NHL Awards: Predicting the winners of the major player awards this season

Now that the trade deadline has passed, hockey fans have shifted their attention toward the playoffs and NHL Awards races. While hockey is a team sport, the awards race is one that draws the attention of pundits, fans, and players alike. While the MVP race seems to have already settled this season, some of the other prestigious awards are much less clear.

Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers is having an incredible season, already setting a career-high in points through only 65 games. The Oilers captain has already posted 54 goals and 70 assists for a total of 124 points this season.

"Connor McDavid appears to be the clear favorite to win his third Hart Trophy as NHL MVP. @wyshynski breaks down the rest of the NHL Awards watch ➡️ http://es.pn/3ZJKn1Y" - ESPN

Here is a look at the potential winners of all of the major individual NHL Awards this season:

Hart Trophy/Art Ross/Maurice Richard Trophy - Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

As mentioned above, it appears that Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid will clean up on the NHL Awards yet again. While the Hart Trophy for the NHL MVP is seemingly already in the bag, the Art Ross Trophy and the Maurice Richard Trophy could see some competition.

The Art Ross Trophy is handed out to players that record the most points during the regular season. Connor McDavid currently leads the NHL with 124 points and is currently the frontrunner to win the award for the third consecutive season. McDavid's teammate Leon Draisaitl currently sits in second place with 96 points, with Nikita Kucherov in third place with 88 points.

"Connor McDavid (48-65—113 in 60 GP) sits two goals shy of his first career 50-goal season and now owns a 25-point advantage in the Art Ross Trophy race following his third straight game with 2+ goals and 3+ points." - NHL Public Relations

McDavid is also the frontrunner for the Maurice Richard Trophy as a player who records the most goals in the regular season. The Oilers captain currently sits at 54 goals, with David Pastrnak at 44, and Tage Thompson in third at 42.

James Norris Memorial Trophy - Erik Karlsson, San Jose Sharks

The Norris Trophy is given "to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position." According to multiple gambling websites, Erik Karlsson of the San Jose Sharks is the betting favorite to win his third career Norris Trophy after winning the award in 2012 and 2015.

"This Norris debate is getting ridiculous. What happens to San Jose when Karlsson is catching his breath on the bench? I rest my case." - Arch

Adam Fox of the New York Rangers and Josh Morrissey of the Winnipeg Jets are among the other contenders for the award.

Linus Ullmark may be one of the first-timers to win one of the major NHL Awards as he leads the race for the Vezina Trophy

While most NHL Awards are seemingly already decided, the Vezina Trophy is no different. Linus Ullmark may have been the most surprising candidate to win the award when the season began, but he now finds himself on pace to win the first major award of his career.

"Linus Ullmark is pretty, pretty, pretty good... He stopped 26/27 shots tonight (and scored a goal!!!) to improve his record to 30-4-1." - NHL

The 29-year-old Swedish goalie has led in nearly every statistical category for the first-place Boston Bruins. Ullmark currently leads the NHL with a 1.89 goals-against average, a .938 save percentage, and 32 wins. While there are still plenty of games remaining for the leaderboards to shift, if he can maintain his form, the award will be his.