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Handing out the halfway hardware Posted: Tuesday January 07, 2003 1:11 AMUpdated: Tuesday January 07, 2003 10:11 AM
The first three months of the regular season have flown by, and here we are in January already. The NHL plays 1,230 regular-season games, so Wednesday's Coyotes-Blackhawks game is the precise midway point of the season: Game No. 615 on the 2002-03 NHL schedule. Here are my picks for the seven major postseason awards at the season's halfway point. I have ranked my top 10 choices for each award, with a brief comment on the top five following each list.
Hart Trophy
1. Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Lemieux has carried Pittsburgh and is a virtual lock to win the Art Ross Trophy, in addition to the Hart, if he stays healthy. The Penguins would be treading in the icy water with the Sabres and the Thrashers at the bottom of the Eastern Conference were it not for Le Magnifique. Lemieux's 67 points are eye-popping, but the fact that he is minus-4 while linemate Alexei Kovalev is minus-16 shows his overall value to the team. Thornton may be the most complete player in the NHL right now, which is scary considering he's just 23. Few players can score, forecheck, backcheck and mix it up in the slot like Thornton, and he is the prime reason why Boston hasn't been hurt as much as predicted by Bill Guerin's departure. Belfour has been incredible behind a mediocre Maple Leafs defense. Naslund looks the odds-on favorite for the Rocket Richard Trophy, thanks largely to his league-best 17 power-play goals and playing with hulking winger Todd Bertuzzi. Modano's steady two-way play has the Stars contending again in the West.
Vezina Trophy
1. Ed Belfour, Toronto Belfour, 37, has surprised everyone with his career renaissance. Initially, fans in Toronto were not pleased when the seemingly over-the-hill Belfour was signed to replace Curtis Joseph. Now it looks like Belfour will be canonized by the locals, much the same way CuJo was. Brodeur must sometimes just stare out from his crease and shake his head at his team's inept offense. Other than the 51 shots the Devils threw at Belfour on Saturday, New Jersey has been plodding offensively. With Belfour gone from Big D, Turco has flopped and flailed his way to an impressive first three months, taking the mantle from the retired Dominik Hasek for the most bizarre goaltending style, if nothing else. Every year the Blackhawks are counted out before the season starts, but once again they are hanging around the playoff race, mostly due to Thibault's incredible netminding. The Senators are a pretty complete team and their backstop is no exception. Lalime has carried his momentum on from last postseason's three straight shutouts and is having his best year.
Norris Trophy
1. Nick Lidstrom, Detroit The Norris may be going home to Sweden with Lidstrom every June until he retires. MacInnis is having a turn-back-the-clock season, logging tons of ice time and picking up the offensive slack from the blueline with Chris Pronger out. Poti has been a revelation for the Rangers, playing tons on the power play and proving he is ready to fill Brian Leetch's role whenever the Blueshirts' blueline leader is ready to hang up his skates. Gonchar is one of the best power-play quarterbacks around, but surprisingly only six of his 23 assists have come with the man advantage this season. Zubov is nifty on the power play, too, but with Derian Hatcher, Darryl Sydor, Philippe Boucher and Richard Matvichuk, he has the best supporting cast of any of the defensemen on this list.
Calder Trophy1. Tyler Arnason, Chicago2. Barrett Jackman, St. Louis 3. Jay Bouwmeester, Florida 4. Niko Kapanen, Dallas 5. Adam Hall, Nashville 6. Dennis Seidenberg, Philadelphia 7. Rick Nash, Columbus 8. Jaroslav Bednar, Florida 9. Stanislav Chistov, Anaheim 10. Anton Volchenkov, Ottawa Excuse Petr Cajanek for cursing Sergei Makarov under his breath. Former Calgary Flames right wing Makarov beat out Modano for the Calder in 1990 after coming over from Russia at age 31 in 1989, causing the NHL to change eligibility requirement to players 26 or younger. At age 27, Cajanek leads all rookies in scoring with 30 points, but tough beans for him because he's too old. That allows Arnason to swoop into the favorite role with his 11 goals, 11 assists and plus-8 rating in 40 games. Cajanek's Blues teammate Jackman has been very impressive, but defensive defensemen don't stand much of a chance come awards time. Bouwmeester has backed up all the hype by showing his smart play and beautiful skating, but his offensive numbers are a bit lower than hoped for and a minus-11 hurts his shot. Kapanen would be an interesting dark horse, as his all-around game merits consideration. He is first among rookie forwards with a plus-12, and has chipped in with two goals and 14 assists while playing mostly on Dallas' third line with Brenden Morrow and Jere Lehtinen. The Predators have been pleasantly surprised by Hall's offensive contributions, with his 14 points ranking seventh on the team in scoring.
Jack Adams
1. Jacques Lemaire, Minnesota The Wild were picked to finish somewhere in the lower third of the tough Western Conference by most experts. But halfway through the season, they are still in the top five. Critics have long derided Lemaire's teams for playing boring, trapping hockey, but do yourself a favor and watch a Wild game if you get a chance. They are one of the most exciting young teams in the league, and no other club buzzes around the ice with as much intensity for 60 minutes. Martin has taken the low-budget, cash-strapped Senators to the top of the Eastern Conference. Having Daniel Alfredsson, Marian Hossa and Martin Havlat doesn't hurt, but Martin has emerged as one of the best bench bosses in the league. The Lightning started off the season hot, then cooled off considerably, but are still battling for the lead in the tight Southeast Division race. Tortorella smoothed over a potential pothole with the Vincent Lecavalier situation, and he has coached up players like Martin St. Louis and Vaclav Prospal into regular offensive contributors. Tippett and Babcock have both done great coaching jobs, but in very different situations. Tippett took over a highly skilled team that disappointed last year and has brought them back to respectability, while Babcock has improved the long-woeful Ducks by preaching hard work and a team defensive system.
Lady Byng Trophy
1. Ron Francis, Carolina Kariya once said that it is an embarrassment to be up for the Lady Byng. Teammates get on you for being the nice guy and hurl many unprintable words at said player, usually followed by gut-wrenching laughter while rolled up into the fetal position on the locker room floor. And Kariya speaks from experience, having won the trophy in both 1996 and '97. Barring a Krzysztof Oliwa-like butt-end to someone's head or a Theo Fleury spaz-out moment, Kariya and Francis are favorites again this year. Lidstrom finished second three times in a row from 1999-2001, but slumped to third last year. Maybe he new he was under consideration for it near the end of the regular season and cross-checked someone into the boards. Hull is also a former winner, while Oates finished second four times, so they will be in the running barring an uncharacteristic Bryan Marchment-style knee-to-knee charge.
Selke Trophy
1. Jere Lehtinen, Dallas The Selke Trophy is the most subjective of all the NHL awards. With no major defensive statistics kept by the league anymore, the voting could be based on reputation and word of mouth more than ever before this season. I'm pretty sure Ilya Kovalchuk won't win it, but after that it's wide open. Lehtinen has been considered one of the top backchecking forwards for most of his career. He is rarely caught out of position and uses his stick expertly to deflect passes and pokecheck the puck from rushing offensive players. White has become one of Ottawa's emotional leaders with his gritty, two-way play. Cut from the Craig Conroy mold, White flies all over the ice, helps out his teammates in both zones and is solid on faceoffs. Marchant is one of the fastest players in the league and is a fierce backchecker who excels at hustling back to help stop an odd-man rush from developing. Modano and Forsberg are the best two-way players in hockey, but Modano's superior positioning and skating make him a slightly better defensive player. Maltby is the heart and soul of the Red Wings' famed Grind Line, and has also chipped in with 10 goals this year. Jon A. Dolezar covers the NHL for CNNSI.com. Got a comment, question or scoop for Jon? Click here.
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