Tampa Bay Lightning forward Anthony Cirelli has been named a finalist for the Frank J. Selke Trophy, awarded annually “to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.”
Along with Cirelli, Sam Reinhart and Aleksander Barkov, both from the Florida Panthers, have been named finalists. Should Cirelli win the award, he would be the first player in Lightning history to win the award. He would also dethrone Barkov as the reigning Selke Trophy winner.
Members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association submitted ballots for the Selke Trophy at the conclusion of the regular season. The top three vote-getters are designated as finalists.
This is the first time that Cirelli has been named a finalist in his career. However, he’s had two top-five finishes, finishing fourth in 2019-20 and fifth in 2021-22. He has received votes every season since 2018-19, his first full season in the NHL.
His solid defensive game played an important role in the Lightning winning back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021 and a third straight appearance in the Stanley Cup Final in 2022.
Cirelli finished the season with 72 blocked shots, ranked ninth among forwards in 2024-25. His defensive point shares of 2.7 ranked seventh in the NHL to lead all three finalists.
Along with his defense receiving recognition, he also had an improved season on offense. He had career highs for goals (27), assists (32) and points (59). At age 27, he’s beginning to take a bigger step in his career in both aspects of his game.
Cirelli is the latest Lightning player to be an award finalist for this season. Nikita Kucherov is a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award, the MVP given out by the NHL Players’ Association. Kucherov is also the winner of the Art Ross Trophy for this season.
Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy was named a finalist for the Vezina trophy, the award handed out to the best goalie in a season.
