As we head towards the end of the season, it's going to be ballot time for many in the Professional Hockey Writer's Association. Here's a look at the front runners for each trophy.

Hart Trophy

The big debate here is whether this award should be awarded to the NHL's Most Valuable Player, or the Most Valuable Player to his team. Corey Perry has had a great late season run, and should be considered up there, but it'll be between him and Daniel Sedin. Sedin has had the more consistent year for the league's best team, so the award should go to him. Martin St. Louis will get some consideration, Jonathan Toews and Jerome Iginla would probably win it if people voted for the player most valuable to their team. Without Toews or Iginla, neither the Blackhawks nor the Flames would even be in the hunt for the final playoff spot in the West.

Winner: Daniel Sedin

Vezina Trophy

This one's been locked up for awhile, as it's been widely known about Tim Thomas' not only incredible season, but incredible come back as well. Thomas wasn't even the starter last year on Boston, and it looked like his career was winding down. Thomas however has come back from the pack a bit which should definitely knock him out of the Hart running, but it won't stop him from winning the Vezina. The other two nominees should be nobody but Roberto Luongo and Pekka Rinne, who have both had excellent seasons.

Winner: Tim Thomas

Norris Trophy

There hasn't been one standout defensemen this year, so the voting will probably be really tight. Nicklas Lidstrom will definitely get a lot of votes just based on another great year especially at his age, but it hasn't been his best year for the 6-time winner. Keith Yandle and Shea Weber have had good years, but playing for small market teams in the Western Conference will hurt their chances. The winner should be Lubomir Visnovsky, who leads all defensemen in points and has led a late season surge by the Anaheim Ducks into the playoffs.

Winner: Lubomir Visnovsky

Calder Trophy

The Calder trophy will be another tight race that will come down to the leader in points and surprise all-star Jeff Skinner, Logan Couture, and Michael Grabner. Grabner will be hurt though by many in the Islanders media boycotting the vote even though he is the goal scoring leader among rookies. If they were to vote for the rookie that's had the biggest impact, it should go to Corey Crawford. The Blackhawks started the season sputtering with their new look team, and Marty Turco brought in to replace Antii Niemi wasn't getting the job done. Crawford has sparkled to lead the Blackhawks back into the post-season.

Winner: Corey Crawford

Selke Trophy

The Selke trophy is one of the more underrated post-season awards, all you have to do is look at lists of its winners and you'll see players that have all won Stanley Cups. Pavel Datsyuk has dominated this award three years in a row, but he's been in and out of the lineup all season so that will hurt him. Patrice Bergeron is no longer a secret weapon in the NHL, after he won so many crucial draws in the Olympics for Team Canada, so he will get some votes as well on a strong Boston team. If the Vezina trophy doesn't go the team that let in the fewest goals, then the Selke should go to that team for sure. The Vancouver Canucks have shut down teams all season and it's been due to the diligent play of Ryan Kesler playing against all the top players while at the same time having a career offensive season. Manny Malholtra should get a special mention here, as he won so many defensive zone draws, while blocking shots before he left with a season ending injury. His eye injury should be a warning to all NHL players who don't wear visors, and the league should usher in a grandfather clause that mandates that they all wear them.

Winner: Ryan Kesler

Jack Adams Award

The coach of the year race comes down to two questions voters have to ask: Do they go with the coach that's coached the team to the best record in the NHL? Or do they go with the coach that's done the best with what little he's had to work with? Classically it's the latter that usually wins it, and if that's the case, Dan Bylsma will win the Jack Adams Award. He's lead the Penguins to a 100+ point season without his two superstars in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin for the better part of the season, and he also had to put up with HBO cameras in his locker room. Alain Vigneault will get the votes for the top team in the league, but he's already won the award before, and it's rare to win it more than once, which is weird. Bruce Boudreau should also get some consideration for his work in the second half of the season, molding one of the most potent offences in the league to a team that plays better defense, and one that may be better to make it out of the first round like they should have last year, but again he's won it before as well. Voters like to save giving out this award multiple times only to the few elite coaches in the league. (Jacques Lemaire, Pat Burns, Scotty Bowman, and Pat Quinn)

Lady Byng Trophy

What's the point of this award? The Lady Byng goes out to the player who exhibits the most sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct. This award is more suited to a peewee league, where kids are learning to play fairly. Is there any relevance to an award that is basically given out to the player that scores the most points but gets the least penalties? Back in the days when it was pretty much just fighting penalties that were given out, it may have been seen as a relevant award for a player that was able to succeed while not being a goon. Now with obstruction such a common place penalty, even the tamest players can get penalized. It's an odd award that is now given out to some of the highest scoring floaters in the league. Here's a list of the three finalists this year that have never seen the corner of the ice rink or a scrum, but have an uncanny knack of putting the puck in the net.

Martin St. Louis
Patrick Marleau
Loui Erikkson

Originially posted at Betfair.net