The All-Star break has come and gone, so it's time to look back at the first half of the 1998-99 season and hand out some mid-season awards.

Since we had some money left over from the last LCS Hockey car wash, we decided to put the cash to good use and buy some swell trophies. But a funny thing happened on the way to the trophy store. We were enticed by the evil mini-skirted waitresses at Dino's Sports Bar in Latrobe, Pa., to blow all our cash and get ripped.

Since we lost all our money, and Zippy picked up a nice welt above his left eye from one of the aforementioned waitresses, we couldn't buy new trophies. Feeling as if we let the players down, I decided to dig out my old Little League baseball trophies, tear off the name plates and etch in the names of this year's winners. So on with the show...

Best Forward

John LeClair, Philadelphia Flyers. LeClair leads the league in goals scored at the halfway point of the season with 27. At this pace, LeClair will easily eclipse his career-high of 51 goals. LeClair's shot is the heaviest in hockey, and he can unleash it from anywhere with deadly accuracy.

Recently, Barry Melrose of ESPN fame was asked who the top American forward in the NHL was. Melrose said Keith Tkachuk. We at LCS Hockey would beg to differ. Tkachuk's nice and all, but we'd take LeClair. Besides his hard, accurate shot, he can also pass, plays well defensively, and will never miss a shift.

LeClair hasn't missed a regular season game since the strike-shortened 1994-95 season. Tkachuk, on the other hand, has missed time due to injury. He's also missed a lot of time due to contract disputes that involved lots of whining and bitching. LeClair never whines, bitches or complains. He's just a complete player who anyone would love to have on their team.

Honorable Mention - Eric Lindros, Philadelphia; Paul Kariya, Anaheim.

Best Defenseman

Chris Pronger, St. Louis Blues. Pronger plays over 30 minutes a game. And he plays each of those minutes the same way: aggressive, tough, and in charge. Formerly a whipping boy in St. Louis due to Mike Keenan's trade of the highly popular Brendan Shanahan, Pronger has turned into the best defenseman in the league. He won LCS Hockey's Best Defenseman Award last season, and is on pace to do it again this year.

Chris Pronger by Meredith Martini

Pronger doesn't score a lot of points, but his game is more than scoring. He's a rock in his own end. He can hit like a truck. And his outlet passing out of his own end is superb. Add to that a meanness level lacking from most of the league these days, and Pronger is a complete defenseman.

Offensively, Pronger is a little better than average, but he's shown signs of breaking through several times this season. He's already had a couple multiple-goal games this season and should break his own career high of 11 set two seasons ago.

Honorable Mention - Al MacInnis, St. Louis; Darryl Sydor, Dallas; Rob Blake, Los Angeles.

Best Goaltender

Dominik Hasek, Buffalo Sabres. What else can you say about The Dominator? How about this: The guy's just nuts.

Hasek has been known to ask his teammates to shoot at his head at practice so he can see what it feels like to make a save with his helmet. But when Hasek does things like that, he's trying to advance the art of goaltending past its present form. Already he's served as a role model to young goaltenders everywhere. He shows them it's ok to break free from their rigid styles, either butterfly or standup, and just do what you have to to make a save.

Dominik Hasek by Meredith Martini

Hasek's unpredictability in net makes it nearly impossible to score on him. His unpredictability also makes him fun to watch. Speaking of watching Hasek, did you see his guest appearance on Arliss on HBO? That was swell. Hasek, playing himself, got ripped in a German bar while Arliss Michaels slept with Katarina Witt.

Honorable Mention -- John Vanbiesbrouck, Philadelphia.

Best Coach

Barry Trotz, Nashville Predators. Barry Trotz is to the Nashville Predators what Bret Michaels is...aw, screw it. That damn catch phrase is getting older quicker than Wayne Gretzky.

Trotz has done a remarkable job in Nashville, guiding the expansion team to a 16-25-4 record through the All-Star break. But perhaps the biggest accomplishment has been guiding the Buck-toothed Pussy to a better record than the Original Six Chicago Blackhawks. That can't be making people in Chi-town very happy.

All cowboys and cowgirls in Nashville are ecstatic, however. They've been doing the boot-scoot boogie while the likes of Sergei Krivokrasov and Cliffie Ronning are beating the defending Stanley Cup champs, the Detroit Red Wings, and other top-notch clubs. Yee-haw!

Honorable Mention - Pat Quinn, Toronto Maple Leafs.

Best Trade

Florida Panthers. The best deal so far this season had to have been Bryan Murray and the Panthers practically stealing Pavel Bure from the Vancouver Canucks. Sure, the Panthers still have to sign him to a long-term deal, but so far the results have been great. Bure has scored three goals in two games.

This trade was also impressive because the Panthers didn't have to give up one ounce of their team's nucleus to get the Russian Rocket. Ed Jovanovski was struggling for more than a year in Florida, so he was bound to be headed elsewhere. Dave Gagner is on his last leg in the league. And Kevin Weekes was holding out, so he wasn't even in the team's plans. The Panthers didn't have to give up anyone like Robert Svehla, Viktor Kozlov or Radek Dvorak in the deal, so they pretty much stole Bure right from underneath the Canucks.

Worst Trade

New York Islanders. Mike Milbury recently stepped down as head coach of the New York Islanders but remained the team's GM. After seeing him trade away promising young defenseman Bryan Berard for Felix Potvin, some might be questioning if Milbury kept the right job.

Berard could have been the cornerstone of the Islanders franchise for years to come. Potvin might not even be the starter by the end of the season. Milbury might have made this trade to save at least one of his jobs on Long Island. But when all is said and done, he might have started the downfall of a franchise that was one step away from being a contender again.

Biggest Surprise

Toronto Maple Leafs. Just a year ago the Leafs were the laughing stock of Canada. Their offense was pathetic. Their defense was porous. And their future was about as cheery as that of a drunk on Younge Street.

But what a difference a year makes. After switching conferences, the Leafs now find themselves in first place in the Northeast Division with a 27-16-3 record. They own the highest scoring offense in the league, and while they have given up a high number of goals, they have Curtis Joseph between the pipes to make the biggest saves when they are absolutely needed.

The turnaround has a lot to do with Joseph, but also a lot to do with the opening up of the Leafs offense. Head coach Pat Quinn has let the horses loose up front to get more creative and try to score more goals. So far, so good. The Leafs have scored 152 goals this year. The next-highest teams are Philadelphia and Detroit with 135 each. That's a big difference. That's also why the Leafs have such a good record.

Biggest Disappointment

Washington Capitals. After going to the Stanley Cup finals last season, the Caps have failed miserably this year. The team headed into the All-Star break with a 16-23-4 record. That sucks. Peter Bondra isn't scoring goals. The injury list has grown just like it has the past three seasons. And Olaf Kolzig isn't looking much like the Olaf Kolzig we all saw during the playoffs last season. Two words: Ug Ly.

Darcy Tucker Award

Darcy Tucker, Tampa Bay Lightning. This award seems to be the most highly contested of all the trophies so far this season. But despite strong competition from Tyler Wright, who earned points by taking on Peter Worrell during a game in Pittsburgh earlier this season, Tucker retains the rights to the title.

Tucker scored major points for his antics with Darius Kasparaitis earlier this season. He also has earned his keep by scoring 12 goals. Of course, in grand Darcy Tucker style, he's scored most of them by charging the net and running over goaltenders. But that's just Darcy being Darcy.

Honorable Mention - Tyler Wright, Pittsburgh Penguins.

and last but not least...

The Jerry Fairish Award

Bernie Nicholls, formerly of the San Jose Sharks. New on the scene is the Jerry Fairish Award, which goes to the player who is No. 9 in your program, but No. 1 in your heart. And what a more fitting tribute could we bestow upon San Jose's No. 9, Broadway Bernie Nicholls, than the immaculate Fairish?

Nicholls was forced into retirement after playing in just 10 games this season, but he'll forever be known as one of the coolest players the league has ever seen. He's almost a lock to pick up the first official Fairish Award after the season. Unless, of course, Wayne Gretzky changes his number to 9 and decides to retire at the end of the season...

Congratulations, Bernie.

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