One quarter of the way through the NHL season, its time for an early look at the awards races, along with some advanced stats leaders and trailers. Juni... Seau Womens Elite Jersey . At this early point in the season, there are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. HART TROPHY Winner: Phil Kessel, RW, Toronto Runners-up: Tyler Seguin, C, Boston; Kris Versteeg, RW, Florida Comment: Leading the league in goals and points, with a shooting percentage about twice that of his career average, Kessel has been outstanding for the Leafs, helping to ease the sting of the breakthrough performance by Seguin. Drafted with a pick acquired as part of a deal for Kessel(perhaps youve heard about this), Seguin is scoring better than a point-per-game and has a league-leading plus-18. Versteegs strong plus-minus gets him on the ballot, just ahead of Claude Giroux and others. NORRIS TROPHYWinner: Shea Weber, Nashville Runners-up: Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit; Zdeno Chara, Boston Comment: All three log the tough minutes and contribute at both ends and there isnt a strong point to make against any of them, but as the only defenceman with at least 15 points and a plus-15 rating, not to mention that he plays more than 26 minutes per game, Weber is certainly deserving. VEZINA TROPHYWinner: Tim Thomas, Boston Runners-up: Nikolai Khabibulin, Edmonton; Mike Smith, PhoenixComment: What else is new? After last years spectacular season, Thomas is only slightly behind last years record-setting .938 save percentage, sitting at .936 (with a 1.85 goals against average) this season. Khabibulin has resurrected his career, after a summer that included jail time, with numbers very similar to Thomas. There are many contenders for the final spot, including Niklas Backstrom and Henrik Lundqvist, but Smith has been a standout for the Coyotes. Considering his last few seasons in Tampa Bay, its been a remarkable turnaround. CALDER TROPHYWinner: Matt Read, C, PhiladelphiaRunners-up: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, C, Edmonton; Craig Smith, C, NashvilleComment: Read wasnt a hugely-heralded free agent when he signed out of Bemidji State last spring, but did offer a glimpse of things to come when he scored 13 points in 11 AHL games at the end of the year. Hes stepped right into the Flyers lineup and leads all rookies in goals and plus-minus. Even with those attributes, Read is facing a challenge from number one draft pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who leads all rookies with 22 points in 21 games. Smith left the University of Wisconsin after his sophomore season and after his performance at the World Championships for Team USA, its not a surprise that hes been able to move seamlessly into the Predators lineup. New Jerseys Adam Henrique and Colorados Gabriel Landeskog might be the next two contenders. JACK ADAMS AWARDWinner: Kevin Dineen, FloridaRunners-up: Peter Laviolette, Philadelphia; Dave Tippett, Phoenix Comment: New coaches frequently get early results, but the Panthers have done so with a roster that underwent serious overhaul in the offseason. In a similar vein, Peter Laviolette has the Flyers playing at a high level after significant summer trades that saw the Flyers ship out Jeff Carter and Mike Richards and bring in half a dozen forwards, most of whom are playing significant roles. Dave Tippett and Barry Trotz could be included virtually every year, but Tippett gets the edge right now, while Tom Renney (Edmonton), Glen Gulutzan (Dallas) and Mike Yeo (Minnesota) are among others that might be faring better than expected. For those that have been reading my work for a while, its no secret that I like digging into the advanced stats site www.behindthenet.ca, so here are just a couple of interesting stats leaders/trailers at this point in the season (minimum 10 games played). First up, penalty differential. Its obviously more advantageous for players to draw penalties rather than take them so, all other factors being equal, it would be nice to get an extra power play every couple of games because Michael Cammalleri, Jeff Skinner or Rick Nash are challenging opposing defenders and draw penalties as a result. RANK PLAYER TEAM POS. DRAWN TAKEN PEN. DIFF/GP 1. Michael Cammalleri Montreal LW 10 0 0.59 2. Jeff Skinner Carolina RW 17 4 0.57 3. Rick Nash Columbus RW 13 2 0.52 4. Matt Duchene Colorado C 12 1 0.50 5. Joe Thornton San Jose C 12 3 0.47 6. Darren Helm Detroit C 10 1 0.45 7. Alexei Emelin Montreal D 7 1 0.43 8. Dustin Brown Los Angeles RW 15 6 0.41 9. Eric Staal Carolina C 13 5 0.35 10. Cody Hodgson Vancouver C 8 1 0.33 And the trailers... RANK PLAYER TEAM POS. DRAWN TAKEN PEN. DIFF/GP 551. Brenden Morrow Dallas LW 3 11 -0.40 552. Brian Lee Ottawa D 1 5 -0.40 553. Kyle Quincey Colorado D 0 9 -0.41 554. Steve Staios N.Y. Islanders D 2 10 -0.42 555. Todd Bertuzzi Detroit LW 1 7 -0.43 556. Nicklas Grossman Dallas D 1 9 -0.44 557. Marc Methot Columbus D 0 7 -0.47 558. Chris Neil Ottawa RW 2 10 -0.50 559. Andy Sutton Edmonton D 1 7 -0.50 560. Sheldon Souray Dallas D 1 13 -0.57 Next, a look at shot differential per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play. Naturally, its much better for your team to have more shots at the opponents goal than on your own. Some familiar names among the leaders and, hey, look at Matt Ellis! RANK PLAYER TEAM POS. SHOT DIFF/60 1. Pavel Datsyuk Detroit C 17.8 2. Henrik Zetterberg Detroit C 16.8 3. Matt Ellis Buffalo LW 15.4 4. Chris Kunitz Pittsburgh LW 14.4 5. Gabriel Landeskog Colorado LW 14.1 6. Tyler Kennedy Pittsburgh RW 12.8 7. Alexander Steen St. Louis LW 12.6 8. Jordan Staal Pittsburgh C 12.6 9. Brad Marchand Boston C 12.4 10. Patrice Bergeron Boston C 12.2 And the trailers... RANK PLAYER TEAM POS. SHOT DIFF/60 551. Matt Halischuk Nashville RW -13.1 552. Chris Thorburn Winnipeg RW -13.2 553. Jerred Smithson Nashville C -13.8 554. Colton Gillies Minnesota C -13.8 555. Cam Barker Edmonton D -13.8 556. Brandon McMillan Anaheim LW -14 557. George Parros Anaheim RW -14 558. Brad Staubitz Minnesota LW -15.3 559. Ruslan Fedotenko N.Y. Rangers LW -17.8 560. Erik Christensen N.Y. Rangers C -19.3 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. Rand... Cobb Jersey . Instead of burgundy and gold uniforms with numbers, the 41 players on the field wore basic T-shirts and shorts. Several rookies -- 10 of the 12 draft picks showed up -- simply wore something with the name of their college on it. Ken... Wright Elite Womens Jersey .ca. Hi Kerry, I enjoy reading your column - hope you keep it up! In the final seconds of the third period of the Winnipeg/Montreal game, Brendan Gallagher looked like he was attempting to get back on-side. Dan Marino Womens Jersey Elite . Olympic champion Britain claimed the first gold medal at Melbournes Hisense Arena, edging out defending champ Australia in what many expect to be a preview of the London Olympic gold-medal race. Edward Clancy, Peter Kennaugh, Steven Burke and Geraint Thomas led from the start to finish in a new world mark of 3 minutes, 53. John Hannah Womens Jersey Elite . -- It took a while, but the San Antonio Spurs have finally found success on the road this season.TORONTO -- Cody Franson, a one-year contract in his pocket, returned to the Toronto fold Thursday to the sound of his Maple Leaf teammates thumping the ice with their sticks as a welcome. The six-foot-five defenceman was late joining practice after undergoing a medical but his teammates made sure his return was noted. It seemed a combination "Good to have you back" and "What took you so long?" "Hes a big part of this team," said defence partner Mark Fraser. "He has been for a while. "Everyone, I think, was supporting him in his decision. Its always tough when the business side comes into play like that but were definitely all very happy to have him back. I certainly am." Franson, 26, had four goals and 25 assists during a career year in 2013. He got more playing time in the playoffs when Fraser went down, while providing an offensive boost with his hard shot from the point. With three goals and three assists in seven games, he tied for second in team playoff scoring. Coach Randy Carlyle said Franson had grown as a player last season, buying into the teams direction. Carlyle said Franson committed to a more physical game, which gave him more space, and became the teams best option playing the right point. Franson did not file for off-season salary arbitration, saying his case "wasnt as strong as most people assume," and instead looked to negotiate directly with the Leafs. When the two sides couldnt get close on a two-year deal, they compromised on numbers with a one-year US$2-million deal. While it was being negotiated, Franson worked out with the Ryerson Rams. "Im glad its done," he said. "Its a process nobody really wants to go through. Fortunately we were able to find a common ground and get it done before the regular season started." Toronto has now signed Nazem Kadri and Mason Raymond, as well as giving goalie Jonathan Bernier a new deal. The Leafs front office, however, still has work to do to make the salary cap numbers work as it looks to fit an opening day roster under the $64.3-million salary cap. David Clarkson will miss the first 10 games of the season through suspension but the team will continue to bear his cap hit. "Its still the same situation as if Cody had signed at the beginning of camp," said Toronto assistant GM Claude Loiselle. "Were still evaluating. We still have two (exhibitioon) games left. [url=http://www.saintsproshop.us.com/9-Youth-Drift-Fashion-Drew-Brees-Elite-Jers... Black Drew Brees Elite Jersey[/url]. And well see how it shakes out." Loiselle called it a "tough process." "The cap has gone down $6 million across the board and its difficult." Toronto will "probably" go with less than a 23-man roster to start the season, he said. "But again were going to ice the best team possible and the coach makes those decisions." The Leafs have to dress at least 18 skaters and two goalies. One option might include putting tough guy Frazer McLaren (hand injury) on the long-term injured reserve, which means he is unavailable for at least 24 days and 10 games. That buys the team some cap relief. There are more problems down the line. Toronto could have eight unrestricted free agents next summer including captain Dion Phaneuf and star winger Phil Kessel. And there could be four restricted free agents including goalie James Reimer and defencemen Jake Gardiner and Franson. Carlyle suggested the Franson signing was not a minute too soon, referring to the fact that it had become "decision time." "Either we were going forward with Cody Franson or we were not going to be going forward with him and it was going to be something that we were going to commit to for the rest of the year." Franson, whose salary was $1.2 million last season, was reunited with Fraser at practice. The other defensive pairings were captain Phaneuf and Carl Gunnarsson, Gardiner and Paul Ranger, and John-Michael Liles and Morgan Rielly. Liles, who will earn $3.875 million this season, and Rielly may suffer the most with Fransons return. Carlyle said the Leafs will probably used the 10 games Rielly is allowed to play before deciding what to do with him. Dave Bolland and Colton Orr are expected to return to action in the final exhibition games -- Friday against Detroit and Saturday at home to the Red Wings. Carlyle spoke to the team prior to practice, saying later there was a discussion on work ethic "and our lack of it in the exhibition games." There were some smiles when forward Jay McClement collided with Carlyle in mid-ice during a drill. Carlyle absorbed the impact and, with a smile of his own, made McClement do the next drill twice. "Hes lucky I didnt have any equipment on, I was going to give him an elbow," Carlyle joked. "He almost ran me over pretty good." ' ' '