Dany Heatley & Jason Spezza Jersey Card

Pardon my absence this week, as I had way too much work and was dealing with a pretty bad case of the mumps flu.

I thought about writing a few posts, was hoping perhaps a return from last season's of this year's mailings would come in to get my spirits up, but it didn't happen. I could even have gone to the game tonight, pitting the Ottawa Senators against the Montréal Canadiens, but I'm still a bit too groggy to want to step out into the winter if I can avoid it, so I'll watch it from the comfort of my home instead. And probably nap during the second period.

Still, I figured I could talk about the Sens a bit, through this card featuring their former star sniper Dany Heatley and former captain and star playmaker Jason Spezza, from Upper Deck's 2006-07 SP Game-Used Edition set (card #AF2-SH of the Authentic Fabrics / Dual Jersey sub-set, numbered 77/100), showing both of them wearing the Sens' red uniform, Heatley with a matching red swatch, and Spezza with a black one:

Heatley was a bona fide NHL star for a while, twice scoring 50 goals, scoring 41 two other times and 39 twice as well, being voted in 5 All-Star Games and playing in four, being named the MVP in one. However, the fact that he has demanded trades from the Atlanta Thrashers (in an understandable move, considering) and the Sens (childishly, after being demoted to the second powerplay unit), then proceeded to see his goals totals plummet (26, 24, 11, 12) with the Minnesota Wild and San Jose Sharks - finishing last season with just 28 total points in 76 games - screams ''entitlement'' and ''pouty behaviour''. He tried to revive his career with the Anaheim Ducks this season, but injuries have prevented him from doing so. Perhaps it's time for him to realize that at age 33, his body has accomplished what it had set out to, and not let his legacy be tainted by additional sub-par years.

His accomplishments even extend further than the NHL: his play for Team Canada has garnered him Olympic gold (2010), World Cup gold (2004), World Championship gold (2003 and 2004), World Championship silver (2005, 2008, and 2009) and World Juniors bronze (2000 and 2001), two World Championship MVP nods (2004 and 2008), and the record for most career goals and points on Canada's men's teams. While I think a Hockey Hall Of Fame berth is out of the question, he does have a case for the IIHF one.

Spezza, on the other hand, remains a potent offensive force in the NHL. Originally slated to be the Dallas Stars' second-line center this year, injuries and Ales Hemsky's slow start forced the team to play him as a winger on the first line, and he was in the league's top-20 for assists and points for most of the year (he remains 18th in assists as of this writing but has fallen considerably for total points in the last two weeks). He, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin are probably the two lone bright spots on the Stars thus far, though.

Spezza was the best man at Heatley's wedding. And now they're both playing down South.

Ilya Kovalchuk And Dany Heatley Dual Jersey Card

Now that the Stanley Cup playoffs are over, New Jersey Devils coach Peter DeBoer confirmed what many were suspecting: that Ilya Kovalchuk was playing through a pretty bad back injury.

Many have been on Kovy's back (!) since he signed that huge contract with the Devils two seasons ago, but in  my opinion, he's one of the 5 best players in the league, with Evgeni Malkin, Alex Ovechkin, Pavel Datsyuk and a a revolving door of fifth candidates depending on the season. He's led Russia to consecutive World Championships - the most memorable to me being the one held in Québec City in 2008 - what a dominating performance! I didn't see all of the 2009 WC, but he was named tournament MVP...

In the NHL, he has won the Rocket Richard Trophy for most goals in a season and was on his merry way to win the Calder as top rookie when he got injured... and was surpassed by his Atlanta Thrashers teammate Dany Heatley.

I used to not mind Heatley, who has a rocket of a shot and could have 50-goal seasons playing asleep, but the fact that he has asked twice to be traded from a team (and was traded by the San Jose Sharks barely a year after acquiring him in a blockbuster trade) makes me think he may not be the ideal team player.

This awesome card holds both players, and a swatch of each one's jerseys. It's card #25 from Pacific's 2003-04 Luxury Suite set, and because it is creased in the front and slightly chipped at one corner, I managed to get it for $1.99 post-paid on Ebay. The pieces of jerseys are pristine, and match the colours they're wearing in the photos used. For the swatches alone, the piece is likely worth a lot more than what I paid for it!