Mustafa Johnson Jersey Card

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

The Montréal Alouettes are once again headed to the Grey Cup after beating the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 33-23 yesterday. It wasn't always pretty, the Als let a 17-point lead at 20-3 reduce to 6 (26-20), but a Tyrice Beverette sack that turned into a recovered fumble put the final coffin in the Bombers' hopes of a comeback. The issue of trash talk was also front and center, as Montréal's star quarterback Davis Alexander was taunted about his late father, which Winnipeg players thought was fair game.

The Alouettes had the best record in the CFL this season at 14-4 (9-0 at home), on the strength of seasons for the ages for Alexander and wide receiver Tyson Philpot: Alexander led the league in completion percentage (72.1), touchdowns (35) and 30-plus yard completions (37) while finishing second in passing (5,257 yards) on his way to being named the CFL’s outstanding player, while Philpot set Canadian single-season records for catches (124, third-most all-time) and receiving yards (1,809) to go with 13 touchdown passes (up from his previous career-high of 5).

Defensively, the Als were also a powerhouse, with 11 different players registering at least one sack; Beverette led with 6, and two players tied for second-best with 5, Mustafa Johnson and Québecer Geoffrey Cantin-Arku. Johnson is a 27-year-old Colorado native who stands at 6'1" and 301 pounds, blending pure strength with good speed and above-average play reads, qualities that got him named as a 2023 and 2026 Eastern Division All-Star. The defensive lineman posted 36 defensive tackles, his third-best career mark (37 in 2024, 43 in 2023). Here is one of his sacks:
And here he is on the Game Jersey version of card #33 from Upper Deck's 2024 CFL series, showing him wearing the Als' dark blue (home) uniform, with a matching game-worn swatch:

He slots in perfectly as #94 in My Alouettes Numbers Project.

My Alouettes Numbers Project

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

It's been a while since I started another Numbers Project after my Habs Numbers Project, my Oilers Numbers Project, my Sens Numbers Project, my Canucks Numbers Project, my Nordiques Numbers Project, my Flames Numbers Project, my Expos Numbers Project, my Jets Numbers Project, my Whalers Numbers Project, and my Team Canada Numbers Project, so I thought I might start one for my local Canadian Football League (CFL) team, the Montréal Alouettes.

The goal is simple: to gather a special piece (jersey cards could work, but ideally an autographed card) from a player from every number worn by a member of the Als, regadless of era (I had to give myself a chance).

As you may know, the first iteration of the Alouettes lasted from 1946 until 1981, with its peak during the 1970s, winning three Grey Cups in six appearances in the Grey Cup Final during that decade. The team's owner would hit hard financial times in 1982 and would hand the team back to the league in May - roughly a month before the start of the regular season; Montréal Expos (and Seagram) owner Charles Bronfman would retain most of the team's sports staff, players and employees as the Montréal Concordes, but the team stank and was unable to draw a decent attendance; Bronfman briefly went back to the Alouettes name, but the team folded before the 1987 regular season got underway.

In the early 1990s, the CFL tried expanding in the U.S., and the most successful franchise in that endeavour was the Baltimore Stallions, who made the Grey Cup Final in their first season in 1994 and won it the following year. Unfortunately, Art Modell, owner of the NFL's Cleveland Browns, announced that he planned to move his team to Baltimore, which would have relegated the Stallions to a second-tier team (due to playing in a second-tier league) in their city; after negociations and legal procedures, Modell was awarded a "new" NFL franchise - the Baltimore Ravens - and was allowed to retain most of the Browns' staff and players, as long as he forfeited the Browns' history and trademarks; the Browns were revived in 1999. This, however, rendered the Grey Cup champion Stallions homeless; after attempts at moving them to Houston (after the loss of the Houston Oilers and before the arrival of the Houston Texans), the CFL (and its commissioner Larry Smith, a former Als 1970s legend) was able to convince the team to move to Montréal to become the third iteration of the Alouettes.

So far, I have featured the following players:

19: S.J. Green: check!
26: Tyrice Beverette: jersey card check!
37: Wesley Sutton: jersey card check!
94: Mustafa Johnson: jersey card check!

I understand I still have a ways to go, but one reason why I started is that I believe I have enough to at least make it fun!

Mikko Koivu: Two Autographed Cards

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

Last night, the Minnesota Wild became the fastest-ever team to reach 1000 wins, in their 1,995th game; for those who are wondering if every other NHL team played for less than .500 in their first 20 or so seasons, that is not the case, it's just that before the 2005-06 season, games could still end up tied in the NHL. That is why it took the Montréal Canadiens, for example, 2,156 games to win their 1000th, with a 1000-679-385 record, obtaining points in over 64% of games, with a .596 winning percentage record.

The Wild are probably icing their best team ever at the moment, led by superstar winger Kirill Kaprizov (16 goals, 14 assists and 30 points in 18 games), the second-best defenseman in the game Quinn Hughes (6-19-25 in 18 games) and three more top-tier players in left winger Matt Boldy (7-10-17 in 18), defenseman Brock Faber (injured to start the year) and young goalie Jesper Wallstedt (11-2-3 in 16 games, 1.99 goals-against average and .922 save percentage).

Kaprizov's 475 points in 397 career games is already second-most in team history, behind Mikko Koivu's 709 (in 1028 games, 2005-20); barring serious injury, Kaprizov should surpass Koivu by 2030 and eventually reach the 1000-point milestone. He's already first in career goals (230), ahead of Marian Gaborik's 219 (2000-09). Koivu holds the career assists mark (504), but three current Wild players are on pace to be within range: defenseman Jared Spurgeon (315, second), Kaprizov (245, fifth) and defenseman Jonas Brodin (216, ninth).

In terms of goaltending, Niklas Bäckström leads the way with 409 games played and 194 wins, he has shared the Jennings Trophy with Manny Fernandez and joins Dwayne Roloson as recipient of the Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award (Roloson in 2003-04, Bäckström in 2006-07); he is probably the top dog for now, although Devan Dubnyk is the one with a Second All-Star Team nod (2014–15). Two Wild goalies have won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey: Josh Harding (2012-13) and Dubnyk (2014-15).

Which brings us back to Koivu, the team's longest-serving captain and current holder of most games played. Here he is wearing the Wild's white (away) uniform from 2000-13, on card #SW7 from Upper Deck's 2009-10 Series 1 set and All World Team (Finland) sub-set:

And here he is wearing the green wordmark jersey from 2009-17, on card #221 from Panini's 2010-11 collection:

He signed them in blue sharpie when in Montréal for a commemoration for his brother Saku. Internationally, they played for Team Finland and won tons of medals, with Mikko winning gold (2000 U-18 World Championships and 2011 World Championships), silver (2001 World Juniors, 2006 Olympics and 2007 and 2016 Worlds) and bronze (2001 U-18s, 2002 World Juniors, 2006 and 2008 Worlds, and 2010 Olympics) multiple times each.

Theo Fleury: Two Autographed Cards

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

This weekend is the Hockey Hall Of Fame's annual induction celebration, which as usual sparks a bit of controversy as to who gets in and when, and also who doesn't. This year, for example, Carey Price gets in on his second attempt, while fellow Vezina winner Pekka Rinne gets in on his first ballot. Who deserved it first/most, if at all? And whose place are they taking? Didn't Jose Theodore also win the Vezina and Hart trophies in the same season? Aren't Jaroslav Halak's statistics pretty much exactly the same as Price's? Price, regular season and playoffs (from HockeyDB):

Halak, regular season and playoffs (from HockeyDB):

And what about Keith Tkachuk? Two 50-goal seasons at the beginning of the Dead Puck Era, a 40-goal season prior, and another 40-goal season right in the midst of it. But no 100-point seasons, not a point-per-game average, no individual hardware, no Stanley Cups; he was, however, the first American to lead the NHL in goals (with 52, in 1996-97). So... U.S. Hall Of Fame? Certainly. Hockey HOF? Where do you set the bar?

Tkachuk was a physical force who scored goals at a time where there were a handful of others like him: Eric Lindros, John LeClair, Todd Bertuzzi; he posted 1065 points (538 goals, 527 assists) with 2219 penalty minutes in 1201 regular-season games, as well as 56 points (28 goals, 28 assists) in 89 playoff games. He was also part of the Team USA squad that won the 1996 World Cup. Lindros was inducted in the Hall with just 865 points (372 goals, 493 assists, with 1398 penalty minutes) in 760 regular-season games, but also 57 points (24 goals, 33 assists) in 53 playoff games, with a Cup Final; LeClair has three 50-goal seasons and a Stanley Cup (not in), and Bertuzzi topped at 46 goals (not in either).

Theoren Fleury was a feisty 5'6" winger who scored 51 goals in 1990-91, and hit the 40-goal mark three other times, the 100-point mark twice and 90 points twice as well; he has 1088 total points (455 goals, 633 assists) in 1084 games (with 1840 penalty minutes) as well as 79 points (34 goals, 45 assists, with 116 penalty minutes) in 77 playoff games, winning the Cup in 1988-89. He also won gold with Team Canada at the 1988 World Juniors and 2002 Olympics, the Canada Cup in 1991, and a silver medal at the 1991 World Championships. All of this while battling depression and alcoholism due to having been sexually assaulted by coach Graham James in Juniors, as had fellow NHLer Sheldon Kennedy.

But regardless of the obstacles he overcame to perform (and win) at such a high level, shouldn't Fleury's numbers by themselves be appreciated and wouldn't they stand alone as comparables to at least Lindros and Tkachuk? Star goaltender Marc-André Fleury (Vezina winner, three-time Cup winner and two more Cup Finals, no relation to Theo) will be eligible to enter the Hall in November 2028; wouldn't it be a great time to also induct his homonym, who finished top-five in Hart voting twice and top-five for the Selke as well? Consider this my resounding "yes".

While he represented both the Colorado Avalanche and New York Rangers in the All-Star Game, he did it five times with the Calgary Flames, which is why this is the way I remember him most, in their red (away) uniform, as seen on card #386 from O-Pee-Chee's flagship 1990-91 O-Pee-Chee set:

And a close-up, from card #282 of OPC's 1991-92 O-Pee-Chee set:

He signed both in black sharpie at a 2010 book signing for his autobiography, Playing With Fire, a must-read.

I couldn't be prouder to have him represent #14 in My Flames Numbers Project.

My Flames Numbers Project

I have hinted at it before, but after my Montréal Expos Numbers Project and all my hockey ones (my Habs Numbers Project, my Oilers Numbers Project my Sens Numbers Project, my Canucks Numbers Project, and my Nordiques Numbers Project), now's the time to do the same for the Calgary Flames.

The Flames won the Stanley Cup in 1989, the only visiting team to ever win it on Montréal Canadiens home ice. They have been in Calgary since 1980, but the franchise started out as the Atlanta Flames in 1972. For my project, I think I'll focus on the Calgary era only. It may evolve over time but for now, that'll be my goal.

Speaking of goals, the point of this project is to feature memorabilia from players who represent each uniform number ever worn in team history; ideally, for the purposes of displaying it upon completion, it'd be nice to have those all be signed cards; however, because I'm far from rich, sometimes these may be other types of signed items, or even jersey cards.

So far, I have featured the following 46* players for 39 numbers:

1: Tyler Moss: check!
3: Ladislav Smid: check!
5: Mark Giordano: check!
6: Bob Boughner: check!
7:  T.J. Brodie (also wore #66) and Steve Bégin (also wore 26): check!
8: Joël Bouchard: check!
9: Lanny McDonald: check!
10: Roman Cervenka: check!
11: Gary Leeman and Mikael Backlund: check!
12: Jarome Iginla (twice): check!
13: Michael Cammalleri: jersey card check!
14: Theo Fleury: check!
16: Cory Stillman and Shean Donovan: check!
18: Matt Stajan: check!
20: Gary Suter: check!
22: Ron Stern and Craig Conroy: check!
23: Sean Monahan: check!
25: Willie Plett and Joe Nieuwendyk: check!
26: Steve Bégin: check!
27: Ed Beers: check!
28: Robyn Regehr and Émile Poirier: check!
29: Joel Otto and Akim Aliu: check!
31: Réjean Lemelin, Rick Wamsley, Ken Wregget and Curtis McElhinney: check!
34: Miikka Kiprusoff: check!
35: Henrik Karlsson: check!
37: Trevor Kidd and Leland Irving: check!
38: Ben Street: check!
40: Fred Brathwaite and Alex Tanguay: check!
41: Dustin Boyd (also wore #16): check!
42: Mark Cundari: check!
44: Chris Butler: check!
47: Sven Baertschi: check!
48: Greg Nemisz: check!
53: Derek Morris: check!
57: Émile Poirier: check!
59: Maxwell Reinhart: check!
60: Markus Granlund: check!
61: Oleg Saprykin (also wore #19): check!
66: T.J. Brodie (also wore #7): check!
67: Michael Frolik: check!
93: Sam Bennett: check!

captains: McDonald, Nieuwendyk, Conroy, Iginla and Giordano.
*some players appear twice, and therefore count as two.