A look at the early contenders for major NHL awards

Where would the Lightning and Rangers be without Vincent Lecavalier and Henrik Lundqvist, respectively? Scott Audette/Getty Images

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Although we're only at the quarter pole of the 2007-08 campaign, players are beginning to distinguish themselves as contenders for the NHL's season-end hardware. Here's a look at the Fall favorites:

Hart Trophy (MVP)

No knock on the defending champ, but there are more compelling candidates in the early going than Sidney Crosby. Among them: Vincent Lecavalier, Daniel Alfredsson, Ilya Kovalchuk, Jarome Iginla and Rod Brind'Amour.

Alfredsson would earn a lot of voter support for his exemplary two-way play (three shorties among his team-leading 16 goals). Kovalchuk has revved up his snarl since being unmuzzled by the dismissal of Bob Hartley. He has 21 points so far in November, and his 11 goals on the road top the circuit. The struggling Flames would be completely out of the picture were it not for Iginla, a traditionally slow starter who is on pace for a career year. And the ageless and underappreciated Brind'Amour continues to amaze in Carolina with his timely scoring and ferocious effort at both ends.

The edge: Lecavalier, whose league-leading 38 points and gritty leadership (exemplified by two fighting majors) are keeping a Tampa Bay team that's missing its top defenseman and a legit No. 1 goalie in the thick of the playoff hunt.

Vezina Trophy (best goalie)

Two of last season's four finalists -- Martin Brodeur and Miikka Kiprusoff -- have vacillated between fair and spare through the first quarter. A third, Roberto Luongo, started poorly but has rediscovered his playoff form lately, illustrating that you shouldn't discount any of the classics before this season is over.

But to this point, the preseason favorites have been roundly outplayed by Henrik Lundqvist, Martin Gerber, Tim Thomas and, most surprisingly, Pascal Leclaire.

Gerber's finally giving Ottawa the goaltending they paid for when they signed him as a free agent in the summer of 2006. With playoff hero Ray Emery rehabbing on the sidelines, Gerber usurped the starter's job with his 13-2-1 start. The lunchpail-lugging Thomas, who was supposed to back up Manny Fernandez in Boston, has emerged as his team's best option. Playing behind a non-descript but improving defense, Thomas has stolen more wins than any other netminder. He'll never star in a how-to video, but he never stops battling, as evidenced by his league-leading .941 save percentage.

The edge: Leclaire. Lundqvist probably deserves Hart consideration for his work in New York, where he's been the savior (1.81 GAA, .931 save percentage) while his teammates struggle to get the offense on track. But as good as he's been, it's impossible to ignore the magnificent start of Leclaire, whose superlative play has been the key ingredient in Columbus' surprising transformation from speed bump to brick wall. While he's benefited from the adherence of his teammates to Ken Hitchcock's strict defensive system, Leclaire's also given them the confidence that he can be the go-to guy he was expected to become after he was drafted eighth overall in 2001.

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