Jean-Jacques Daigneault: Two Signed Cards

J.J. Daigneault was a serviceable NHL defenseman who started out as a fast-skating, puck-moving type who was prone to puck-handling mistakes and may have been considered a defensive-zone liability, yet evolved into a dependable, serviceable defender later in his career.

As such, in his current position as the Montréal Canadiens' defense coach since 2012, he is teaching players to learn from his past mistakes, and not to make them themselves.

A childhood friend and teammate of Pittsburgh Penguins legend and owner Mario Lemieux and current Habs GM Marc Bergevin, chances are he'll never be out of work for long in hockey, but I am under the impression that this may be his last season in this current stint in Montréal; Claude Julien is back and will want to work with folks he knows, guys that complement his areas of expertise, and I feel Doug Jarvis might be on his way back, although he's just one year into a similar position with the Vancouver Canucks. The 'Nucks let head coach Willie Desjardins go last April, taking Perry Pearn and Doug Lidster along with him to the unemployment office, and I believe that when the transition is assured between the players and new bench boss Travis Green is assured, he'll be allowed to look for new opportunities as well.

Too bad this will come months after Phil Housley left the Nashville Predators for the Buffalo Sabres, as Daigneault, a former Preds defenseman who coached three of the team's defensemen in Montréal (P.K. Subban, Alexei Emelin and Yannick Weber) would have been a perfect fit there.

Here he is back in that era when the Preds had a fine "dark" (blue, with grey and yellowish-gold as highlight colours) uniform, sporting the alternate captain's "A", on the signed insert version of card #76 from In The Game's 1998-99 Be A Player set:

It's the "silver" version, which he signed in black sharpie. Obviously, one of these is available for trade (or may be included as a bonus in another trade).