The Frank J. Selke Trophy is an annual award given "to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game." The winner is selected in a poll of the Professional Hockey Writers Association at the end of the regular season.
The trophy was named after Frank J. Selke, former general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens. It was first awarded after the 1977-78 season.
The Selke Trophy was the fifth and last of the major individual NHL awards to be introduced that was named after general managers and owners of the Original Six teams; the others are the Art Ross Trophy, the Norris Trophy, the Conn Smythe Trophy and the Jack Adams Award.
The first recipient of the Selke Trophy was Bob Gainey of the Canadiens, who won it in each of the first four years it was awarded. Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins has won it a record six times. Guy Carbonneau (Canadiens), Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit Red Wings) and Jere Lehtinen (Dallas Stars) each won the Selke three times.
The Red Wings, Bruins and Canadiens each have had a player win the Selke seven times, the most of any team. Gainey and Carbonneau account for all seven wins by the Canadiens; Detroit's Datsyuk, Sergei Fedorov (two), Steve Yzerman and Kris Draper have combined to win seven times since 1994; and Steve Kasper (1982) is the other winner for the Bruins.
