Now that every team except one (Buffalo) has eclipsed the 54-game mark of the regular season, it is time to look at who the front-runners are for the major awards now that we are two-thirds of the way through the season. Stats as of February 13, 2011 Hart Trophy ? MVP Tim Thomas ? BOS I am not typically in favor of a goalie winning the Hart because they do have their own trophy. That said, there can be exceptions when that goalie is outplaying the rest of the league by such a wide margin, when he is doing something historically great, and when no offensive player is running away from the field (like Crosby was through the first half of the year). Thomas currently has a .941 save percentage, which if it stands would be the best single-season save percentage in the history of the NHL (current best is Dominik Hasek in 1998-99 with .936). He also has a 1.92 goals against average, which would be the lowest 2003-04 when Mikka Kiprusoff had 1.70. The 36-year-old is also 26-6-6 with a league-leading seven shutouts. In the mix: Steven Stamkos ? TB; Sidney Crosby ? PIT, Daniel Sedin ? VAN, Henrik Zetterberg ? DET. Anti-Hart: Daniel Alfredsson ? OTT (31 points in 54 games, -19) First Trimester Leader: Sidney Crosby ? PIT Norris Trophy ? Best Defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom ? DET At 40-years-old the soft-spoken Swede, winner of six previous Norris Trophies, is playing some of the best hockey of his career. He makes the game look so much easier and slower than it actually is, because he knows where to be at all times, and there is no one in the league craftier with his stick. Lidstrom is tied for third among defensemen with 11 goals, and second with 44 points and six power play goals. The one knock on his stats this year is his -1 rating, but that could be taken with a grain of salt considering the amount of injuries that have decimated the Red Wings once again this year, as well as the unstable play of goalie Jimmy Howard. It looked like Byfuglien was going to run away with this, but a recent 13-game pointless streak has opened the door for others. In the mix: Dustin Byfuglien ? ATL; Keith Yandle ? PHX; Kris Letang ? PIT; Shea Weber ? NSH. Anti-Norris: Chris Phillips ? OTT (0 goals, 4 assists, -26) First Trimester Leader: Dustin Byfuglien ? ATL Vezina Trophy ? Best Goalie Tim Thomas ? BOS See the Hart write-up. Thomas is head and shoulders above the competition. In the mix: Jonas Hiller ? ANA; Roberto Luongo ? VAN; Carey Price ? MTL; Jonathan Quick ? LA. Anti-Vezina: Nikolai Khabibulin ? EDM (8-25-2, 3.48GAA, .890SV%) First Trimester Leader: Tim Thomas ? BOS Calder Trophy ? Best Rookie Jeff Skinner ? CAR If you have been following the Standing 10 this year you will have noticed that the rookie class is as deep as it has ever been, and a new rookie seems to be the Calder favorite every other week. Skinner has not been #1 since the first month of the season, but he will be again this week. Skinner became the youngest player to ever play in an All-Star Game, and did so in his home rink in Carolina. He leads all rookies in points (44) and assists (23), and is second in goals (21). Throw in six power play goals, a very good shooting percentage (14.6%), and it looks to be a very close race to the finish between anyone in the top-5. In the mix: Logan Couture ? SJ; Taylor Hall ? EDM; Sergei Bobrovsky ? PHI; Corey Crawford ? CHI. Anti-Calder: Matt Martin ? NYI (45 games, 2-5-7, -14) First Trimester Leader: Sergei Bobrovsky ? PHI Selke Trophy ? Best Defensive Forward Jonathan Toews ? CHI Because of both his impressive goal-scoring numbers and the injury to Datsyuk, Ryan Kesler is the chic pick league-wide to take the award home. However, the numbers show that Toews is the correct pick. Kesler has a better plus/minus, but he is also playing for an offensive powerhouse. Toews is still a +14, and he is second in the league with 68 takeaways, while only coughing up the puck 19 times (Kesler is 45-14). Meanwhile, Toews takes all of his teams? important faceoffs, and has a 57.6% success rate, ahead of Kesler?s 56.4% (and Manny Malholtra is Vancouver?s resident faceoff specialist). Offensively, it is isn?t as if Toews is struggling either, with 50 points and seven power play goals in 54 games. In the mix: Ryan Kesler ? VAN; Pavel Datsyuk ? DET; Patrice Bergeron ? BOS; Nicklas Backstrom ? WSH. Anti-Selke: Ilya Kovalchuk ? NJ (67 giveaways to 31 takeaways, -22 rating) First Trimester Leader: Pavel Datsyuk ? DET Jack Adams ? Best Coach Guy Boucher ? TB Everyone and their brother expected Tampa Bay to be much improved over last season. Their goaltending looked better, their offense looked deeper, their ownership and management were solidified, and they had a promising young head coach that just won the AHL Coach Of The Year award. I don?t think that anyone expected them to be (still) leading the Southeast Division (by six points) over Washington. They have the second-most goals in the Eastern Conference, and fourth-most in the NHL. If the playoffs started today, the Lightning would have the second seed, which seemed improbable at the outset, but Boucher is one of the main reasons for this. In the mix: Peter Laviolette ? PHI; Dan Bylsma ? PIT; Mike Babcock ? DET; Barry Trotz ? NSH. Anti-Jack: Ron Wilson ? TOR (team hasn?t improved offensively or in special teams since last year). First Trimester Leader: Craig Ramsay ? ATL Nick is RealGM?s NHL Feature Writer. You can reach him by email [email protected] or on twitter @NickObergan