The Puck Stops Here

Thus far this season, I have been picking Chris Pronger of the Anaheim Ducks as the MVP. However, he is currently injured. He has a broken foot that has kept him out all of January so far. Thus, it is time to pick a new healthy MVP.

The best candidate among the forwards is Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins. He is the top scorer in the NHL, despite having missed a few games earlier this year. He is very talented, but it still refining some of the defensive aspects of his game.

The best candidate among defencemen is Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings. I was earlier picking him as MVP in November until he was passed by Pronger. Lidstrom play a lot of minutes and leads the NHL with his +30 +/- rating. His offence, while good, is not league leading among defencemen.

The best candidate among goalies is Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils. He plays almost every night and leads the NHL in most goalie stats (though he is currently second in saves percentage to Chris Mason of the Nashville Predators).

Any of these three guys should be considered serious MVP candidates, but I pick Lidstrom as my current MVP. He has been a consistent talent all season for Detroit. He controls the play most of the time he is on the ice. Detroit's defence would not be nearly as impressive without him.