Is this the season Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal wins the Selke Trophy?
The Carolina Hurricanes were beating the Dallas Stars and Jordan Staal was scoring goals, knocking people around, winning puck battles and generally being the biggest man on the ice Tuesday when Justin Williams took to Twitter:
“J. Staal for Selke.”
That’s what the former Canes captain, now retired, tweeted about the current Canes captain.
After the game, after the Canes finished off a six-game road trip with a solid 5-1 win, Staal was told of Williams’ social media missive. The center, who loathes talking about himself, shrugged it off.
“Willy’s biased,” he said, smiling.
Maybe, but the point still stands. In what has become a special, memorable season, in a year in which he has played his 1,000th career game, Staal could be in heavy consideration for the Frank J. Selke Trophy.
The annual award, selected by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, is given to the “forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.” It’s named for the former general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens, and has been awarded since 1977-78.
Only one Hurricanes player has won it and he did it twice -- Rod Brind’Amour. The Canes coach is biased, too, and if he had a vote Staal would get it
“Obviously,” Brind’Amour said Tuesday. “I’ve been saying this for a long time. I think you do have to have the numbers, and I get that. Clearly he does. Hopefully, he’ll get his due.”
The “numbers” being respectable offensive numbers. Staal has those. In 47 games, he has 16 goals and 21 assists. The two power-play goals he scored Tuesday gave him seven for the season and he has 13 power-play points.
Other numbers even more important: the Canes are 32-10-7 and have 71 points, second only to Vegas (72) in the NHL.
“Obviously I’m happy where I’m at and where the team’s at,” Staal said. “Contributing on both sides of the puck is what I’ve always wanted to do and this year the puck has been going in, which is nice. I’m getting the opportunity on the power play.
“It’s been a fun season. But I’m just going to finish off these games, and we’ll worry about that down the road.”
Jordan Staal and the Selke voting
The Selke has the feel of a “round-up-the-usual-suspects” kind of award in its voting. Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins has won it four times. Sean Couturier of the Philadelphia Flyers won it in 2020 and Bergeron was second. Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks and Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings have won it.
“I think you have to be a two-way player, a guy that plays at the end of the games both ways, when you’re up a goal and down a goal,” Brind’Amour said last week. “Those are the guys that I think you should consider.
“They’re obviously counted on to provide offense but they’re the guys that you count on when you need to defend. Those are the guys that, in my mind, deserve those awards.”
Staal finished 14th in the Selke voting in 2020, with two second-place votes. He was third in 2009-10 with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but has been no higher than ninth (2016-17) since being traded to the Canes in 2012.
“Ask around the league and the top offensive centers who are counted on, and when they have to face off against Jordan they know it’s going to be a tough night,” said Eric Staal, Jordan’s oldest brother and a former Canes captain now with the Montreal Canadiens. “It’s always competitive, always a battle. You have to work for every inch of ice.”
But the Canes weren’t making the playoffs those years and Staal’s numbers were modest. While Brind’Amour could watch Staal daily, first as a Canes assistant coach and the past three years as head coach, but many missed the hard 200-foot work Staal was putting in and looking too much at the numbers.
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In 2015-16, Staal played 82 games, had 20 goals and 48 points, and had six power-play goals. He was among the NHL leaders in faceoff percentage, as he has been and is again this season.
But the Canes, with Bill Peters as coach, had a 36-31-15 record. Staal was 13th in the Selke voting as Kopitar won.
‘The way he grinds out there’
Williams, now an adviser to Canes president and general manger Don Waddell, once played with Kopitar, won Stanley Cups with Kopitar and realizes his value and contributions to that team and franchise. He has the same feelings about Staal, who succeeded him as captain last season -- and made it known Tuesday night in his short, succinct tweet.
In the Canes’ 4-3 overtime loss Monday to the Stars, Dallas captain Jamie Benn had the OT winner and three assists. As Staal said, “He got the best of me.”
Staal’s response was to set a physical tone with an early hit on Benn, then score the game’s first goal on the power play. His second goal gave the Canes a 3-0 lead in the second period and his setup pass to Nino Niederreiter led to another goal and 5-1 lead in the third.
“He scored today a couple of goals but I think his effort level and commitment and the way he grinds out there, it’s every night,” said Canes center Sebastian Aho, who had a goal and two assists. “He never changes. It’s just effort.
“Obviously it’s very nice to see him score, but there’s a lot of things. He’s our captain. He’s a successful player and has spent a long time in this league.”
Carolina Hurricanes vs. Detroit Red Wings
When: Thursday, 7 p.m.
Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh.
Watch: BSSO (Bally).
