NHL Trophy Talk: Early Season Favorites for the MVP and Other Major Awards

Phil Kessel is off to a dazzling start for the Toronto Maple Leafs, with a league-leading 25 points through 18 contests. 

Brian Campbell of the Florida Panthers is leading all defensemen in scoring.

Brian Elliot of the St. Louis Blues has backstopped the Blues quite sturdily with a sparkling 1.43 goals-against average.

It's tough to say if any of these eye-opening trends will actually continue or not, but as we all know well: it's not how you start a race, but how you finish it.

Here are my early favorites for the ten major NHL awards.

Jack Adams Award

A huge factor for determining the Jack Adams Award (coach of the year) winner will depend on how far the coach's team goes in the playoffs.

My hands-down frontrunner right now is Dan Bylsma of the Pittsburgh Penguins. With no Sidney Crosby, the Pittsburgh Penguins are sitting atop the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division with an 11-4-3 record, as well as a league-leading 94.2-percent penalty kill.

As we all know, however, it's how you finish the race, not how you start. Plus, I feel it's very tough to repeat as a Jack Adams winner.

Over in Philadelphia, Peter Laviolette came to work this season after seeing a transformation of the Flyers. GM Paul Holmgren traded away key stars Jeff Carter and captain Mike Richards in light of alleged partying issues. Additionally, Holmgren brought in goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov and veteran Jaromir Jagr, who, at age 40, is playing like he's 25 again.

Laviolette has done a remarkable job molding this new group of players into a complete unit, coaching the Flyers to the fourth-best record in the league. The Flyers are also tied for second in the phenomenally-close Atlantic Division along with the New York Rangers; both are behind the Pittsburgh Penguins.

I have good vibes about this year's Flyers squad, and head coach Peter Laviolette has done a great job keeping the team on top of their game. He gets my vote for the Jack Adams Award.

Honorable Mentions: Dan Bylsma (PIT), Dave Tippett (PHX), Glen Gulutzan (DAL)

Frank J. Selke Trophy

It's hard to imagine anybody outside of hardcore Stars fans who would have predicted that Dallas would be doing so well through nearly two full months of the NHL season.

There's so much positive chemistry clicking right now in the Stars' locker room, and a big reason for their first-place Pacific Division position is the play of Loui Eriksson.

Through 17 games, Eriksson is riding a point-per-game pace, with nine goals and eight assists.

His plus-nine rating and lone shorthanded point show just how complete of a game that Eriksson plays. Averaging about a minute and a half of shorthanded ice time per game, Eriksson also plays the power play, while totaling just under 19 minutes of ice time each game. 

Eriksson has proven now that he can thrive even without top playmaker Brad Richards. I fully expect all of these aforementioned numbers to keep on rolling throughout the entire season, which is why Loui Eriksson gets the nod for his first Selke Trophy.

Honorable Mentions: Ryan Kesler (VAN), Pavel Datsyuk (DET), Brad Marchand (BOS)

Calder Memorial Trophy

If Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has made one thing clear so far, it's that he undeniably belongs in the National Hockey League. 

The 18-year-old Edmonton Oilers rookie sensation is already bringing fans out of their seats with 14 points in 17 games, playing on a star-studded line with sophomores Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle.

Nugent-Hopkins is leading all NHL rookies in ice time with just under 17 minutes per game on average.

Nashville Predators' rookie Craig Smith is off to an identical start, but I like Nugent-Hopkins' odds at continuing such a pace.

Honorable Mentions: Gabriel Landeskog (COL), Craig Smith (NSH), Luke Adam (BUF)

Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy

Steven Stamkos tallied 114 goals by his 21st birthday. Only three players have scored more than "Stammer" by that young age: "The Great One" Wayne Gretzky, Jimmy Carson, and longtime Buffalo Sabre Dale Hawerchuk.

The Markham, Ontario native has the Tampa Bay Lightning playing the best hockey this franchise has seen since the Stanley Cup glory days of 2004. 

His 11 goals through 17 games in this young 2011-12 campaign is good enough to tie for third in the league on a Lightning team struggling to find their way thus far. Phil Kessel is currently leading the league with 13 goals.

I can't see Toronto Maple Leafs forward Phil Kessel keeping up his current pace, although he certainly has 50-goal potential. The Maple Leafs are playing great hockey right now, but with goaltender James Reimer out, injury-prone playmaker Tim Connolly currently on the shelf, and still with some gaps in the lineup, Kessel may find himself struggling to break that plateau. 

Stamkos has already shown that he is a premier goal-scoring threat, winning a Rocket Richard Trophy in 2009-10 for scoring 51 goals to tie Pittsburgh Penguins' star Sidney Crosby. He has earned the right to have his name etched alongside such talents like Alex Ovechkin and Crosby.

Steven Stamkos is my early pick to win the goal-scoring title once again.

Honorable Mentions: Marian Gaborik (NYR), Claude Giroux (PHI)

Art Ross Trophy

Currently tied with Buffalo Sabres' forward Thomas Vanek, the sharpshooting Claude Giroux ranks second amongst all NHL players in scoring with 22 points through 17 games.

Giroux is currently trailing Toronto Maple Leafs sniper Phil Kessel, who has 25 points, but also has a game in hand.

The 23-year-old Giroux has seen his production dramatically increase since his rookie season in 2008-09 where he scored 27 points in 42 games. The following two seasons, the Hearst, Ontario native registered 47 points and 76 points respectively.

Now, off to a red-hot start playing with veteran Jaromir Jagr, Giroux is on pace for 106 points. I can't see any reason to deny him achieving those type of numbers, either. Look for Giroux to win the scoring title, taking home his first Art Ross Trophy.

Honorable Mentions: Steven Stamkos (TB), Daniel/Henrik Sedin (VAN) 

James Norris Memorial Trophy

Early on in Nicklas Lidstrom's 19th NHL season, the future Hall-of-Famer has no signs of slowing down.

The seven-time Norris Trophy winner needs one more to tie legendary Boston Bruins defenseman Bobby Orr for the most in history.

Currently, Lidstrom is tied for fourth in defenseman scoring, with six goals and six assists through 16 games, also good for second on the Detroit Red Wings.

At age 41, there's no doubt in my mind that Lidstrom will get his eighth Norris Trophy (awarded to the league's top defenseman), fending off stiff competition in Shea Weber and Zdeno Chara, and writing another illustrious chapter in the prolific career of the 12-time all-star.

Honorable Mentions: Zdeno Chara (BOS), Shea Weber (NSH), Kris Letang (PIT)

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy

The Lady Byng Trophy is awarded to the player who displays the most gentlemanly conduct while playing a high-caliber level of hockey.

It should come as no surprise that Slovenian-born center Anze Kopitar is leading his Los Angeles Kings across the board in scoring right now through 17 games.

With eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points, the second highest scorer is Justin Williams, who has 14 points currently.

The most surprising stat of all that Kopitar owns right now is the big fat zero in the penalty minute column. When he tallied 81 points in 2009-10, a career high, Kopitar also had a petty 16 penalty minutes.

Obviously a disciplined player, don't expect Anze Kopitar to finish the season without a single pair of penalty minutes, but do expect him to take home his first Lady Byng Trophy.

Honorable Mentions: Loui Eriksson (DAL), Martin St. Louis (TB), Brad Richards (NYR)  

Vezina Trophy

The Vezina Trophy, given to the league's top goaltender, is always one of the most widely-debated awards come the end of each season. Last year saw Boston Bruins netminder Tim Thomas post a comeback season to win his second Vezina Trophy of his storied career, edging out Stanley Cup Finals adversary Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks and Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators.

With the New York Rangers' bolstered and more experienced lineup, Henrik Lundqvist should be given some solid help on the back end, as well as genuine offensive support. Amongst goalies that have started at least 10 games so far, Lundqvist is currently third in save percentage (.933). To go along with that, "King Henrik" is also sporting a sturdy 2.13 goals-against average, a shutout, and seven wins.

Henrik Lundqvist is an elite starting goaltender in the NHL. While many others, such as Jonathan Quick and Nikolai Khabibulin, have gotten off to hot starts, Lundqvist's consistent play will lead him to his first Vezina Trophy.

Honorable Mentions: Tim Thomas (BOS), Jonathan Quick (LA), Marc-Andre Fleury (PIT) 

Hart Memorial Trophy

Arguably the most prestigious of all individual awards, the Hart Trophy goes to the player who is "adjudged most valuable to his team."

There's always much debate about whether or not that definition is followed. If the award was truly given based on the league's definition above, then it must be looked at in the following terms: taking away this player from their team will cause the most harm to that team. 

Claude Giroux is currently third in goals with 11, and second in points with 22, only trailing Toronto's Phil Kessel. Although he's blossoming as an offensive dynamo, there's much more to Giroux's game than scoring. He plays 2:30 in average shorthanded time per game, while also playing on the Flyers' No. 1 power play unit.

After losing Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, the Flyers needed somebody to step up and be that top dog. Claude Giroux has arisen to the occasion, and Philadelphia would surely not be the same team without him. He gets my nod for the MVP.

Honorable Mentions: Nicklas Backstrom (WSH), Henrik Lundqvist (NYR), Martin St. Louis (TB) 

Stanley Cup Champions

No such list would be complete without the greatest trophy in all of sports: Lord Stanley's Cup.

After a Stanley Cup Finals run in 2010 and an early exit last year, the Philadelphia Flyers are retooled to make another deep run at the Cup.

Head coach Peter Laviolette has the Flyers playing some great hockey right now in the tightly-competitive Atlantic Division.

With the personnel issues addressed ala the departures of Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, the Flyers have revamped the on-ice product, which includes the key additions of Max Talbot, Sean Couturier, Jaromir Jagr, Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, and Ilya Bryzgalov.

Talbot and Couturier have been relentless for the 10th best penalty kill in the league, amongst the league leaders in shorthanded time on ice.

The added depth of Simmnds and Voracek is providing grit and big body presences around the net, making life difficult for the opposition's defense.

Now the Flyers finally have arguably the best goaltender they have had between the pipes since Ron Hextall in Ilya Bryzgalov. 

And who would've thought that Jaromir Jagr would be playing like he's 25, rather than the 39-year-old he actually is?

Follow all that up with a solid defensive corps, starring Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen, and Matt Carle, the Flyers have an ideal balance of skill and grit to make it all the way this coming spring.

It's obviously tough to say this early in the season, but why not not venture an educated guess? The Philadelphia Flyers are my realistic choice to take home Lord Stanley's Cup this year.