Brophy on awards: Meet the candidates

With trade deadline now behind us, it is time to turn our attention to the stretch run of the 2010-11 season.

We have great playoff races in both conferences and now, with Sidney Crosby out for who knows how long, we have a race for the Hart and Art Ross Trophies. It looked like Crosby was going to win both until he suffered a concussion in early January that still has him sidelined.

So exactly who are the leading contenders for the major awards? Well, let’s take a look:

HART TROPHY (MVP): Crosby all but had the Hart locked up as he distanced himself between everybody else on the planet in the race for who is the best player in the world. Then came back-to-back hits that have left him concussed. Now there is no prohibitive favorite, although there are a few logical candidates.

You’d have to start with Daniel Sedin whose brother Henrik was the winner last season. With the Canucks the No. 1 team in the NHL and Daniel leading the league in scoring, he’d have to have a slight edge over the other competitors. Injured for part of last season, Daniel has played superbly in all 63 games for the Canucks this year.

Goaltender Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins is also in the running. Thomas was No. 2 on the Bruins depth chart at the start of the season but won the crease back with a terrific start that he has maintained throughout the entire year. The odds are stacked against Thomas though. Only five goaltenders in history have won the Hart Trophy, the last being Dominik Hasek of the Buffalo Sabres in 1996-97.

The third strong candidate is veteran defenceman Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings. After what seemed to be a wind-down year last season, Lidstrom has bounced back and stands second in defenceman scoring with 13 goals and 50 points. At 40, Lidstrom is still very relevant and when you look at his body of work through what is surely a Hall of Fame career, giving him the Hart seems appropriate.

Steven Stamkos may get some consideration, too, given the fact he’s leading the NHL in goals and is just 21-years old.

NORRIS TROPHY (Best Defenceman): Dustin Byfuglien had a stranglehold on the Norris at the halfway point of the year, but his second-half stumble offensively will likely cost him the award.

If Lidstrom continues to play at the level he has all season, the award is his. That would give him an incredible seven Norris Trophies.

Keith Yandle of the Phoenix Coyotes leads all blueliners in scoring with 54 points and will certainly garner some attention, as may Kris Letang of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators. Last season’s winner, Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks, isn’t in the mix.

VEZINA TROPHY (Best Goalie): With Boston having 19 games remaining, the Vezina appears to be Thomas’s to lose. He has been nothing short of fantastic and a win of the award would be his second in three seasons. Thomas leads the NHL in goals-against average (1.97) and save percentage (.939) and has seven shutouts.

The Nashville Predators are in the Western Conference playoff race largely because of their solid team defensive play and the excellent goaltending of Pekka Rinne. The fact he is 22-18-7 may not impress the voters, but his 2.13 goals-against average (2nd in the NHL) and .928 save percentage (also 2nd) certainly will. Without Rinne, the Predators are just another team.

A strong finish to the year could get the likes of Marc-Andre Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings, Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres and Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks into the race.

CALDER TROPHY (Best Rookie): This is one of the more interesting races. Jeff Skinner, the impressive 18-year-old with the Carolina Hurricanes, leads all freshmen in scoring with 22 goals and 47 points in 64 games. He takes over as the happiest player in the NHL now that Craig Conroy has retired.

Logan Couture, who is 21, has been the San Jose Sharks best and most consistent player this season and is tied for the rookie goal-scoring lead with 25 with Michael Grabner of the New York Islanders.

Then there’s Taylor Hall of the Edmonton Oilers who arguably has the biggest upside of any rookie on the league. Hall, who has speed to burn, is quickly becoming the Oilers best player and is certainly an individual an organization can build around.

JACK ADAMS AWARD (best coach): This is another tough one. I have said for years Barry Trotz of the Nashville Predators is the best coach to never have been named Coach of the Year. He’s a solid candidate again this year, given what he has been handed to work with, but the leading candidates are Claude Julien of the Boston Bruins, Mike Babcock of the Detroit Red Wings and Peter Laviolette of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Tell you what, though, if the New Jersey Devils make the playoffs – and it’s still a long shot despite their great play of late – Jacques Lemaire wins the award hands down even though he only coached half the year. Come to think of it, I’d like to see that happen.