He has been elite defensively for a decade.Give me an argument why he should win it
Because the Selke is a stupid ass award that doesn't mean anything because there's no clear criteria for it and people just vote for whomever they feel like has a good reputation, warranted or not.
The only players with more points than Backstrom since he entered the NHL are Crosby, Ovechkin, Malkin, and Kane who are all 1st ballot Hall of Famers. Am I supposed to believe that the top 4 are all slam dunk HoF players but the next player on the list just "mediocre"? By the way, you can disagree with the selection committee all you want but they're the ones voting and they don't base their votes on what YOU think should be the criteria. Not every player is a first ballot hall of famer but Backstrom is going to eclipse 1,200 points which is a rare feat in this era (only 3 active players have 1,200+ points), has several top 10 point finishes, a bunch of top 3 assist finishes, has always been a good defensive center, and has a Cup to his name which he was a huge part in winning. He's getting in whether you agree with it or not.
Backstrom seems like this generations Adam Oates. Maybe not a perfect comparison but a lot of similarities. One of the top set up men in the game playing with a goal scoring winner with a ton of personality that gets all the hype. Great player. Definitely underrated.
Yeah I agree with this. People love to hate on the Selke as an award based on "being good defensively while scoring a lot of points", but Backstrom is actually the kind of player I think would fit that mold a whole lot more than the usual suspsects who tend to win or be nominated (Toews, Kopitar, Barkov, Datstyuk, Bergeron etc.).I don't think he's ever actually been a Selke level player, well above average but it makes sense he isn't being nominated.
He asked for an argument, not a declarative statement with zero substance.He has been elite defensively for a decade.
Dave Andreychuk Joined the Chatbeing a slightly below PPG player that won the cup once is not taking him in.
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2000s Lower Scoring Era Joined the Chat
Bäckström doesn't have the greatest foot speed, that's one reason. Also, I haven't looked at his actual career shorthanded time one ice, but 2 shorthanded points in 895 regular season games kinda hints at the fact that he wasn't PKing very much.
Henrik Zetterberg is a player that should have gotten more Selke cred while he played. He was 9th, 7th, 3rd, 4th, 9th and 12th through his 6 year prime, but that's underselling him quite a bit.
Decent comparison outside the fact that Oates played like 19 years in the league and only 3 of them with Brett Hull.
He asked for an argument, not a declarative statement with zero substance.
https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/washington-capitals/trotz-backstrom-should-be-all-star-selke-winner?amp“To me he’s a terrific player that doesn’t get enough recognition. He should be a Selke winner (as the NHL’s top two-way forward) one of these years but no one even mentions him
He's never struck me as an elite 2 way guy. Doesnt mean he isnt a great player, but there's a reason Bergeron wins it all the time.
He has been elite defensively for a decade.
Because voting in the NHL awards is stupidBarry trotz lobbed hard for backstrom, in vain.
Isn't the Selke about being great at both, which Backstrom has been. NHL players routinely vote him as such as well, the voting is a joke in the NHL.One might think rather than reputation, those players are just very good.
Backstrom is better defensively than he is credited for but he never has been the best I imagine.