Just past the midway portion of the 2013-2014 NHL schedule, Scott Cullen has his picks for first half award winners. John Kelly Jersey . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. While there is much room for movement over the second half of the year, the Calder Trophy race might be the most volatile because no one has run away from the pack and when there are so many candidates close together, it gets easy to see big changes. Anyway, here are my picks for awards through first first half of this season: HART TROPHY Winner: Sidney Crosby, C, Pittsburgh Runners-up: Ryan Getzlaf, C, Anaheim; Patrick Kane, Chicago Comment: After what counted as a slump for him knocked Crosby to runner-up status through the first quarter, hes pulled away from the pack, leading the scoring race by nine points over Kane and 15 points ahead of Getzlaf who fit second and third, respectively. Scoring isnt everything, but all three have been on a roll through the first half of the season. Getzlafs shooting percentage (17.9%) and on-ice shooting percentage (12.0%) are a tad higher than his norm, but hes also shooting more than he has in the past and the results are there -- his 20 goals already counts as his most since 2008-2009 and has him in easy range of surpassing his career-best of 25 goals. Kane has a strong supporting cast, of course, but hes on pace for a career-high in points and shots per game. Hes slumped in his last four games, but Kane has done enough to deserve consideration. If not Kane, Capitals RW Alex Ovechkin is worthy of consideration. His 31 goals is six more than anyone else, and while Ovechkin has an unsightly minus-17, his possession stats are solid and basically has bad puck luck when it comes to percentages. NORRIS TROPHY Winner: Duncan Keith, Chicago Runners-up: Erik Karlsson, Ottawa; P.K. Subban, Montreal Comment: Keith is having a season very similar to his 2009-2010 season, when he won the Norris Trophy, putting up dominant possession stats, but also contributing more offensively -- his 42 points in 45 games (0.93 per game) represents the best per-game scoring rate of his career. Karlsson continues to be a game-changer offensively, and his possession numbers are more favourable than his minus-12 rating would suggest, but the percentages have not been playing in his favour through the first half of the season. Subban had a fantastic start to the year, but his play dipped some in December. Not enough to knock him from contention, but enough that hes closer to other contenders, like Nashvilles Shea Weber and St. Louis Alex Pietrangelo, than he is to Keith at this point. VEZINA TROPHY Winner: Ben Bishop, Tampa Bay Runners-up: Josh Harding, Minnesota; Tuukka Rask, Boston Comment: The 32 games that Bishop has played this season already counts as a career-high, so who knows where this is going (especially considering his injury on the weekend), but he leads in even-strength save percentage (.945) and has been an anchor for a team that has been playing without their top offensive threat for more than a quarter of the season. Harding was the early front-runner, but has only played two games in the past three weeks as he took time to adjust MS medication. That hes usurped Niklas Backstrom in net for the Wild is a story in itself, but Hardings numbers still have him right there with Bishop through the first half of the year. Rask is the more predictable option, the one goaltender that would have been considered a contender in the preseason because Rask is always turning in excellent work -- his worst save percentage in the last five seasons was .918 and this years .934 currently ranks as a career-high. There is plenty of time for other goaltenders to make their move. Montreals Carey Price, Torontos Jonathan Bernier and Colorados Semyon Varlamov are among those closest to the contenders. CALDER TROPHY Winner: Torey Krug, D, Boston Runners-up: Tomas Hertl, LW, San Jose; Seth Jones, D, Nashville Comment: With 23 points in 42 games, defenceman Krug is only three points behind Colorados Nathan MacKinnon, who leads the rookie scoring race. More than half of Krugs points have come on the power play, where hes running the point on the Bruins number one unit, but without any breakout forwards, Krug is the pick at the midpoint of the season. Hertl was the leading candidate, even if he slowed down from his tremendous start, but hes already missed more than two weeks since taking a knee-on-knee hit from the Kings Dustin Brown and hes still going to be on the shelf for the forseeable future. Jones had a strong case early in the year, then his game fell off and his ice time was reduced dramatically. Hes working his way back up lately, enough to get a runner-up nod, though not far ahead of the competition. MacKinnon is starting to pick up offensively, and injuries in Colorado are opening up more opportunities. Others of note include Rangers LW Chris Kreider, Jets D Jacob Trouba, Kings RW Tyler Toffoli, Panthers C Aleksander Barkov and Stars RW Valeri Nichushkin, who could be in the best position of all if he can stick on the wing with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin on the Stars number one line. SELKE AWARD Winner: Jonathan Toews, Chicago Runners-up: Patrice Bergeron, Boston; David Backes, St. Louis Comment: Its a familiar group, with Toews and Bergeron the last two winners. They simply excel as two-way players, typically dominating possession even when they face elite competition. Backes isnt far behind, either. Hes a beast to play against, handles tough assignments like Bergeron and Backes is probably getting a little more notice this season because hes been running alongside Alexander Steen for most of the year. Steen would be a candidate too, but thats because hes always a sound two-way player, not because of his goal-scoring explosion, and Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog has such a strong two-way game that he has a chance to work his way into consideration, which isnt easy for a winger. JACK ADAMS AWARD Winner: Bruce Boudreau, Anaheim Runners-up: Ken Hitchcock, St. Louis; Todd McLellan, San Jose Comment: Its always difficult to narrow down the best coaching jobs, but the Ducks have been so good that some credit should go to Boudreau, who is not only getting the most out of his superstars, but also the supporting cast. The St. Louis Blues play such a grind-it-out style of game that its a testament to the coaching of Ken Hitchcock that they stick with it, and they have one of the leagues best records despite what has been merely decent goaltending. Same goes for San Jose and coach Todd McLellan, who is succeeding without great numbers from his tenders and has done some line juggling to incorporate younger options. A couple of other viable candidates -- Colorados Patrick Roy and Tampa Bays Jon Cooper -- have had such strong goaltending that I have a hard time separating that from the team success. Theyre worthy, but would they be worthy if their goalies werent great? Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Brian Allen Jersey . Liriano pitched in and out of trouble in his duel with Josh Beckett, and Ike Davis homered to help the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 Friday night. Joseph Noteboom Rams Jersey . The Toronto Blue Jays star won his second consecutive Hank Aaron Award as the most outstanding offensive performer in the AL on Monday after votes by fans and a panel of Hall of Famers were tallied. http://www.laramsfansshop.com/c-74-rams-brian-allen-jersey.aspx . Pironkova, who was ranked outside the top 100 despite reaching the Wimbledon semifinals in 2010, beat three top 10 players in Sydney, 2012 French Open finalist Sara Errani, 2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and Kerber.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Kerry, Love reading your columns every day. I wanted to ask you about Mondays incident in Dallas, where Rich Peverley collapsed on the bench and the game was eventually postponed. Whats the protocol from the refs perspective when a game gets postponed? Does he make that call on the ice or does he have to call the NHL front office? Have you ever experienced something similar to Mondays incident in your reffing career? Thanks,Dave VieiraMilton, ON Dave: We must continue to offer prayers for Rich Peverley, his family, teammates, the Dallas Stars management and his fans throughout the hockey world. When a tragedy like this occurs it certainly transcends the game and causes us to reflect on what is most important in life; namely our health and that of our family. In many dealings I had with Rich Peverley on the ice, I know him to be an exceptional young man beyond just his obvious talent as a player. We need look no further than the reaction (and swift action) demonstrated by the Dallas Stars players and coaching staff last night to recognize what an important member of their extended family Rich Peverley truly is! Coach Lindy Ruff, while visibly shaken, addressed the media and commended the outstanding response provided by the medical team; without their efforts his remarks, admittedly might have been much more somber. Quick medical response similar to that mentioned by Lindy Ruff last night in Dallas has also been credited with averting potential tragedies involving Jiri Fischer (cardiac arrest), in addition to Richard Zednik and Clint Malarchuk (both of which suffered a potentially fatal throat slash from a skate during separate games in Buffalo). The unsung heroes from the medical staffs throughout the entire National Hockey League deserve our utmost respect, appreciation and admiration. The referees expected protocol that you enquired about, Dave, is to first kill the play immediately whenever a serious injury/incident is witnessed or, as was the case last night, he is made aware of one taking place. If an official is the first responder to an on-ice injury he should remain calm and attempt to provide comfort and assistance to the injured player until the medical team arrives and then get out of the way. The decision to suspend a game is exclusively entrusted to Commissioner Gary Bettman and/or through his designate, Executive Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell. Sam Shields Jersey. Since every minute of every game is monitored in the Situation Room in Toronto, all hands would have been on deck once the game was stopped in Dallas and it became apparent that Rich Peverley was in distress. Telephone conversations from team personnel and the officiating crew would have been initiated as soon as possible to provide eyes on the scene and continually update the Commissioner and Colin Campbell with information as it became available. The game officials have a telephone in their dressing room that can connect with the Situation Room in Toronto. The primary information on the players status would come via Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill and Blue Jackets President John Davidson who were on the scene. The first and most obvious concern would be for the health and well-being of the athlete. All energy and assets went in that direction last night. Once it was learned that Rich Peverley had regained consciousness, was aware of his surroundings and even alert to the point that he wanted to know how much time was remaining in the period, a huge sigh of relief was felt by everyone. With Rich Peverley stabilized and being transported to the hospital, the decision then had to be made as to whether the game should continue. For that to happen, the impact of this incident on the players from both teams would have to be evaluated and considered. Both coaches would have been consulted as to the emotional status of their players after witnessing this shocking and disturbing incident. The Commissioner and Colin Campbell did what was in the best interest of everyone involved; the players, coaches, and the fans in the building and those watching on television when they made the decision to postpone the game. Even though I witnessed many injured players carried from the ice on a stretcher during my officiating career, I count myself fortunate not to have experienced, first-hand, a potentially life threatening incident like we saw last night in Dallas or the others I mentioned. I felt physically ill just watching the incident last night on television and cant imagine the emotion one would experience at ice level. I am sure everyone will join me in offering best wishes for a full and speedy recovery to Rich Peverley and to his family. 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