(Photo Credit: Winslow Towson/Associated Press)

By: Nathan Anderson | Follow me on Twitter @nathandrsn

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article stating Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron’s case for this season’s Selke Trophy award for the best defensive forward in the National Hockey League. To nobody’s surprise, the NHL has just announced that Bergeron is one of three finalists for the award, confirming what we all suspected. This nomination marks the 11th consecutive season in which Bergeron has been named a finalist for the honor, including four wins in the previous ten nominations.

Now that he has been nominated, all eyes will be on the NHL awards announcements coming in June, as Bergeron has the opportunity to claim sole possession of the record for most Selke Trophies won. He currently shares the record with Montreal Canadiens legend Bob Gainey. If he does win this year, I would argue that there is little debate about Bergeron being the best defensive forward in league history. The other nominees for the award are Elias Lindholm of the Calgary Flames and Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers, who controversially won the award last season.

With much discussion surrounding Bergeron’s future in Boston, this decision should serve as a reminder that if Bergy decides to come back, he is still a top tier forward in the National Hockey League and one of the best all-around forwards in the world. Furthermore, regardless of if he wins his fifth Selke this year, being nominated as a finalist for 11 seasons in a row, more than double the average career length for an NHL player, all after suffering a season-ending concussion in the 2007-2008 season, is remarkable.