Zetterberg's a bona fide candidate for the Hart Trophy

	Now in his fourth NHL season, the 26-year-old Swedish winger may be the league's best two-way player. Chris McGrath/Getty Images
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There's no doubt that Sidney Crosby is the NHL's Most Valuable Marketing Tool. But is he the league's Most Valuable Player?

As the season heads into the straightaway, what once seemed like a no-brainer has become a legitimate question. To be sure, the teenaged scoring sensation has an arsenal of stats and achievements to back up his candidacy, including the surprising vault to legitimacy of his Penguins and his nearly insurmountable 14-point bulge in the scoring race.

But while Crosby is running away with the Art Ross, the Hart looks like it is up for grabs. There's no doubt that Martin Brodeur, with his 37 wins and 11 shutouts, belongs in the conversation. And now, after a two-month run of superlative play, so does Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg.

Zetterberg's been an upper echelon player for several years, but he's never played with this sustained level of excellence at any point in his career. As far as the Red Wings are concerned, his timing couldn't have been better.

Absent the talents of long-time leaders Steve Yzerman and Brendan Shanahan, and with other key players such as Dominik Hasek and Chris Chelios nearing AARP eligibility, the Wings could easily have slipped into mediocrity this season. Instead, Zetterberg has put this left-for-dead gang on his back and carried them to the best record in the Western Conference.

Not that the transition was seamless. Thanks to a horrific start that saw him score just three points in his first 12 games, the success of his season isn't adequately reflected by the scoring race. There are 15 players who have more points than his 66. Eight have scored more than his 32 goals.

But in a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league, Zetterberg is building his case with a remarkable run of play since Christmas. Over that span, the 26-year-old left winger has 20 goals and 47 points in just 29 games. Even Sid The Kid hasn't matched that level of production.

Zetterberg earned the nod as the NHL's first star during the past two weeks and is on his way to a three-peat. And how about this nugget: he's been the first star in nine of Detroit's last 10 victories.

Could a second-half run generate enough votes to take the MVP? It's not inconceivable. Last year's winner, Joe Thornton, started his season so miserably that he was dealt by the Bruins to the Sharks. The move rejuvenated his hands to the point that he captured the Art Ross. More important, his arrival changed San Jose's fortunes, and their emergence as a legitimate contender earned him enough votes to win the Hart.

Zetterberg's final numbers aren't likely to generate that kind of pop, but his impact has been just as pronounced. Thanks to his play and that of linemates Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom, it is fair to ask if there is a more dangerous team in the NHL right now than the Red Wings. They are on a 9-2 run, and have won 13 in a row at home to move within one point of Buffalo for the overall league lead. You have to include Detroit in any discussion about Cup contenders. Without Zetterberg, they'd be alongside Colorado, looking at the playoffs from the outside.

What's really been noticeable about Zetterberg's run during that Detroit's hot streak is that he's not just scoring goals. He's scoring the big ones. After Wednesday night's victory over Chicago, he'd tallied three game-winners in a row. As the Wings clawed their way past Nashville to take over first place in the West, he's notched six of last eight winners and now has 10 on the season, a total that leads the NHL.

Those numbers are impressive, but where Zetterberg really separates himself from the pack is his Selke-worthy attention to all aspects of the game. You can dispute the value of his plus-28 rating, a mark that stands fifth in the league. But you can't argue with his success in the face-off circle, or his tireless work in his own end. The consensus around the league is that he's now the game's top two-way player.

That's important, because the odds are that he won't keep up this blistering offensive pace. But if he moves into the top 10 in scoring, and the Wings capture the West, his Hart candidacy will be impossible to ignore.