Up for grabs

Voters' philosophy will determine Hart winner

As the regular season lurches to a wild finish -- especially in the Western Conference -- the only slam-dunk winner of the major awards is rookie Dany Heatley of the Atlanta Thrashers. In the absence of injured linemate Ilya Kovalchuk, Heatley is a lock for the Calder Trophy.

The Hart, for league MVP, truly is for grabs. A lot depends on the philosophy of voters. Dominik Hasek broke through with a pair of Harts in the late 1990s, becoming the first goalie to win the award since Jacques Plante in 1962.

But because goalies have their own award, the Vezina, many will be predisposed to vote for a skater -- in this case Jarome Iginla of Calgary, the only 50-goal scorer. But goalies Patrick Roy of Colorado and Jose Theodore of Montreal were indispensable this season, and their teams, unlike the Flames, are playoff bound. The pick here is Roy, a legend having a career year.

The Norris Trophy is only slightly less confusing. Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom didn't have as strong a season as last year when he snapped his "Bridesmaid Revisited" streak in the best defenseman category. Indeed, teammate Chris Chelios, a plus-41 at age 40, has had a more remarkable season. But there is no doubt Lidstrom, who runs the power play for the NHL's best team and has 21 more points than Chelios, is more important to the Red Wings.

If Chelios, an emotional favorite to win the award for a fourth time, takes votes away from Lidstrom, Colorado's Rob Blake could win his second Norris. Lidstrom gets the nod.

The original intent of the Selke Trophy was to acknowledge the best defensive forwards, fundamentalists such as Bob Gainey, who won the first four. But the award gradually devolved into honoring two-way forwards. As a strict constructionist, we normally would favor a supreme checker such as Boston's P.J. Axelsson or Ottawa's Magnus Arvedson.

But offensive threat Michael Peca of the New York Islanders deserves his second Selke. He has helped the Islanders cut their goals-against by about half a goal per game with superb work on the penalty kill. Peca also is usually matched against top lines. New Jersey's Bobby Holik and San Jose's Mike Ricci also merit consideration, but Peca gets the hardware.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Michael Farber covers the NHL beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.

 

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