Trophy race makes for interesting postseason

Last season’s Calder Trophy race for NHL Rookie of the Year between Sidney Crosby and Alex… Last season’s Calder Trophy race for NHL Rookie of the Year between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin was one for the record books, as two of the league’s elite players battled down to the last day of the season.

While both players received many votes, Ovechkin came away with the win.

But come this season, Crosby has pulled ahead to dominate the league as its leading scorer with 120 points. With his numbers and the Penguins’ much-improved place in the standings, he is one of the leading candidates for the Hart Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s Most Valuable Player.

Crosby isn’t the only Penguin player who is in the running for league trophies, though. Rookies Jordan Staal and Evgeni Malkin are candidates for Rookie of the Year and head coach Michel Therrien is up for Coach of the Year. While they represent Pittsburgh for NHL awards, there are many other deserving candidates in the league, which should make for exciting races as the season nears its end. Here’s how it could play out:

Hart Trophy: Winner – Crosby. With his league lead in points, the 19-year-old has led the Penguins to the biggest turnaround in points in the league. They have gone from 58 points in last year’s standings to 105 this year.

He won the scoring title over San Jose’s Joe Thornton by a convincing margin, but he brings much more to this young Pittsburgh roster. He is their on- and off-ice leader as well as a defensive stalwart for the young team. He works as hard as anyone in the league, and the results show.

Runners-up – Martin Brodeur, New Jersey; Roberto Luongo, Vancouver.

Jack Adams Trophy (Coach of the Year): Winner – Therrien. He has reversed the league’s second-worst team record from a year ago. The Penguins have gone from 29th to ninth in NHL standings with Therrien’s hard-nosed style taking hold this year.

He is not afraid to call out a player when need be, and this technique has proven to be effective with the young Penguins. They respond well and play Therrien’s trapping style quite efficiently, while they force turnovers to fuel their potent offense.

Runners-up – Lindy Ruff, Buffalo; Ted Nolan, New York Islanders.

Vezina Trophy (top goaltender): Winner – Brodeur. He broke Bernie Parent’s record for wins in a season with 48 and finished third in goals-against-average. Without Brodeur, the injury-depleted Devils probably wouldn’t have won the Atlantic Division.

Runners up – Dominik Hasek, Detroit; Luongo.

Norris Trophy (top defenseman): Winner – Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit. While Scott Neidermayer leads the league’s defensemen in scoring and Kimmo Timmonen is the heart and soul of Nashville’s blue line, Lidstrom has quietly led the league in plus-minus and is fifth in defenseman scoring.

As the consummate leader of the Red Wings, Lidstrom has helped the team finish second in the league’s standings.

Runners up – Timmonen, Nashville; Neidermayer, Anaheim.

Lady Bing Trophy (most gentlemanly player): Winner – Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Minnesota. This forward has proven that he is more than deserving for the award. He has only 14 penalty minutes and is a plus-13. He has also chipped in 20 goals and 57 points for the playoff-bound Wild.

Runners up – Jere Lehtinen, Dallas; Patrick Marleau, San Jose.

Selke Trophy (best defensive forward): Winner – Jordan Staal. While it may seem like an abundance of homer picks, the Pens are a deserving bunch of kids and Staal is one of them.

He led the league in shorthanded goals and was a force in his own end. He reads the game as well as any player in the NHL, and his combination of reach and soft hands is also something that hasn’t been seen since the days of Mario Lemieux. Staal’s scoring ability matched with his superb penalty-killing skills make him the front-runner.

Runners up – John Madden, New Jersey; Rod Brind’ Amour, Carolina.

Masterton Award (comeback player of the year): Winner – Phil Kessel, Boston. The 19-year-old Kessel has displayed great courage since he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in December. He received treatment and was back playing and contributing for the Bruins within weeks. He finished with 11 goals and 29 points in 70 games.

Runners up – Marian Gaborik, Minnesota; Owen Nolan, Phoenix.

Calder Trophy: Winner – Evgeni Malkin. Malkin has been dominant at both ends of the ice. Not only has he led rookies in points, but he also led in goals and assists and finished in 18th place out of all skaters in points and tied for 15th in goals. There’s really no reason why Malkin wouldn’t win.

Runners up – Paul Stastny: Colorado; Jordan Staal.