There’s a common theme for the Colorado Avalanche at the midway point of the 2024-25 season: It’s a team that hasn’t been quite as good as expected, but the context might help some awards voters.

The Avs were 25-15-1 at the midpoint, a 102-point pace. They started the second half with a loss to 32nd-place Chicago, then blasted Minnesota, one of the two teams ahead of them in the Central Division.

Given all of the injury and availability issues, it was a successful first half. And while the rest of the roster has been a mess, the top guys have been healthy and productive. Being that productive, and helping the team to a lot of success despite the adversity, could help sway voters in a close race.

Which major awards could end up in Denver at the end of the season? Quite a few have someone from the Avalanche firmly in contention.

Art Ross Trophy

This is the obvious one. Nathan MacKinnon leads the NHL with 68 points, seven more than Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl in second place. Also of note, he’s first in points per game at 1.58, narrowly ahead of the Art Ross winner last season, Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov at 1.57.

Availability has become part of MacKinnon’s leap from star to playing like an all-time great, and it could play a huge role in who ends up as the NHL’s scoring leader. Connor McDavid has proven he can go nuclear for a few weeks at any time, and he’s still probably the greatest threat to MacKinnon collecting his first scoring title and the second in franchise history. (The first was Peter Forsberg in 2003.)

Favorite: MacKinnon

Contenders: McDavid, Draisaitl, Kucherov

Dark horses: Mikko Rantanen, Mitch Marner

Norris Trophy

Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes missed four games, and Cale Makar might have missed an opening to create some separation. The Canucks are in shambles right now, but it’s still too early to tell how much that might affect Hughes’ case. There’s also a chance it actually helps.

Makar is, assuming good health, likely to lead all defensemen in points. He might lead in goals. He’s got a chance to lead in total time on ice, as well. That would be a tough triple crown to top, for a lot of voters.

Hughes could have better underlying numbers, like he did a year ago. The on/off numbers for the Canucks when Hughes is on the ice versus when he’s not are also comical. This isn’t a Most Valuable Player award, and this PHWA voter has always bristled at the idea that someone should win one of these types of awards just because his teammates aren’t good.

Zach Werenski has very much made this a three-way battle, and he’ll get a “He’s carrying the surprising Blue Jackets” narrative boost as well. Makar’s best bet might be to make a run at 100 points, and winning those other two categories wouldn’t hurt, either.

Favorite: None

Contenders: Makar, Hughes, Werenski

Dark horse: None

Hart Trophy

Could MacKinnon repeat?

Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov looked like a potential favorite, given the Wild’s success, and he’s clearly the engine of that team. But he’s missed a not-insignificant amount of time. The other usual suspects (McDavid, Matthews) have either missed time or not been at an MVP level, either.

It looks like a relatively open field right now. MacKinnon and Draisaitl are contenders but also have McDavid and Rantanen to potentially siphon votes or give voters a reason to look elsewhere. Hughes could have a case, but not if the Canucks miss the playoffs or barely get in.

Connor Hellebuyck is the runaway Vezina Trophy winner right now — if Winnipeg finishes first in the West, there would be a strong argument for him to win the Hart as well.