We’re a little past mid-season and it’s never early enough to start looking at potential Hart Trophy candidates.

The good thing about this year’s race is that there are currently no former winners. Let’s start with Henrik Zetterberg (Detroit). Zetterberg has been on everyone’s radar the past few seasons, but he has never produced like this. He has 69 points (33 goals, 36 assists) so far this season. He has played in 50 games this season and has a point in all but six of those 50, including a 17-game point streak to start the season. On top of all of that, he also has four game-winning goals, making him an even greater most valuable player candidate. Oh yeah, this guy was the 210th overall pick in the 1999 NHL draft — talk about a steal.

However, Zetterberg has not done it alone. Teammate Pavel Datsyuk is also having the best season of his career. Datsyuk has 66 points (18 goals, 48 assists) on the season. His five game-winning goals eclipse the total of four from Zetterberg in fewer total goals. Those game-winners have also come in closer games compared to those of Zetterberg. A category that might end up being the deciding factor for MVP is plus or minus. Datsyuk leads all forwards and is second in the NHL with a plus-37 this season. He is on pace to have some monstrous numbers this year. I can’t go without mentioning that he was taken with the 171st pick in the 1998 draft. Detroit can really draft.

Time to switch teams; while Detroit leads the West, Ottawa leads the East with the help of Daniel Alfredsson. I am not going to mention his teammates Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza because they have, for the most part, played the same number of games as Alfredsson and he has produced quite a bit more. Alfredsson has 73 points (34 goals, 39 assists) in just 49 games, giving him the highest points per game average in the NHL. Something that differentiates him from the other players is that he has six short-handed goals and eight short-handed points this season, good for second in the NHL in both categories; this makes him a much more versatile player than the other possible nominees.

Alex Ovechkin (Washington) is having his best season to date. He has a league-leading 76 points in 57 games. He also leads the league in goals with 46, the next closest after that is Iyla Kovalchuk (Atlanta) with 39. He has had two games this year with four goals. Ovechkin also leads the league in is power-play goals with 17 and game-winning goals with eight. He is on pace for 109 points which would be a career-high for the young superstar. His goal-scoring ability is what differentiates him from the other nominees.

Vincent Lecavalier (Tampa Bay) is having another great year. After scoring 108 points last season, Lecavalier is on pace for 105 points this season with 68 points (32 goals, 40 assists) in 56 games. He is second in the league with six game-winning goals. However, regardless of his spectacular season, the Lightning are falling out of the playoff hunt and struggling in a wide-open Eastern Conference.

Jarome Iginla is no stranger to the MVP race. Back in the 2001-2002 season, he led the NHL in points with 96, however, fell short in the MVP voting losing to goalie Jose Theodore of Montreal. He is on pace for 100 points this season, which would be a career high. He has 34 goals and 34 assists in 56 games. As of late the All-Star has struggled, scoring only eight points in 13 games, including just two goals. Iginla also has six game-winning goals this season.

With Sidney Crosby out of commission in Pittsburgh, a lot of attention will turn toward his counterpart, Evgeni Malkin. Believe it or not, with his team sitting in first place in the Atlantic division, Malkin will surely make a run at the MVP award. In his last five games he has 15 points. Forget about a sophomore slump, the second-year Penguin is on pace for 101 points this season. Many critics felt that when Crosby went down, the Penguins’ season would shortly follow the same path, but in Crosby’s absence, Malkin has led the team to a 6-3-2 record while regaining control of the second seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race; this is a true definition of the term “Most Valuable Player.”

The last player on my list is another Red Wing. Nicklas Lidstrom has to be mentioned as he is having one of the best seasons of his illustrious career as a Detroit defenseman. The five-time Norris Trophy winner is on pace for plus-62 season, are you kidding me? His previous career high is plus-43. It would be the highest total since Wayne Gretzky finished the 1986-87 season plus-70. He also has 51 points (7 goals, 47 assists) in 57 games. He is second in the league in ice time with 27:16 per game, that’s almost half of a game every night for the best team in the league.

There are a lot of high-caliber names on this list, however, there are no goalies on it because I felt that the three goalies that I would consider are no match for the players listed. If you are wondering, the three goalies I looked at were Tim Thomas (Boston), Pascal Leclaire (Columbus) and Chris Osgood (Detroit), all of whom are having the best seasons of their careers.

Now to the award. The three players from Detroit are out simply because that team has too much talent to give only one of them the MVP award. They have several valuable players and hence, are the best team in the league by almost 20 points. If I had to pick the best of the three Red Wings listed, it would be Lidstrom on the basis that Detroit has the best defense in the NHL and he is a large reason why. Lecavalier’s team will most likely not make the playoffs and therefore I have to eliminate him from the race as well.

Alfredsson, Ovechkin, Iginla and Malkin are not as easy to differentiate between. Among those three Alfredsson seems to be the most impressive. However, Alfredsson has been troubled as of late with a hip flexor injury and may not get as many games as the other three. Iginla’s pace seems to have slowed as of late and even though he is likely to pick it up again, he is not match for the likes of Ovechkin and Malkin. When Crosby returns in Pittsburgh, Malkin’s point totals will actually go down because Sid “The Kid” will be getting some of those assists that Malkin has become very familiar with in Crosby’s absence. Therefore, I am going to go with Ovechkin. His goal-scoring ability is too much to deny. After an impressive All-Star weekend, his team has slowly crept up to the top of the Southeast division. Ovechkin will have a tremendous second half and bring home the MVP award.