Blake Geoffrion Signed Swatch Card

Last week, I traded away two Adam Henrique cards I really liked (an autograph and a jersey card, plus all other Henriques I got my hands on) to someone who will have a much better use for them, and likely will treasure them much more than I ever could, Dave from Wax Stain Rookie.

In exchange, I received a dozen cards I can't keep my eyes off of, and a few Carey Price inserts. One of those I'm most happy about is this Blake Geoffrion card (sorry about the crooked scan):

It's a two-swatch (one white, one black) card that also has a blue-sharpied sticker autograph, and a clear picture of him wearing the Montréal Canadiens' red (home) uniform, which he was destined to wear. It's from Panini's 2011-12 Rookie Anthology set (card #127 of the Rookie Treasures sub-set, numbered 53/499).

I got a return from him about a year ago and was psyched to have two index cards returned to me (he seemingly kept his Nashville Predators rookie card and four 4x6 pictures I'd sent along), but I found it bizarre when other bloggers started writing about receiving their cards signed. Here I was, an honest and true fan of his, seemingly receiving ''less'' than others... it seemed odd.

But I always keep in mind that everything we do receive is, after all, a gift these players decide to send back to us. That they take time out of their busy schedules to indulge their fans in the first place is quite something. So I never felt jealousy, or disappointment, because it all evens out in the end - some veterans have even sent me way more than what I'd sent them, for instance.

And, like in real life, a trade can manifest itself, sometimes out of the blue. And it did, for this amazing card, which is far better than what I'd sent him. And, really, what do I want more, a card of him with the Preds (no offense to the team that give him his first break), or one of him wearing the Habs' bleu-blanc-rouge, and jersey #57 to boot - combining his grandfather Bernard 'Boom Boom' Geoffrion's #5 with his great-grandfather Howie Morenz' #7?

Habs, of course, all the way.

And so I can scratch his number off of my Habs Numbers Project for real this time, though I must now decide what to do with this card. I's too thick to be contained in the binder where I keep my autographed cards (and it'd be the only one of his there anyway), so I'm thinking of framing it and hanging it on my wall.