the 3 forwards you send onto the ice among all the NHL forwards? Come on!" - Etienne Ferland

I'm not saying it's embarrassing that Nick Suzuki wasn't nominated, but I believe Nick Suzuki would have deserved a nomination more than Auston Matthews and Jordan Staal.

It's nothing against the veteran Staal, who is solid defensively, but the truth is that Staal played 14 minutes 58 seconds per game this season.

The truth is that Staal was playing against 2nd and 3rd opponent lines, and rarely against the top opposing players.

He also finished the year with a negative differential of -14, with a team as dominant as the Carolina Hurricanes!

I honestly don't understand it, -14!

In contrast, Nick Suzuki consistently played against the top NHL players, against the best players from each team, and he played nearly 22 minutes per game, which is huge for a forward.

And you, do you like these nominations? Do you believe Nick Suzuki is a better defensive forward than Auston Matthews and Jordan Staal?

Anyway, several people, including Kent Hughes by the way, have compared him to a certain Patrice Bergeron. It's sad to see that he has been ignored again.