Last week I put together a list of Vezina Trophy candidates, and Dallas Stars goalie Marty Turco was right in the thick of things. However, I am sure that more than a few general managers will count the 18 games he missed due to a high ankle sprain against him when they sit down to cast their vote.

	MARTY vs. TONY
		Turco ('02-03)	Esposito ('71-72)
	Record	29-10-10	31-10-6
	GAA	1.77	1.77
	Minutes	3,082	2,780
	GA	91	82
	Shutouts	6	9

If that is the case and he doesn't win the award, he will be in the running for years to come.

Turco would like to finish his season with 31 wins and then focus on the playoffs. He has 29 wins now and has Anaheim (tonight) and Nashville (Sunday) remaining on the schedule, so two more wins is very attainable.

He has done a magnificent job of keeping his goals-against average right around 1.80 -- right now it's 1.77 through 53 games. His .931 save percentage has been among the leaders or has led outright all season. He has also thrown in six shutouts.

His performance is reminiscent of Tony Esposito's 1971-72 season, when the Blackhawks goaltender registered a post-expansion-best 1.77 GAA in 48 games. He posted a 31-10-6 record with nine shutouts.

Esposito, as we all know, took the butterfly style that goalies such as Glenn Hall had perfected and made it even better. Every young goalie wanted to be like Espo. His season has yet to be duplicated when you consider how many games he played. Turco's partner, Ron Tugnutt, came close. He posted a league-best 1.79 GAA in 43 games with the Ottawa Senators in 1998-99.

The Stars felt this season was the right time for Turco to replace Ed Belfour as the No. 1 guy. Belfour had really worn out his tenure, while Turco was taking over the locker room with his presence, commitment and enthusiasm. On the ice, he was ready for the next step.

The characteristic that everyone most appreciates about Marty is that he is a genuine person; he is the same person on the ice as he is off the ice. He clearly has an air of confidence about him, which is absolutely necessary when you are leading a team to a championship. He works hard on the ice in practice, and that is a reflection of his success on the ice in games.

While he has yet to play a single NHL playoff game, his experience at the University of Michigan should serve him well. He led the Wolverines to four consecutive NCAA Frozen Four appearances and won the national title in 1996 and 1998. The NCAA tournament may not be as grueling as the Stanley Cup playoffs, but in a single-elimination format, there are no second chances.

The Stars will be working shortly with Turco's agent, Kurt Overhardt, in hopes of re-signing the restricted free agent. It's easy to figure that Turco, who has arbitration rights, has a very lucrative contract coming his way. He will be deserving of what he gets; he has taken over the top spot on one of the best teams in hockey, and his play in the net leads all of us to believe that he will be a Vezina Trophy candidate for the next 10 years.

Asking around

	Naslund

	Forsberg

I have had a very informal poll done in regards to the Pearson Award -- the players' selection for MVP -- and the players I have talked to are leaning toward Peter Forsberg over Markus Naslund. There is some thought that with Naslund getting so many points on the power play (54 of his 103 points have come on the man advantage) and the fact he has another MVP on his line (Todd Bertuzzi), that Forsberg has had a bigger impact. Forsberg has turned underachieving Alex Tanguay into a prominent forward and has helped Milan Hejduk in the competition for the Rocket Richard Trophy. Peter told me it doesn't really matter; he just wants to catch Vancouver for the Northwest Division title. But he also said it would be great to have two Swedes finish 1-2 ... and it would be even better if he finishes first!

Keep in mind, though, the Canucks don't have a Joe Sakic, Rob Blake, Adam Foote or Patrick Roy in their lineup. That may come into consideration as well and point voters toward Naslund. My vote would be Forsberg.

Darren Pang, a former goaltender with the Chicago Blackhawks, is a hockey analyst for ESPN. His goalie rankings appear every other week in Net Effect.