NHL Regular Season 2009-10: Part II

Sometimes sports projections are tedious. Like now, when we can pretty much count on a third straight MVP-calibre season from Alexander Ovechkin. And until oldtimes like Brodeur and Lidstrom actually slow down, they will remain strong contenders for end-of-year hardware.

In the MVP category, I forecast Ryan Getzlaf and Rick Nash to take big steps forward and put themselves in the mix alongside the perennial candidates.

Chris Pronger will make his strongest case for the Norris trophy in years. His assignment in Philly will be to shut down the East's top stars, namely guys like Crosby, Ovechkin and Parise. This is a tougher assignment than in the West, where rosters are balanced rather than top-heavy. Look for Duncan Keith to finally be recognized as an elite defenceman, and for Bouwmeester to finally make good on his potential.

Here are my five top choices for the major trophies:

Hart Memorial
1. Alexander Ovechkin, WSH; 2. Sidney Crosby, PIT; 3. Ryan Getzlaf, ANA; 4. Evgeni Malkin, PIT; 5. Rich Nash, CLB.

Art Ross
1. Alexander Ovechkin, WSH; 2. Evgeni Malkin, PIT; 3. Sidney Crosby, PIT; 4. Pavel Datsyuk, DET; 5. Joe Thornton, SJ.

Maurice Richard
1. Alexander Ovechkin, WSH; 2. Ilya Kovalchuk, ATL; 3. Rick Nash, CLB; 4. Dany Heatley, SJ; 5. Marian Gaborik, NYR.

James Norris
1. Chris Pronger, PHI; 2. Duncan Keith, CHI; 3. Jay Bouwmeester, CGY; 4. Nicklas Lidstrom, DET; 5. Zdeno Chara, BOS.

Georges Vezina
1. Roberto Luongo, VCR; 2. Martin Brodeur, NJ; 3. Tim Thomas, BOS; 4. Cam Ward, CAR; 5. Henrik Lundqvist, NYR.

Frank J. Selke
1. Mike Richards, PHI; 2. Mikko Koivu, MIN; 3. Ryan Kesler, VCR; 4. Sami Pahlsson, CLB; 5. Joe Pavelski, SJ.

Jack Adams
1. Brent Sutter, CHI; 2. Andy Murray, STL; 3. Mike Babcock, DET; 4. Bruce Boudreau, WSH; 5. Todd McLellan, SJ.

Calder Memorial
1. John Tavares, NYI; 2. James van Riemsdyk, PHI; 3. Victor Hedman, TB; 4. Viktor Stalberg, TOR; 5. Matt Gilroy, NYR.