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!