Staal named Selke Trophy finalists - 04-20-10

Penguins forward Jordan Staal (above) was named a finalist for the Frank Selke Trophy which goes to the NHL's top defensive forward. Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk and Vancouver's Ryan Kesler were also named as finalists.

In 82 games, Staal had 49 points (21 goals, 28 assists) and was a plus-19. He averaged the third most short-handed time on ice in the NHL among forwards this past season with 3:20.

Datsyuk has won the award the past two seasons.

EN Says: Staal is more than deserving of the nomination but we don't think he's going to win the award. First, his faceoff winning percentage of 48.3 percent is below average. And this award almost seems like a Gold Glove in baseball. You can seemingly only win it if you've won it before. If that makes sense.

(Photo: Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press)