You'll have to excuse me for bringing up a baseball comparison, but in 1999 Rafael Palmeiro, while playing for the Texas Rangers, won his third Gold Glove award despite playing just 28 games at first base that season, and the remainder of the games as a designated hitter. It's a shining example of what a farce the voting process for awards can be in sports, and an example as to how offense can carry a great deal of weight when it comes to an award that's supposed to be handed out on the basis of defense (and in this case, the player rarely even played defense). Does a similar thing occur when it comes to the NHL and the Selke Trophy, which is awarded to the best defensive forward in the NHL? If you look back over the history of the award, winners average 61.5 points during the season they win, which is a rather high number. That's not to suggest it's the only reason they won (because, let's face it, players like Pavel Datsyuk, Rod Brind'Amour, etc. etc. were more than deserving of their honors); it's just to point out that a player that shows up on the box score and in highlight reels is a lot more likely to be noticed than a fundamentally sound shutdown forward that quietly goes about his business keeping the other team off of the scoreboard.
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