My Canucks Numbers Project: An Introduction

After my Habs Numbers Project, my Oilers Numbers Project and my Sens Numbers Project, might as well get started publicly admitting I'm also on a Canucks Numbers Project.

The team as it is known now was founded in 1970 and has changed uniforms a lot since, at the rate of once every five years or so, usually in a complete overhaul.

The Canucks' and Sens' players have been the most responsive in answering my requests, I think, when it comes to current players, in the many years since I've started blogging about cards and collectibles, and I've been getting a decent amount of in-pack hits as well to get me started on my quest, with 29/67 worn uniform numbers accounted for so far, which is why I decided to pursue the task.

Here's the list of those I have featured here thus far:

Head Coach: Marc Crawford: check!
1: Kirk McLean: check! (also: Roberto Luongo 4x6)
2: Dan Hamhuis: check!
3: Kevin Bieksa, Brent Sopel and Doug Lidster: check!
5: Bryan Allen (twice): check!
6: Adrian Aucoin: check!
7: David Roberts: check!
10: Pavel Bure: check!
12: Stan Smyl (twice): check!
14: Alexandre Burrows (twice), Geoff Courtnall and Steve Bozek: check!
16: Trevor Linden once, (then twice): check!
17: Ryan Kesler, Radim Vrbata and Bill Muckalt: check!
18: Igor Larionov: check!
19: Markus Naslund, Petr Nedved and Jim Sandlak: check!
21: Mason Raymond: check!
22: Daniel Sedin: jersey card check!
24: Curt Fraser: check!
25: Dan Kesa: check!
26: Frank Corrado: check!
27: Sergio Momesso and Harold Snepsts: check!
33: Henrik Sedin: jersey card check!
35: Alex Auld and Troy Gamble: check!
36: Jannik Hansen: check!
40: Maxim Lapierre: check!
41: Curtis Sanford and Ronalds Kenins: check!
44: Todd Bertuzzi: jersey card check!
45: Jordan Schroeder: check!
46: Nicklas Jensen: check!
47: Yann Sauvé: check!
48: Hunter Shinkaruk: check!
49: Zack Fitzgerald: check!
58: Robert Kron (twice): check!

Captains: 5 of 13: Smyl, Lidster, Linden, Naslund, Luongo, H. Sedin


Which means I'm looking to fill these (luckily I have all 4 retired numbers):

4: GM Jim Benning, Gerald Diduck or Nolan Baumgartner would be nice
8: Willie Mitchell and Chris Tanev
9: I sent Zack Kassian mail years ago, might have to ask Brad May instead
11: no one's worn it since Mark Messier's odd turn as a Canuck
13: Nick Bonino's number, Raffi Torres' too
15: the most-worn number in team history
20: I really liked Alexander Semak back in the day
23: Alexander Edler or Marc Bergevin work well here
28: I've been meaning to write Dave Capuano...
29: Aaron Rome or Tom Sestito work
30: I'll try Ryan Miller and Garth Snow
31: Eddie Lack did not respond, I'll try Corey Hirsch
32: I tried Dale Wiese last year, I'll give it more time
34: I probably have a Jassen Cullimore
37: Jarkko Ruutu would be cool
38: Pavol Demitra or Jan Bulis would be nice
39: this is Dan Cloutier's number
42: Josef Beranek wore it first

And the following numbers have only been worn by one or two players: 48, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 62, 64, 66, 71, 72, 77, 79, 81, 89 and 96.

Zach Fucale Signed 4x6 Picture

I've seen a lot of Zachary Fucale these past couple of seasons, and I expect to see more of him as he spends his summers improving with Montréal Canadiens goaltending coach Stéphane Waite before GM Marc Bergevin loses patience and sends him packing.

Folks were worried when he was sent to the ECHL earlier in the season, after the Habs hired veteran Yann Danis to back up St. John's IceCaps starter Charlie Lindgren, but Fucale delivered the best performance in net out of the three goalies on the Brampton Beast:

From HockeyDB.com

He also helped Team Canada win the Spengler Cup over the Holidays, with four wins in as many games, including a 40-save performance in the Final. That's going to look gold with his 2015 World Juniors and 2012 U-18 Ivan Hlkina Tournament gold medals.

He's also been his team's only winning goalie in the postseason:

From HockeyDB.com

He's certainly on the right track, including having been recalled to the NHL in March when Al Montoya was injured, although Carey Price did not relinquish the net.

And he is now part of my Habs Numbers Project, entering as #70 with this signed 4x6 picture from training camp a few summers back (2013 or 2014):

He's wearing the team's classic red (now-home) uniform, deflecting a puck away with his glove, wearing his Halifax Mooseheads equipment.

Cédrick Desjardins Two Autographed Pictures

Cédrick Desjardins' NHL statistics look very good as a whole, what with a career 2.42 GAA and .919 save percentage, but the last two times the Tampa Bay Lightning gave him ice time, his numbers took a bit of a hit:

from Hockey Reference

On a team that employed the likes of Vezina nominee Ben Bishop, Latvian Olympic hero Kristers Gudlevskis and super-prospect Andrei Vasilevskiy, there was no way he was going to be given another chance after that.

Following his second stint with the Bolts, which was itself linked with two stints within the Montréal Canadiens organization, he signed two-way contracts with the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings organizations, but marred by injuries was unable to sign with an NHL-affiliated team for the current season, which is why he's now playing with the LNAH's Jonquière Marquis, sharing the net with another former Habs prospect, Loïc Lacasse.

His save percentage might look low with the Marquis at 0.893, but his record stands at 6-1-1 in 8 games; Lacasse is showing an .898 save percentage - good for third in the league - with a 12-3-1 record.

The Marquis have used a ton of current and former NHL prospects this season, including Calgary Flames draft pick Hugo Carpentier, Slovakian star Juraj Kolnik, Washington Capitals pick Benoit Gratton, Jean-Simon Allard (Buffalo Sabres), Stefan Chaput (Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins), Jonathan Paiement (Rangers), Samuel Groulx (San Jose Sharks), Jean-Michel Bolduc (Minnesota Wild), Gabryel Paquin-Boudreau (Sharks, Nashville Predators), and Maxime Sauvé (Bruins). That's a lot of talent for a league considered to be "semi-pro"...

Not many goalies have been able to be relegated down to the LNAH and make their way back to the NHL, but it's not impossible; Sébastien Charpentier comes to mind as one, perhaps Desjardins will be able to as well.

In the meantime, here's a look back at what he looked like in Tampa, first with the regular-issue white (away) uniform, which perhaps would look NHL-worthy if it didn't have the TAMPA BAY typefont:

And here he is wearing the Bolts' blue (home) uniform:

It shows him in his final NHL game, February 6th, 2014, post-fight with the Toronto Maple Leafs' Jonathan Bernier (18:17 of the third period), after teammate J.T. Brown had run into Bernier in the final throes of a 4-1 loss.

Both 4x6 pictures were signed in person in blue sharpie, in April that year, when he faced the Hamilton Bulldogs in a road game (I think the Bulldogs, with Dustin Tokarski in net, lost 3-1 that night). Ironically, the Habs - the Bulldogs' head team - had acquired Tokarski in exchange for Desjardins...

Zachary Fucale Signed 4x6 Picture

When looking purely at his statistics this season, one may be inclined to think Zachary Fucale is having a pretty bad year. Indeed, with the team standing at 9-7-0-3 near last place of its division, Fucale's 3.09 GAA and .887 save percentage don't necessarily scream out "Next Vezina Winner!", although his 6-3-0 record is pretty good.

As a matter of fact, he's the best on the Brampton Beast in every regard, as can be attested by this screen grab from HockeyDb:

Indeed, Andrew D'Agostini and Bryan Pitton seem to be what's bringing the Beast down this year.

It hasn't been easy for Fucale, once seen as Canadian Junior Hockey's best goalie, which forced the Montréal Canadiens to draft him 36th overall in 2013, though the team didn't want to repeat the growing pains of Carey Price, who took seven years to fulfill the promise that made him a top-5 pick in 2005.

Fucale was the youngest ever to reach 100 wins at the Junior level, a Team Canada gold medalist and holder of the country's record for most tournament wins (8) - tied with Stéphane Fiset and Marc-André Fleury - a Memorial Cup winner and tournament All-Star. In short, he's had one of the best Juniors career of all time.

So it was unexpected that he should fall to the ECHL after the Habs signed veteran Yann Danis as an insurance, but it's not like he is the first-ever to do so. Reigning Vezina winner Braden Holtby spent time there, as did Conn Smythe and two-time Stanley Cup winner Jonathan Quick. Oh, and one Jaroslav Halak.

He spent a lot of the past two summers in Montréal, training with goaltending coach Stéphane Waite. It was here that he signed this photo in thin black sharpie, showing him wearing the Halifax Mooseheads' white (home) uniform:

The kid's 21. I believe most goalies should reach the NHL around the age of 24 or 25. He's still on the right path, he just has Charlie Lindgren - a U.S. College signee from last season - ahead of him on the team's future depth chart to take over after Price's next contract prices him out of the Habs' lineup.

Paul Gaustad: 3 Autographed 4X6 Pictures

Now that I have time to start unpacking my things, I came across this neat return I hadn't talked about yet...

Paul Gaustad is nicknamed ''Goose'' because, at 6'5'' and nearly 220 pounds, he towers over most NHL players, and also happens to be stronger than they are. After starting as a fourth-liner/enforcer in 2005, Gaustad climbed his way into becoming the Buffalo Sabres' best (and only decent) face-off man, winning over 60% of them in his past two seasons there.

I sent him these three pictures on December 21st, 2011, care of the Sabres. Needless to say, I was pretty shocked when they traded him to the Nashville Predators two months later (February 27th, 2012), but I did get these back, signed in ball point pen with his jersey number (28) at the end, in April, 2012.

As usual, I did my best to send him pictures featuring different uniforms - all of them with the Associate Captain's 'A' - to get away from redundancy, and to display the many jerseys the Sabres keep throwing at us year in and year out...

Firstly, a design reminiscent of their best look, the 1980s:

Back then, white was for the home uniform; now it serves for away games. The colours work very well together, I just really hate the jersey number appearing (and taking over too much space) in front, football-style; it's already on the shoulders and back (and now also on helmets), what more do you need?

Secondly, a hybrid of their 1980s jersey with the late-2000s slug design:

The team liked the piping, front-numbering and the darker blue, the fans hated the slug and wanted the old logo back. In the name of compromise, this is what came about. Gaustad makes it look good, though.

And lastly, the ''College-style'' lettering crushing the logo on the Sabres' best use of blue-and-yellow/gold:

Seriously, these colours with the original logo would have been a perfect match, for a jersey that looks so modern and yet so classic, that screams 'Sabres' (a lot more than it should 'Buffalo', anyway).

Now I won't say I never thought Gaustad would ever get traded; in today's NHL, most players will play for 5 different teams, or more. But as a Fargo, North Dakota native, I would have seen him with the Minnesota Wild more than the Preds. Heck, with the Philadelphia Flyers, considering his physical style of play.

What I really would have wanted, though, was him with my hometown Montréal Canadiens, centering the third line, with Zenon Konopka centering the fourth - two monsters who intimidate but are also among the league leaders in face-offs won. You can't go wrong with starting most plays in possession of the puck, and physical giants who can actually play the game are also always welcome. Throw in additional minutes on short powerplays posted in front of the net obstructing the goalie's view and you'd have yourself a winner, methinks.

Perhaps another time.

Travis Moen: 5 Autographed Items

This is a tremendous success!

I sent Travis Moen these 3 cards, 2 self-made 4X6 pictures and a fan letter on December 21st (2011) and got them all back, signed in black sharpie, with his often-jersey number (32) tagged onto the end (even on the one where he's sporting #59!) on April 29th, 2012.

Moen was a draft pick of the Calgary Flames, and as a grinding semi-sniper who doesn't back away from a fight, should have been a shoe-in to play there his whole career, but they let him go unsigned and he resurfaced with the Chicago Blackhawks, as can be attested here:

Yes, it's his rookie card from Topps' 2003-04 Bowman set (card #141), where the picture is slightly out of focus and his face is a dark pink - that's not the scan! It's a great view of the Hawks' white (then-home) jersey, though!

He only played one season with Chicago before being traded to Anaheim for what was their final season as the Mighty Ducks. As they became the Anaheim Ducks, he won the Stanley Cup playing on the best checking line in the league with Selke candidate Samuel Pahlsson and famous brother Rob Niedermayer, scoring his first multiple-goal game in the regular season, an overtime winner in the first round and two game-winning goals in the Final - including the Cup-clinching goal.

This picture is from the pre-game warm-up of a Cup game:

After a short, trade-deadline stint with the San Jose Sharks, Moen became a free agent and was promptly snagged by the Montréal Canadiens to - unfairly - become their top enforcer. While he never backs away from a good brawl, he is still just a middleweight and doesn't instigate violence, just regulates it; also, it's unfair to use him in only spare minutes when he has a decent hockey sense, plays sound positionally and has a decent shot. As a matter of fact, before falling to injury - a concussion - he was second on the team in goals with 9, in 48 games - a team which produced two 30-goal scorers this season.

This picture shows him wearing the  Habs' Centennial patch on the right shoulder on his red (home) jersey:

And the cards show him wearing the white (away) uniform:

The card on the left, from Upper Deck's 2010-11 Series 2 set (card #355) show him wearing the regular uniform, while the one on the right, from Panini's 2011-12 Score collection (card #250), is from the 2011 Heritage Classic in Calgary (a 4-0 Flames win on an incredible Miikka Kiprusoff performance), as can be attested by both the patch on his chest and the black under his eyes.

Moen got some flack in his first two seasons in Montréal because management sold him as a 15-goal, 30-fight supercop who can either dominate on the third line or be adequate on the second, but then proceeded to have him fill 4th-line duties and minutes wit hthe occasional first-line promotion to punish someone else.

I, for one, would rather he re-sign here for two more years than see him leave. He's a workhorse who'll do as he's told, which is a perfect example for all the kids we've got coming up. And he's dependable. And tough. And, obviously, respects fans enough to sign 5 of their items.

Manny Malhotra Autographed Picture

Where do I start with this one?

I always liked Manny Malhotra. From the time he was a kid, he was compared to Jarome Iginla all the time: consummate leader, a knack for scoring, unstoppable.

In Juniors, he captained the Guelph Storm to the Memorial Cup, was named to the tournament's All Star team and awarded the most sportsmanlike player of the tournament. That year, he was also named the OHL's scholastic player of the year en route to being drafted in the first round by the New York Rangers. He also captained Team Canada twice: once at the 3 Nations Cup (now the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament) with the undefeated (6-0) under-18 team, and once at the World Juniors in 2000, winning the bronze medal.

But it never worked out with the Rangers, who at first had and then were looking for an immediate solution to the retirement of Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky at center and didn't have time to groom a kid into the role. But four years spent with their AHL affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack (including a Calder Cup win) had made him into an amazing defensive forward.

So the Dallas Stars acquired him because they wanted an Iginla-like player. But one goal in 16 games to finish the 2001-02 season, 10 points in 59 games the following year and no points in 9 games to start the 2003-04 campaign saw him put on waivers and subsequently claimed by the Columbus Blue Jackets, with whom he would improve his points totals for four straight years, often in match-ups against the opposing team's best lines.

Then came a successful season with the San Jose Sharks (19 goals, plus-17 rating, ice time on the powerplay, a relatively long playoff run considering, you know, the Sharks), before he was signed to a three-year contract on July 1st, 2010 by the Vancouver Canucks, who are looking for a Cup run themselves.

With the Canucks in first place, Malhotra was second in the NHL in faceoff percentage with an astonishing 61.8% and was a major reason for the team being the second-ranked in the league for penalty-killing when he was struck in the eye by an errant puck on March 16th. He has undergone surgery and will miss the rest of the season; while the team remains mute on the subject, it is widely believed he will require at least one more surgery before it is known whether he will recover his eyesight.

Ironically, a friend of mine who lives in Vancouver sent me this autographed picture, postmarked March 14th, two days before the accident. I got it yesterday. While I welcome the gift, my thoughts are more with Malhotra, hoping he'll make a full recovery.

Roberto Luongo Autographed Picture

Alright, full disclosure time.

I sent Roberto Luongo the following three cards (of him wearing the Florida Panthers uniform, explaining I was trying to gather cards of him in different jerseys) and a fan letter, care of the Vancouver Canucks, on November 29th, 2010:

I got them all back on February 2nd, 2011, unsigned, with a printed letter saying he'd enclosed an autographed picture to thank me for writing. Which would be this one:

I looked around the web to see if others had had the same picture, trying to find out if it was a real sig or an autopen; 150 Google Image pages later, I've come to the conclusion that it's real, based on the fact that there are tons of different of such pics, mine being the only one I've seen of his glove-hand catching the puck and the signature overlapping on his left-leg pad.

If anyone can attest to the contrary, I'd be glad to know and correct the post.