Pekka Rinne has been one of the NHL's best stories and perhaps its best player so far. (USATSI)
Pekka Rinne has been one of the NHL's best stories and perhaps its best player so far.(USATSI)

With the NHL's halfway point reached, or nearly reached by all 30 teams, it's time to take a look at the standout performers of the first 41 (or so) games of the year. If there's one thing this review will show, it’s that all of the races for awards appear to be wide open with large fields of worthy candidates.

In particular, the Hart Trophy race is going to get interesting down the stretch. Most of the top producers in the league are on teams out of the playoff picture currently, and as history has shown, that’s not a good recipe for winning MVP honors. That opens the door for Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators to potentially take home a lot of hardware, if he ends up sustaining his incredible play so far this season.

While we provided our second-quarter grades earlier today, with tracking only that segment of the season and not the entire first half, this takes a look at the wider picture of the season to date. A lot is going to happen, and as this list shows, a lot has changed since the first time we took a look at these rankings.

2014-15 First Half Awards
Hart Vezina
Pekka Rinne The Predators are about to finish the first half at the top of the tough Central Division and Rinne is the biggest reason for it. His .929 save percentage (which jumps to .939 at even strength), as well as the fact he's started all but five games this year makes him most valuable to his team in a field that is truly wide open at this point. It's hard for a goalie to win the Hart, but if the season ended today, he'd be most deserving. Pekka Rinne At this point, Rinne is leading all starters with at least 1,500 minutes between the pipes in save percentage (.929), goals-against average (2.00) and wins (26). Only one goaltender has appeared in more games and only three have seen more shots than Rinne. This has been a season to remember for the 32-year-old Finn and if he keeps it up, he's going to snag a lot of hardware at the end of the season.
Ryan Getzlaf The Ducks continue to post astounding results in the regular season and it is the team's captain that is driving it. His production never dipped when he lost his running mate in Corey Perry. Getzlaf is fifth in league scoring currently with 44 points. He has accounted for nearly 15 percent of Anaheim's offensive production this season by himself.  Carey Price Rinne is having a heck of a season, but Price is nipping at his heels. The Montreal Canadiens netminder has led his club to the best record in the second-best record in the Eastern Conference with a .927 save percentage and 2.20 goals-against average. With how bad the Habs have been at supressing shots, Price has needed to be this good to keep them moving forward.
Claude Giroux The Flyers have been really bad this season, but they'd be so much worse without Giroux. It would be really hard for him to win the Hart without even being the leading scorer on his team, but he's unquestionably this team's heart. He trails teammate Jakub Voracek by four points for the league lead, but is utilized in every situation and has excelled. Voracek is most productive right now, but Giroux is most valuable. Marc-Andre Fleury The oft-criticized netminder has been exceptional this season and leads the NHL with six shutouts. Despite injuries depleting the Penguins defense, Fleury has stood tall. He has a .926 save percentage this season and 2.18 goals-against average. This very well could end up the best season of Fleury's career.

Tyler Seguin

 Another player making the best out of a bad situation, Seguin is second in league scoring with 47 points and leads all players with 26 goals. Though Dallas started the season poorly, Seguin's production has been consistent throughout. Now he's leading a resurgence heading into the halfway point of the season. If Seguin can carry this team and sneak into the playoffs, he'll shoot up this chart. It's still hard to believe he's just 22 and that he may get better yet. Roberto Luongo With an incredibly young roster, the Panthers have been succeeding this season thanks in large part to their veteran goaltender. Luongo has had his share of clunkers this year, but those shouldn't overshadow his .926 save percentage and 2.28 goals-against average. It is going to be really difficult to put up a good win-loss record in Florida, but Luongo has done his part to give this young group every opportunity to win games.
Tyler Johsnon This one may seem off the beaten path, but even if there's probably no chance he wins Hart, Tyler Johnson's first half was kind of insane. He is third in league scoring with 45 points, 36 of which have come at even strength for a league-best mark. Crazier still, Johnson is not being propped up by a star player. He's on a line with fellow youngsters Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov. The Lightning have been terrific this year and Johnson's been a huge difference maker. Craig Anderson It's been a rough season in Ottawa, but Anderson has been a real bright spot. A better record for this team would have Anderson right in the thick of this race with his sparkling .929 save percentage. He does have to split starts a little more frequently than your average starter, but he's been the Sens' clear No. 1 this year. He's seeing a little more than 30 shots a game, so there's little relief for him, but he's making the most of it.
2014-15 First Half Awards
Norris Calder
Mark Giordano Just as he was at the beginning of the season, Giordano seems the clear front-runner for the Norris Trophy. Though the Flames have faltered as many predicted they would after their hot start, Giordano remains impressive. He is tied for the point lead among defensemen with 35 and is second with 10 goals. He's averaging 24:41 a night and a relative Corsi percentage of 11.9 showing just how much better he makes the Flames when he is on the ice. Filip Forsberg All of the races for awards are tight this year, but the Calder may be the most exciting. Forsberg is the clear front-runner right now as he is a big part of leading the Predators' resurgent season. He has 38 points in 39 games and is a legitimate top-line player for his team at 20 years old. The Predators have Rinne to thank for a lot of their success, but Forsberg deserves quite a bit of praise himself.
Duncan Keith After a slower start to the season, Duncan Keith is making a pretty considerable push to possibly repeat as the Norris winner. He has 26 points this season and has been a possession machine with a Corsi for percentage of 58.5 and a 13.9 percent relative Corsi. The Blackhawks are just plain better with him on the ice and he's on it a lot with an average of 26 minutes per game. Aaron Ekblad When all is said and done, Ekblad is likely to have had one of the best seasons by an 18-year-old defenseman in the last 30 years. With 22 points, he's already the most productive 18-year-old blueliner since 1984-85. But beyond that, Ekblad is averaging more than 22 minutes a game and is getting trusted with bigger responsibilities as the season wears on. He's been a bit of a freak of nature.
P.K. Subban Another productive season from Subban is helping the Canadiens put together one of the best records in hockey this season. They haven't been great in possession or at stalling the other team's shots, but Subban and Carey Price have been Montreal's best players. Of Subban's 27 points, 22 have come at even strength. He's averaging over 25 minute a game and has a relative Corsi of 10.7 percent. Johnny Gaudreau Gaudreau has become one of the more exciting players to watch right now. His incredible stickhandling and playmaking skills are beyond his 21 years. He's second among NHL rookies and third on the Flames with 31 points. He's been really heating up lately, too, with some of those memorable performances that will stick out in voters' minds like his natural hat trick against Los Angeles to lead a Calgary comeback last month.
Drew Doughty A true workhorse defenseman, the Kings have needed Doughty a ton this year. He's second in the league with an average of 29:11 per game. While the Kings have been inconsistent offensively, Doughty has produced with 24 points in 40 games. Los Angeles is struggling, but their 25-year-old star on defense has not been among their problems. Michael Hutchinson There's a good chance Hutchinson is going to move up this chart if he continues wresting starts away from Ondrej Pavelec. In 17 appearances so far, the rookie goaltender has a stunning .936 save percentage and 1.88 goals-against average. He has gone 10-4-2 and is seeing the net far more regularly as Pavelec falters. If he continues getting starts and can sustain his surprising success, he's got a shot to nudge into the top three, but it's going to be really hard to do this year.
Kevin Shattenkirk Like it or not, the Norris Trophy has been a lot about points. Defensemen that score are a little easier to analyze, or so it would seem and as one of two defensemen with 35 points, Shattenkirk is in this discussion now. The 25-year-old has averaged over 23 minutes a game and is delivering for a Blues squad that has been tough to slow down offensively. Offensive defensemen also tend to have solid possession numbers, and Shattenkirk absolutely does, which helps keep the puck away from the other team. Mike Hoffman Hoffman just makes it under the age qualification for Calder eligibility and he's having himself a pretty good year. With 13 goals, he is tied with Gaudreau for second in rookie goal scoring. Averaging just under 14 minutes per game for the Ottawa Senators, Hoffman is probably going to have a tough time getting into the finalist discussion, but it has been an impressive year from him.