The Montreal Canadiens are currently in the middle of a tough battle for first place in the Atlantic Division. Entering Dec. 4,the Canadiens have a 14-9-3 record for 31 points through 26 games, good enough for second place in the division. There is no real room for the Canadiens to struggle, as there are five teams separated with them by five points.
One player who has helped the Canadiens to their hot start is team captain Nick Suzuki. Through 26 games, Suzuki has eight goals and 23 assists. He is a true playmaker for the Canadiens, and he has been a tremendous help to their early success. But there is one aspect to his game that is being lauded across the league, and he's now a favorite to win a top award at season's end.
ESPN's Greg Wyshynski unveiled his latest Awards Watch article for the month of December, voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association anonymously. Thus far, Suzuki is the favorite to win the Selke Trophy for best defensive forward. Suzuki received 43 percent of first-place votes from the panel of voters.
Nick Suzuki considered favorite to win Selke Trophy by ESPN
"Suzuki earned around 43% of the first-place votes from our panel. That's notable since he has placed 13th for the award in consecutive seasons. He's got the numbers, whether it's the surface level Selke stuff like winning faceoffs (51.7%) or his on-ice impact analytically, as the Canadiens are giving up just 1.32 goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 when he's on the ice," writes Wyshynski.
These are great numbers for Suzuki. The ESPN article mentions that in order to win the Selke, not only do you need to have great defensive statistics, but also need to maintain scoring. Suzuki doesn't have an issue with that, as he has 31 points through 26 games.
The other finalists for the Selke by the ESPN panel is Anthony Cirelli of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers.
As Wyshynski notes, the favorite to win the Selke Trophy on a yearly basis is Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers. However, Barkov is expected to be sidelined for the entire 2025-26 season after suffering a knee injury in training camp. Barkov won the award three times in the past five years.
If Suzuki is to maintain this pace, he would be the first Canadiens player to win the award since 1992. Guy Carbonneau was the last Canadiens player to win the award. Carbonneau won the award three times (1988, 1989, 1992). The only other player in franchise history to win the Selke was Bob Gainey, who won the award four consecutive years (1978-81). Gainey was also the first person to win the award when it was introduced.
So, Suzuki is the frontrunner to win the award and bring it back to the Canadiens franchise for the first time in over three decades. All he has to do is keep it up for the rest of the season.