Petr Nedved Autograph Card

This card may be from the first series to offer a regular set of autographed cards - Upper Deck's 1995-96 Be A Player set, arguably one of the worst sets of all time.

Because they were only licensed by the NHLPA (and not the NHL), Peter Nedved is seen here wearing the Pittsburgh Penguins' colours - but that's all he's sporting. Nowehere on the card is the word 'Penguins' nor the team's logo to be seen - it was even airbrushed out of the picture.

The back of the card doesn't have any statistics or text related to the actual player, only a fac-similed 'signed' word from Ted Saskin saying:

You have received a card personally autographed by the NHL player depicted on the front of this card.

This 1996 NHLPA Be A Player trading card's authenticity is guaranteed by the NHLPA:
One Dundas Street West
Toronto, Ontario M5G 1Z3

This certificate guarantees the authenticity of the player's signature.

The NHL player depicted did not autograph this card in the presence of a representative of the NHLPA.

Enjoy your autographed card.

Ted Saskin
Senior Directir Business Affairs And Licensing
NHL Players' Association

Yes, you read that right - twice they ''guarantee the authenticity'', yet they still make it abundantly clear that the card was NOT signed in the presence of NHLPA reps, so, really, there is no guarantee.

So they guarantee that the player on the front of the card, who they can't name, wearing an NHL jersey with no logo and affiliated to no NHL team (just the city of Pittsburgh) signed this card with no one to witness it.

Not that I don't trust a former second overall draft pick who played for 8 different NHL teams (and twice each for the New York Rangers and Edmonton Oilers, for a grand total of ten NHL transactions)... just that I think the NHLPA offers us a lack of respect and transparency with every single detail of this card.