1st-Half Front-Runners for the NHL's Major Individual Awards

We're officially one week out from All-Star Weekend in Toronto, the hockey hub of the world, and life is good.

This is also the unofficial halfway mark of the regular season, and it's a great time to evaluate where we're at when it comes to NHL awards. Who will win the Selke now that its potential future namesake Patrice Bergeron has retired? How should we really evaluate the impact a coach has had on a team? Will Connor Bedard's convincing start be enough to win him the Calder despite his current status on injured reserve?

One thing's for sure: The Hart Trophy race is going to be an absolute blast to witness for the rest of the season.

Plenty of things will change from now until April, but let's take a look at some of the front-runners for NHL awards as we head into the All-Star break.

Hart Trophy (Most Valuable Player): Nathan MacKinnon

If you stayed up Wednesday night to catch Colorado's 6-2 win over Washington, you saw a man in the crowd predict Nathan MacKinnon's hat-trick goal well before the puck hit the back of the net.

You also saw some other articles of clothing hit the ice.

You probably also saw this stat floating around via TNT's Chris Jastrzembski: Since Nov. 20, MacKinnon has had two four-goal games and one zero-point game. Yes, that means he's scored four goals more often than he's been held off the scoresheet for the past two months.

Another Jastrzembski stat: MacKinnon's 2.13 home-point-per-game average this season is the highest of its kind since 1996-97.

MacKinnon leads all skaters in points with 82 in 48 games, is fourth in goals with 30 and ranks third for game-winners with seven. He's on pace for a whopping 51 goals, 140 points, and a plus-27 rating.

According to NaturalStatTrick.com, his lead in points is even more drastic at even strength, with eight more even-strength points (43) than Nikita Kucherov. He also climbs from No. 4 in goals to No. 2 at even strength with 19.

Everyone is different in this regard, but I gravitate to a very literal interpretation when it comes to NHL awards. The Hart Trophy is awarded to "the player adjudged most valuable to his team," and MacKinnon's notoriously serious attitude is written all over the Avalanche this year. The rough patches have been met with accountability, whether it's been Mikko Rantanen picking up his pace or Devon Toews sort of calling the team out in the media before a win streak.

MacKinnon's intensity and power skating is unmatched among active NHL players when he's at his best, and these few months have been him at his best. The team wouldn't be tied for first in the Central without him, and none of us would be enjoying this regular season as much as we have without his magic.

Look, Connor McDavid has picked it up after starting the season injured, and the Oilers are in the midst of a 15-game winning streak—but surprisingly, it isn't primarily McDavid leading that charge. He's got eight goals and 22 points in the last 15 games, which is nothing to scoff at but not the best player in the world's best stretch.

We shouldn't penalize McDavid for being so good that we don't appreciate a three-point night like Thursday's, but it's not him vs. him this year. In the same period, MacKinnon has logged 16 goals and 34 points in 16 games.

On the radar: McDavid, Kucherov, Connor Hellebuyck, Auston Matthews, Artemi Panarin, David Pastrnak

Vezina Trophy (Best Goalie): Connor Hellebuyck

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BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 22: Connor Hellebuyck #37 of the Winnipeg Jets warms up prior to a game against the Boston Bruins at the TD Garden on January 22, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Bruins won 4-1. (Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images)

Sometimes it's simple. The Winnipeg Jets would be nowhere near where they are right now at No. 1 in the Central Division without Connor Hellebuyck.

He's shouldering more starts than any NHL goaltender, and despite this has the second-best save percentage at .925. No. 1 is Adin Hill, but he only has 16 starts to Hellebuyck's 34. It's the same story with goals against for Hill and Hellebuyck, with Hill at No. 1 with half the starts, and Hellebuyck at No. 2 with 2.17 goals-against per game.

According to MoneyPuck, Hellebuyck's leading the entire league with 21.4 goals saved above expected. Per usual with the longtime Jet, he's posting elite performance after elite performance no matter what is happening in front of him.

On the radar: Thatcher Demko, Jeremy Swayman, Hill

Norris Trophy (Best Defenseman): Quinn Hughes

The position of defense has had a bit of an existential crisis over the past few years, but we seem to be coming out on the other side. The best defenseman is the defenseman who contributes the most to a win on any given night, and winning in the contemporary NHL often means contributing on offense.

Now, making it onto the scoresheet the most doesn't automatically mean you're the best defenseman in the league. But the abilities to move the puck, enter the zone with efficiency and still hold it down in your end have become equally essential in the toolbox of a defenseman—and this is how we should evaluate Norris Trophy contenders.

Quinn Hughes has been a consistent top-three reason the Canucks are at the top of the Western Conference and having the season they're having. He's leading all blueliners with 12 goals and 59 points in 48 games, yes. But he's also leading the league with his plus-35 rating, the Canucks are outscoring opponents 64-32 at five-on-five when he's on the ice according to Natural Stat Trick, and the eye test speaks for itself.

On the radar: Cale Makar, Noah Dobson, Evan Bouchard, Adam Fox, Josh Morrissey

Selke Trophy (Best Defensive Forward): Aleksander Barkov

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SUNRISE, FLORIDA - JANUARY 24: Aleksander Barkov #16 of the Florida Panthers jumps in for a shift against the Arizona Coyotes at the Amerant Bank Arena on January 24, 2024 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images)

With Patrice Bergeron out of the picture for the first time in Aleksander Barkov's career, is it time for the well-respected Panthers center to get a second Selke Trophy for his two-way game? Barkov is the last player not named Bergeron to win the award (2020-21), and his game has somehow improved since then.

According to Natural Stat Trick, the Panthers own a 59.51 percent Corsi-for percentage when Barkov is on the ice at five-on-five. Florida outscores opponents 32-14 when Barkov is on the ice at five-on-five (a whopping 69 percent, one of the best on-ice goals-for ratios in the league by far). The Panthers edge opponents 17-5 in high-danger chances at even strength when Barkov is on the ice, and their PDO is 1.033.

You also have to look at the role he plays on the team—part of the reason this Panthers squad is oozing with offensive depth is Barkov's ability to hold it down as a first-line center and detract opponents away from other scoring threats.

The Selke race is going to be interesting without Bergeron, but if the season ended today, I would go with Barkov.

On the radar: Jordan Staal, Sean Couturier, Nick Suzuki, Elias Pettersson, Zach Hyman, Anze Kopitar, Auston Matthews

Jack Adams Award (Best Coach): Paul Maurice

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SUNRISE, FL - JANUARY 19: Head coach Paul Maurice of the Florida Panthers directs the players during second period action against the Minnesota Wild at the Amerant Bank Arena on January 19, 2024 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)

The Jack Adams Award is always interesting because of the inherent subjectivity. None of us are in these locker rooms every day (or at all when important conversations are happening), and it's tough to measure the tangible impact a coach has on a team.

What do I look for? What, specifically, the players are saying (and their tone and context), how the team has dealt with adversity: How many losing streaks are there, when in the season did they happen, and were they followed up by a much larger ratio of wins? Then you've got some technical stuff: Which system, personnel and/or deployment decisions have significantly impacted the success of the team?

For example, there hasn't been much buzz around Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice's Jack Adams campaign for some reason, but I talked to Matthew Tkachuk last week and you could tell Maurice deserves some consideration.

"Paul's been a very important part of my last few years," Tkachuk told me. "He's one of, if not the best, coaches that I've ever played with. He's been very important for my development, and I just think that he trusts my game, and I trust my game."

Maurice stood up for Tkachuk in the media during his slower production earlier this season, and then Tkachuk went on a tear as the Panthers went on an eight-game win streak.

Again, this is a tough one with plenty of deserving contenders, and many choices are as good as mine. But the context of Maurice's tenure with the Panthers, the nature of their wins, and comments from players make him my current front-runner.

On the radar: Rick Tocchet, John Tortorella, Rick Bowness, Peter Laviolette, Jim Montgomery

Calder Trophy (Best First-Year Player): Connor Bedard

What a shame that we're missing out on Connor Bedard's first All-Star Game and a significant chunk of his Calder campaign due to the broken jaw that's kept him out of the Blackhawks' lineup since Jan. 5. Will his resume thus far and a strong finish be enough for the 18-year-old phenom to still win the Calder?

Well, after almost a month on IR, Bedard still leads all rookies in points with 33 and goals with 15. You could see his confidence on the faceoff dot and with shot selection, etc. grow with every game—and we've gotta give credit to Blackhawks head coach Luke Richardson for giving the 2023 first overall pick first-line center minutes and letting him make mistakes and learn.

Minnesota defenseman Brock Faber has made sure voters won't be on autopilot when it comes to Bedard, though—he's averaging 24:47 minutes per game, he's second among rookies in points with 29 in 48 games, and he's leading all rookies in assists with 25. He's provided the Wild with a bright spot amid a disappointing season, but he's cooled off a bit as the rest of the team has slowed down.

Will he find a gust of energy and finish out strong enough to challenge Bedard for the Calder, will Bedard come back and keep doing his magical thing, or will one of many other solid names from this glowing rookie class go on a tear and make it even more interesting? Tune in after the All-Star break.

On the radar: Faber, Adam Fantilli, Connor Zary, Pavel Mintyukov, Luke Hughes