Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki is the decisive winner of the 2025-26 Frank J. Selke Trophy.

The honor awarded Friday goes to the forward who “best excels in the defensive aspects of the game” and is voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association.

Suzuki believed that he was surprising teammate Cole Caufield with the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy inside the Montreal locker room, not realizing that Caufield was also surprising him with the Selke.

“I did not see that coming,” Suzuki said in a video posted by the NHL on YouTube.

“I didn’t expect that at all … you guys definitely tricked both of us,” he added.

Suzuki, 26, scored 29 goals and set career highs in assists (72) and points (101) while playing all 82 games for the fifth consecutive season.

Suzuki received 151 of the 198 first-place votes and 1,726 total points to finish far ahead of Anthony Cirelli of the Tampa Bay Lightning (467 points) and the Colorado Avalanche’s Brock Nelson (406 points).

Suzuki joins Canadiens legends Bob Ganey (four times) and Guy Carbonneau (three times) as Selke recipients.

–Field Level Media