Foppa shows the most Hart

Forsberg's stellar all-around play makes him 2002-03 MVP

The fight for the 2003 Hart Trophy really turned into a battle to decide who is the best player from Ornskoldsvik, Sweden. After Mario Lemieux and the Penguins faded in the second half, childhood friends Peter Forsberg and Markus Naslund shot to the top of the list.

No Swede has ever won the Hart, and either of these two would become just the fourth European-born player to take the MVP award, joining Dominik Hasek, Sergei Fedorov and Stan Mikita.

Five of the seven major awards are voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association on a 10-7-5-3-1 points system for five candidates. The Vezina Trophy is selected by the general managers, while the Jack Adams Award is voted on by the NHL Broadcasters Association. The GMs and broadcasters vote for just three candidates on a 5-3-1 points system.

As the 2002-03 regular season draws to a close, here are 10 candidates for each of the seven major awards, with a brief comment on the top five following each list.

Hart Trophy

While Naslund and Bertuzzi both have had incredible seasons, it's hard to ignore what Forsberg did for the Avalanche, especially while Joe Sakic was out. Forsberg raised his game and made both Hejduk and Alex Tanguay better players after the trio paired up in December. Forsberg's incredible plus-49 rating overwhelms Naslund's plus-8 and Bertuzzi's plus-4, more than offsetting the advantage in goals the two Canucks have on him. Forsberg has 13 more assists than second-place Thornton, who looks as if he is progressing nicely toward winning his first Hart Trophy within the next two or three seasons. Modano had another consistent season, but his numbers aren't flashy enough to win the MVP. As an associate captain on the top team in the West, Modano would much rather hoist a second Cup than his first Hart.

Vezina Trophy

Turco's sprained ankle in early February probably opened the door for Brodeur to finally claim his first Vezina. Brodeur recorded his NHL record fourth 40-win season this year. Belfour turned back the clock and looked like his late-90s self from Dallas, proving the Stars management wrong in thinking he was washed up. Lalime had the most dominant season of his career, leading the Sens to the top of the Eastern Conference with his steady play. And finally, Roloson has been one of the best stories of the season, going from career journeyman to dominant netminder on a surprise playoff team.

Norris Trophy

Despite a stiff challenge from the ageless MacInnis, Lidstrom deserves his third Norris in a row for his steady play and all-around excellence. MacInnis' late-career revival is nothing short of astounding, but Lidstrom is just a bit more dynamic in most aspects of the game. It should be a very close vote, though. Zubov and Blake have both had impressive two-way seasons, with Zubov using his puck-moving skills and Blake his hard shot from the point to dominate on the power play for their teams. Only the fast-emerging Chara prevents the top five from being a Western Conference sweep.

Calder Trophy

Throwback defensive defenseman Jackman was steady enough throughout the season to hold off a late charge from the flashy Zetterberg in what is a weak rookie class overall. Kotalik gets credit for scoring 19 goals in 65 games, compared to 22 in 76 for Zetterberg who also played with a much more talented supporting cast. Nash has had an impressive debut season, especially for an 18-year-old, but his minus-28 shows his defense has a long ways to go. Kapanen has been a pleasant surprise, but has had the advantage of playing with established players like Jere Lehtinen and Brenden Morrow for much of his rookie campaign.

Jack Adams Award

Lemaire took a roster full of role players and made them the toughest team in the league to play. With brilliant skating and fierce forechecking on all four lines, the Wild never stray from the system Lemaire preaches. Players love to play for him because of the winning attitude he brings to the locker room, even if he is a tough guy who can ride his players hard to raise their game to a new level. Babcock turned around the floundering Ducks in one season with his fiery attitude and ever-positive demeanor. Quenneville led the Blues through one of the most abysmal injury situations in recent memory and kept his team in contention with Detroit in the Central until the final two weeks. Martin has seemlessly blended in young talent each season without his team missing a beat, but the Sens' playoff failures unfortunately hang over his head a bit. Tortorella helped diffuse a huge controversy after the Lightning considered trading Vincent Lecavalier a year ago, and he got a career year from Lecavalier, as well as Brad Richards, Martin St. Louis and Vaclav Prospal.

Lady Byng Trophy

The qualifications for the Lady Byng state the award should go "to the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability." So instantly throw out any of the knuckleheads who have earned suspensions this season or players like Sean Avery, Matthew Barnaby, Rick DiPietro, Denis Gauthier, Darius Kasparaitis, Bryan McCabe, Jarko Ruuttu, Shaun Van Allen, Tyler Wright and Dainus Zubrus who have been fined and branded with the scarlet letter "D" for diving. So as long as you don't get suspended, don't dive or don't pull a Marty McSorley/Tie Domi by doing something stupid that gets replayed on television 14,762 times, you remain eligible for the Lady Byng. Having said that, the classy Francis (a three-time winner) should edge Lidstrom (a three-time runner-up) and Kariya (a two-time winner). York and Richards are two of the best young skill players who rarely take penalties and rarely mix it up with needless extracurricular activity.

Selke Trophy

Lehtinen enjoyed his finest all-around season by scoring a career-high 31 goals in addition to playing his usual great defense. The 29-year-old Finn also has a career-best plus-38 rating and is the favorite to win his third Selke in six seasons. Peca gave the Islanders a huge boost after his full-time return to the lineup, but his Hart Trophy campaign derailed when his offense stalled a bit in the second half. That didn't affect his defense, though, and Peca could challenge for his second straight Selke, and third in seven years. Walz has emerged as the star forechecker in Lemaire's frantic skating system in Minnesota and could be a darkhorse candidate to reward the Wild's tremendous team play with an individual award. Madden won the award in 2001 and has two short-handed goals and a plus-14. Forsberg proved that offense isn't his only trick, continuing his amazing two-way play by coming back into his own zone to dominate defensively this season as well.

Jon A. Dolezar covers the NHL for SI.com.

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