Over 40 games in, nearly 50 depending on your team of choice, a host of favorites have emerged to take home the end of the year hardware revered as the Hart Memorial Trophy, or for more casual fans, the NHL’s equivalent of the MVP award. Here’s a look at how the race is shaking out:1. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins, Center Clearly the frontrunner at this juncture, Crosby leads the league in goals next to top 5 assists numbers, which for the mathematicians out there gives him a clear inside track on taking home this year’s high point total. Barring injury or a rare slump from the 2007 Hart winner, Crosby is well on his way towards adding another identical honor to his trophy case.2. Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins, Goalie The only legitimate threat to Crosby from a statistical standpoint, Thomas is hindered by his position, as only two goalies have taken home the Hart Trophy since Jacques Plante in 1961-62 (the two being Dominik Hasek in ’96-’97/’97-’98 and Jose Theodore in ’01-02). Still, Thomas’ first half of the season is a remarkable story. Expected to be unseated as the primary goalie in Boston, Thomas is the only netminder in the league with a Goals Against Average under 2.00 or a Save Percentage above .940, postponing the Tuukka Rask era by at least another year. (more…)

1. Pittsburgh Penguins Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, now joined by off-season additions Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek that should help the Pens answer questions about their grittiness on the defensive end, form arguably the most talented all-around team in the NHL. Without the pressure of defending the Stanley Cup, the Penguins are in great position to open their new arena with the 3^rd championship in franchise history. Marc-Andre Fleury was somewhat of a mixed bag a season ago, though by no means a major disappointment. Should the former 1 overall pick max out his potential in his 3^rd year full-time in net, delivering more consistently on a nightly basis, the Penguins could be considered league-wide frontrunners going into the year. (more…)