Saturday, April 29, 2017

Jean-Gabriel Pageau Signed 8x10

Want to guess where I was tonight?
That's right, I witnessed the Ottawa Senators' historic double-overtime comeback win against the New York Rangers, where they overcame three different two-goal deficits to win thanks to four goals from Jean-Gabriel Pageau, a rare one from Marc Methot and yet another from Mark Stone.

A fourth-round pick (96th overall in 2011) and point-per-game player in the LHJMQ, mostly playing for his hometown Gatineau Olympiques, his strong hockey sense and two-way play has often seen him relegated to shut-down roles, even in his rookie season with the Ottawa Senators. The thinking was the same as the Philadelphia Flyers used with Sean Couturier and the Montréal Canadiens with Lars Eller: start out using his mental assets in refining his game without the puck until he builds enough confidence to produce offensively with it.

The risk in that is those players may never reach their potential as strong, two-way second-line centers because they've been pigeonholed so tightly they got used to playing just one way, and with just one type of winger. Pageau, however, with two playoff hat tricks under his belt at just 24 years of age, is showing signs that he wants to be a big-game player, a franchise centerpiece - and perhaps the Sens are the right team for that, able to ice three offensive lines with Kyle Turris and Derick Brassard ahead of him.

Here he is wearing the Sens' whote (away) uniform, on a beautiful 8x10 picture that he signed in blue sharpie, with his jersey number (44) tagged at the end:
The picture is obviously from a game against the New Jersey Devils.

Friday, April 28, 2017

Bailey Howell Swatch Card

Regular readers know I'm not a fan of basketball, and outside of the legends of the 1980s and 1990s (say, the 1992 Dream Team and LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony) and a couple of present-day players, my knowledge of those who have played it is pretty much non-existent.

Bailey Howell certainly falls into that category, despite his inclusion in the Naismith Hall Of Fame. Apparently, he was a power forward and two-time NBA champion with the Boston Celtics; standing at 6'7" in the 1960s, his name is now synonymous with an award given to the best basketball player in Mississippi. He was a six-time NBA All-Star and held 12 records at Mississippi State University.

I only learned of him because I pulled this card of his back in 2010:
It's card #29 from Panini's Century Collection, from Donruss' 2010 Americana set and Sports sub-set, featuring a U.S. "Naismith" postage stamp and a red swatch from an item worn by Howell.

Thursday, April 27, 2017

Jason Dawe Autograph Card

With the NHL draft coming in just a few weeks, I'm reminded of the story of Jason Dawe, who was chosen 35th overall in 1991 by the Buffalo Sabres, after a 43-goal and 70-point season with the Peterborough Petes as a 17-year-old.

He reached the 100-point plateau the following season (108) and was even better in 1992-93, becoming the Petes' all-time leading scorer and the first player in franchise history to score 50 goals in less than 50 games (48), en route to 58 goals, 68 assists and 126 total points in just 59 games as a 20-year-old. Keep in mind, Petes alumni include Steve Yzerman, Dawe teammates Chris Longo and Chris Pronger, Bog Gainey, Larry Murphy, Mike Ricci, Jordan Staal, André Lacroix, Cameron Mann, Terry Carkner, Keith Acton, Bob Errey, Jody Hull, Tom Fergus, Jamie Langenbrunner, Steve Larmer, Claude Larose, and Dave Reid.

Dawe's career highlights, however, came more on the international stage - gold at the 1993 World Juniors and silver at the 1996 World Championships playing for Team Canada - because his NHL career was spent moving around between four teams (Sabres, New York Islanders, Montréal Canadiens and New York Rangers) in eight seasons over nine years, while dressing for just 366 regular-season games (86 goals, 90 assists, 176 points and 162 penalty minutes).

He played in 22 playoff games, half of them coming in 1996-97, for 4 goals, 3 assists and 7 points. Oh, and 18 penalty minutes. Somehow, as play got tougher and more physical, and as the referees stopped calling penalties, he would get punished more often.

Here he is wearing the Petes' classic blue (away) uniform, on the signed insert version (on-card, blue sharpie) of card #31 from Classic's 1991-92 Draft Picks set:
It's numbered #44/950 in the "extremely Limited" sub-set.

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Pascal Leclaire Jersey Card

If you want to make these current NHL playoffs player-centric, we could go with Pascal Leclaire and how the team that drafted him - the Columbus Blue Jackets - is now eliminated and the team that traded for him - the Ottawa Senators - is still in the running, as the highest seed in the Atlantic Division no less. And neither team existed when I was growing up in the 1980s, if I want to make this Seb-centric.

It's so hard to fathom that Leclaire's been retired since the end of the 2010-11 season and that he's still just 34 years old. Those hip injuries not only took a toll on his body, they ruined the best years of his life.

Sure, he never achieved what an 8th overall pick (2001) is expected to, but no one can take away his two silver medals (2002 World Juniors and 2008 World Championships) with Team Canada, both times falling to Russia.

He played with the Jackets more, so it's fitting that this card shows him wearing their blue (home) uniform:
That's card #HM-PL from Upper Deck's 2007-08 Fleer Hot Prospects set and Hot Materials sub-set, with a matching blue game-worn jersey swatch.

I used to love his TPS pad designs, which you can see a bit of on the card but even better below:
They just seem to be perfect at redirecting pucks to the corner, one of the moves I always try to teach young kids first.

Monday, April 24, 2017

Jeff Huson Autographed Card

Jeff Huson was an infielder who was active mostly in the 1990s, starting out with the Montréal Expos in 1988 and 1989, and retiring after spending the summer of 2000 with the Chicago Cubs, which is probably when I got this card signed (seeing as he signed it in fading blue sharpie, something I didn't own in the 1990s):
That's card #69 from Score's 1989 Score collection and Rising Star sub-set, though it just says so on the back of the card:
In 12 years with seven teams in the Majors, Huson participated in 827 games and went to the plate for 2127 at-bats, for a batting average of .234. Although the card says he's got good speed, he only stole 64 career bases, with a high of 18 with the Texas Rangers in 1992. Honestly, having been replaced in the Expos' system with Delino DeShields, there was no way history would be kind to him regarding speed; it's akin to comparing me, present-day, 6'2" and over 250 pounds, with The Flash.

Nowadays, he is a post-game and color analysis commentator of the Colorado Rockies for Root Sports. He, uh, is not universally-acclaimed in that position.

Sunday, April 23, 2017

Colton Teubert Autograph Card

My (remaining) childhood team - the Edmonton Oilers - has eliminated last year's Western Conference finalist San Jose Sharks in a tiring, tight but predictable series and will now face the tougher, bigger, faster and meaner Anaheim Ducks.

The Oilers' defense has not looked this good in at least an entire decade, and team chemistry is at its most cohesive since the 2005-06 Stanley Cup Final run. Even the Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson trade is looking great (addition by subtraction in team spirit and cleaning up the air, adding a quality defensive defenseman, and making room to sign a more physical top-six left winger in Milan Lucic are three huge victory points for Edmonton).

Such a trade would not have been necessary, however, had Colton Teubert panned out as the team expected him to when they traded for him with the Los Angeles Kings (along with first-round and second-round picks, for Dustin Penner). The Oilers took a chance on the 6'4", 210-pound former first round pick (13th overall in 2008) because he'd previously been teammates with Jordan Eberle with the WHL's Regina Pats, making the All-Star Game and having Regina mayor Pat Fiacco proclaim January 8, 2010 as "Jordan Eberle and Colten Teubert Day". Yeah, that happened.

However, the Oilers were pretty bad, and their AHL affiliate Oklahoma City Barons weren't great either, and his development stagnated; he fell into the minuses, took a lot of penalties, and ultimately was forced to sign in Germany to pursue his dream of playing professional hockey. And he's actually doing fine there:
from HockeyDB.com
He has won gold (2008 World U-18 Championships and 2009 World Juniors) and silver (2010 World Juniors) medals playing for Team Canada and, at age 27, seems to have found his groove.

Here he is as a tough Oilers prospect, wearing the classic blue (now-home) uniform on the Bronze variant of card #MM-30 from Panini's 2013-14 Titanium set and Metallic Marks sub-set:
It features a blue-sharpied on-sticker autograph.

Saturday, April 22, 2017

Marcel Dionne Jersey Card

Congratulations are in order for the New York Rangers, who have eliminated the Montréal Canadiens in 6 games and will now likely face the Ottawa Senators in the Atlantic Division Final.

We are nearing the end of Henrik Lundqvist's prime, and he has precious little time to finally earn his first Stanley Cup, which brings me to a former Ranger whose name does not appear on hockey's most sacred chalice, Hall Of Famer Marcel Dionne.

For a long while, the Rangers were the team where old stars made their final big-contract stop before retiring, from Mark Messier's second run to Wayne Gretzky to Doug Harvey to Pavel Bure, and almost Jaromir Jagr, too, had he remained exiled in the KHL instead of coming back across the pond.

Dionne had requested a trade from the Detroit Red Wings, claiming he did not want to be part of a rebuild; in two and a half seasons with the Rangers, he was ousted twice in the first round and failed to make the playoffs once - they didn't rebuild or tank, they just sucked and underachieved. He wasn't so bad himself, posting 42 goals, 56 assists and 98 total points in 118 games in New York, but those aren't the type of numbers that got him an Art Ross, two Lester B. Pearson and two Lady Byng trophies, as well as a Canada Cup title (1976) and three World Championship bronze medals (1978, 1983 and 1986), including the Best Forward award in 1978.

Here he is in Ranger Blue, with a matching game-worn jersey swatch:
That's the "Black" version of card #M-41 from In The Game's 2010-11 Decades - The 1980s set.

Friday, April 21, 2017

Shawn Lalonde Autograph Card

The Chicago Blackhawks should have read my playoff predictions so as to not be disappointed at the outcome of their playoff series against the Nashville Predators, who swept the three-time champions in what many are calling an upset.

What better time to feature Cologne Sharks defenseman Shawn Lalonde, the Hawks' 2008 third-round pick (68th overall), showing him wearing the team's white (away) uniform:
It's the Black version of the signed insert variant of card #336 from Panini's 2013-14 Prizm collection (and Dual Rookie Class sub-set), which also serves as his rookie card in the series.

He's in the mold of Mark Streit and Yannick Weber - and, to a lesser extent, Dustin Byfuglien and Brent Burns - as an offensive defenseman his NHL coach had no idea how to utilize, even spending some time as a forward. In Germany, while manning the blue line, he still gets to finish in his team's top-3 for both points and penalty minutes.

Thursday, April 20, 2017

Steffon Walby Autographed Card

Steffon Walby was a minor-league player for 11 seasons, which included decent AHL seasons with the St. John's Maple Leafs (1993-96), Hershey Bears (1996-97, 1999-2001), Rochester Americans (1998-99) and Kentucky Thoroughblades (1998-99), a fine, quick turn with the IHL's Fort Wayne Komets (1997-98) and a dominating turn in the ECHL with the Mississippi Sea Wolves (2001-04), earning First Team All-Star honors each year:
Courtesy of Hockeydb.com
Following his retirement, he turned to coaching, becoming the first head coach of the Mississippi Surge of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL), winning the 2009-10 Coach of the Year trophy in his inaugural season and the 2010-11 SPHL championship before losing his job over internal politics related to new ownership.

After serving as interim head coach for his son's prep school's team for the 2013-14 season, he was named full-time head coach in April 2014 when he righted the ship at the end of the year.

He had also served as an amateur scout for the Calgary Flames and Tampa Bay Lightning.

He never played an NHL game but had initially been signed as a free agent by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Here he is on card #97 from Classic's 1993-94 Pro Hockey Prospects set, showing him in AHL's St. John's Maple Leafs' blue (away) uniform:
He signed it in large blue sharpie, which leads me to think he signed it around the 2004-05, where he was an associate coach with the Sea Wolves.

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Jaroslav Balastik Autograph Card

One team I expected to win more in this year's playoffs is the Columbus Blue Jackets, who currently trail their series against the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1. They had finished the season 4th overall on the strength of team defense, team toughness, the goaltending of Sergei Bobrovsky, the coaching of John Tortorella and the rise of defenseman Zach Werenski.

The Pens, however, just seem to be able to pull rabbits out of their collective hats every game - and that's saying nothing of Bobrovsky, the heavy favourite to win the Vezina Trophy this season, allowing upwards of 3 goals per game (3.61 average).

Which brings me to a failed Jackets experiment from a decade ago, Jaroslav Balastik, featured here in the team's white (then-home) uniform, on card #JB from Upper Deck's 2005-06 SP Authentic set and Sign Of The Times sub-set:
Balastik was a star in the Czech Extraliga, its best forward for the 2004-05 season and two-time league leader for goals (29 in 2003-04, a mark he replicated in 2007-08, and 30 in 2004-05), as well as playoff goals (9) and points (18), both set in 2003-04, when he led is team to the league championship.

He also won a silver medal with the Czech Team at the 2006 World Championships, which makes it harder to conceive that he only managed to put up 13 goals, 11 assists and 24 points in 74 NHL games over two seasons, and 5 goals, 6 assists and 11 points in 20 games with the AHL's Syracuse Crunch over the same span.

He retired following the 2014-15 season, having spent most of his career with PSG Zlín (parts of 15 seasons), finishing with 277 goals (6th all-time) and 202 assists for 479 points (15th all-time) in 725 games in the best Czech league.

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Dan Blackburn Autographed Card

Congratulations are in order for the New York Rangers, who have tied their first-round series against the Montréal Canadiens on the strength of a 2-1 win tonight. The Habs did play lights-out in the third, but just couldn't solve Henrik Lundqvist, who was royal for the third time in the series.

Speaking of strong Rangers goaltending, Montrealer Dan Blackburn used to be the man-in-waiting between the pipes for the red, white and blue at the turn of the millennium until a shoulder injury forced him to choose between retiring or attempt playing with two blockers and no catching glove, because nerve issues had him incapable of rotating his would-be glove hand; an MCL strain at the Rangers' training camp then put him in a difficult position: he could either retire and receive $6M in insurance money, covering the end of his contract and a bit more, or forfeit any chance of future insurance and try to earn a spot upon recovery. He wisely opted to retire at age 22, his final game a 5-4 loss at the hands of the Canadiens, the team against which he won his first NHL game as the Rangers' second-youngest goalie of all time.

Here he is wearing the Rags' blue Lady Liberty former alternate (one of my favourite alternate uniforms in hockey history) on card #123 from Topps' 2002-03 O-Pee-Chee set and Topps All Star Rookie sub-set:
Most goalies in the set were pictured horizontally. He signed his card in black sharpie in 2002-03.

Injuries are always the ultimate "What If?", but in Blackburn's case, after winning the WHL Playoff MVP award, the CHL's Goalie Of The Year award and leading his Kootenay Ice to a berth in the Memorial Cup,  then making an NHL roster at just 18 years old - the fifth-youngest of all-time in the NHL - the sky was the limit. That, or nerve damage.

Monday, April 17, 2017

Mark Borowiecki Autographed Custom Card

After initially having been thought of as a two-way defenseman, Mark Borowiecki has found a niche on the Ottawa Senators' bottom-two pairs as a defensive-minded blue-liner who dishes out punishing hits, earning the nickname "BoroCop" as well as upwards of 100 penalty minutes in the past three seasons, including a career-high 154 in 2016-17.

He will not be suiting up against the physical Boston Bruins tonight, however, as he suffered a leg injury in the last game; 22-year-old rookie Ben Harpur will take his place, bringing a bit more skill to his game and having reportedly worked on adding some aggressiveness to his play with the Binghamton Senators this year.

Borowiecki, also a Sens home-grown player, won the Calder Cup with the Baby Sens in 2011. Of note that after a four-year exile, Binghamton is now coached by Kurt Kleinendorst, the same man who brought them their AHL title back when BoroCop was manning their blue line. Full Circle, I like that.

Borowiecki slots in perfectly as #74 in my Sens Numbers Project with this custom signed card from Ottawa-area collector BG's 2015-16 Custom Set:
It shows him wearing the Senators' white (away) uniform, fighting for positioning and puck control along the boards.

Sunday, April 16, 2017

Émile Poirier Autograph Card

Back when he was drafted (22nd overall by the Calgary Flames in 2013), I thought expectations towards Émile Poirier needed to be tempered a bit; this was not top-level, top-line talent, but would have been a very nice second-round pick.

He's 6'1", 185 pounds and gaining weight, and has proven he can score in the LHJMQ with 32- and a 43-goal seasons for the Gatineau Olympiques, and he had a fine rookie season in the AHL in 2014-15, posting 19 goals and 23 assists for 42 points in 55 games with the Adirondack Flames, playing in the AHL All-Star Game in the process. He fell to 29 points in 60 games the following season and 17 (6 goals) in 43 games this year.

Where does his real potential lie? As a middle-six left winger. He's still learning, still growing, still just 22 years old.  Imagine a three-power-forward line comprised of Sam Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk and Poirier, each playing a heavy-hitting game and garnering between 40 and 60 points apiece... that would be nice. I'm no longer certain Bennett will hit that peak, but I'm pretty sure Tkachuk will develop nicely. All three need grooming, that's for certain.

I have at least two more cards of his to showcase, so I'll be keeping you abreast of my impressions throughout his development. In the meantime, here he is sporting the Flames' red (home) uniform, wearing the #57 jersey that slots him perfectly in my Flames Numbers Project, on the signed insert version of card #234 from Upper Deck's 2015-16 SP Authentic set:
It's signed on-card in blue sharpie, part of the Future Watch sub-set and numbered 762/999.

Friday, April 14, 2017

Noah Hanifin Jersey Card

Team USA has announced two more entries for its young 2017 World Championships team, including Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Noah Hanifin. I have him in my keeper pool, but honestly, I can never put my faith in the Canes; even this season, I had predicted they'd finish last in their division, perhaps even in the East; I was wrong, as they finished a whole 17 points ahead of the New Jersey Devils - what a shit-show there - but second-to-last in their division is nothing to be proud of.

They have a young and talented defense, but two goalies (Cam Ward and Eddie Lack) and a head coach (Bill Peters) who are in way over their heads, and a forward corps that lacks three first-liners to slot everyone in their current top-9 back a peg and perhaps into a more proper ranking. GM Ron Francis might not get a chance to move with the team to Québec if he can't right the ship by next Christmas.

Which means Hanifin may eventually become the new Québec Nordiques' captain eventually... provided he doesn't get snatched by the Vegas Golden Knights this summer. Here he is wearing the Canes' current red (home) uniform, not a bad look, but I preferred their previous red one with stuff happening on their shoulders:
That's card #FT-NH from Upper Deck's 2015-16 Ice set and Fresh Threads sub-set, that features a matching red jersey swatch from a rookie photo shoot.

Thursday, April 13, 2017

Pekka Rinne Autograph Card

They said Pekka Rinne was over the hill, and that the Chicago Blackhawks would beat the Nashville Predators easily in the first round of the 2017 NHL playoffs (God I hate agreeing with Arpon Basu, the only NHL.com who picked the Preds to win the series; read my full predictions here).

And yet, off a 29-save Rinne shutout, the Preds took Game 1 at Chicago's United Center to take the lead and steal home-ice advantage from the Hawks.

Rinne's had a decent season, finishing with a 31-19-9 record with 3 shutouts (against the Anaheim Ducks, Edmonton Oilers, and Minnesota Wild, all potential playoff adversaries), a .918 save percentage and 2.42 goals-against average. The latter may seem a tad high in today's NHL, but keep in mind that Nashville spent a month and a half finding its game after the Shea Weber/P.K. Subban trade, and just when they'd found their rhythm, Subban injured his back for a month, case the team to go on a bit of a losing streak.

They could definitely surprise a few people here. I'd love it if they made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final and faced their former coach Barry Trotz and his Washington Capitals...

As I mentioned in my prediction, however, that will require Rinne to play like the perennial Vezina runner-up that he used to be at least a dozen times, but I think he can do it. Here he is wearing the Preds' current white (away) uniform, on card #US-PR from Upper Deck's 2011-12 Ultimate Collection set and Ultimate Signatures sub-set:
It features an on-card autograph, signed it blue sharpie.

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Brad Stuart Autographed Card

The Boston Bruins, despite a litany of injuries and not securing a single shot on the opposition's net in the entire second period, have beaten the Ottawa Senators tonight on a late goal by Brad Marchand.

I stand by my prediction that the Sens will take it in 6, but they may finish more exhausted and bruised than I initially thought.

The Bs have had nice uniforms, more often than not, in their 93-year history. I could do without the yellow uniforms of the early 1940s and alternates from 1995-2006, but generally speaking, although they tweak them a lot for an Original Six team, they stay within the boundaries of their classic, tried-and-true look.

One such uniforms is the white (home) one worn by Brad Stuart on card #18 from Upper Deck's 2006-07 Victory set:
He signed it in blue sharpie during his time with the Detroit Red Wings, probably in November 2009.

He went through back surgery six games into last season and hasn't played since, the Colorado Avalanche having bought him out at season's end. It's assumed he'll retire this summer after a full season of not playing and with NHL teams looking for fast, young blue-liners.

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Martin Biron Jersey Card

This is a Philadelphia Flyers uniform I was never on board with, the alternate from the 2002-07 years, as seen on card #DDJ-BI from Upper Deck's 2007-08 Black Diamond set (and Black Diamond Jersey sub-set):
It features Martin Biron, one of about two dozen goalies who were not given a very long chance at being the team's #1 goalie in the past three decades, and a reddish game-worn jersey swatch.

The thing with the Flyers is they are pretty good at reaching the Conference Finals or even the Stanley Cup Final at least once per decade, but they are also prone to awful seasons where they finish near the bottom of the league standings; when it's the latter, they usually completely overhaul the goalie position, focusing the blame on poor goaltending, but they rarely view the puck stoppers are a reason for their success.

They are pretty much a goaltender cemetery. This year should be no exception, as blame for the team's failures will likely fall on Steve Mason's shoulders despite the offense and coaching being, in my opinion, the main culprits of their fall, centered around a pretty bad losing streak around the All-Star Game.

Monday, April 10, 2017

Rob Blake Autograph Card

Depending how you look at it, the Los Angeles Kings either succumbed to public pressure or didn't fall prey to feelings and matters of the heart when they fired GM Dean Lombardi and head coach Darryl Sutter earlier today, i.e. the two architects of the team's pair of Stanley Cups.

The coach has yet to be named, but stepping into the spotlight as the general manager will be Rob Blake, the team's former two-time captain and Lombardi's assistant since 2013. He was on board for the 2014 Cup, and had also won one as a player with the Colorado Avalanche.

The question on everyone's mind is how the former Team Canada star will fare as a GM, whether he'll be more like Joe Sakic (currently in over his head and hurting the Avs' chances by not improving their defense) or more like Steve Yzerman (building a contender with his Tampa Bay Lightning).

Still, he's already in the Hall Of Fame as a Norris Trophy winner two-team captain (he also wore the "C" with the San Jose Sharks before retiring) and member of the Triple Gold Club (the 2001 Cup, 1994 and 1997 World Championship gold and 2002 Olympic gold); there's no chance he can ruin his playing legacy even if he fails to build a championship team in L.A.

Here he is as captain of the Kings, wearing their old white (with purple, black and silver accents) uniform, on the signed (silver) insert version of card #212 from In The Game's 1998-99 Be A Player set:
It's signed on-card in thin blue sharpie.

Sunday, April 9, 2017

Henrik Zetterberg Jersey Card

If you know anything about me, you know I'm a romantic at heart. And not just beneath a gruff exterior - though I do have one - but I actually wear my heart on my sleeve at all times. I'm the type of guy who would drink a case of 24 beers in 24 hours at a rate of one per hour with friends in the summer, just to bask in the experience of spending an uninterrupted day of laid-back good times.

So when a scheduling quirk - a postponed game - made it so that Detroit Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg was going to play his 1000th NHL game on the final, farewell night of Joe Louis Arena, I almost cried. Then I saw a few of the tributes to the Joe and actually did:


Growing up in the 1980s, there was talk of Original Six teams and all, but most of them were a joke: the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks hadn't won a Stanley Cup since before my parents were born, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins hadn't won since my parents were kids - although the Bruins came close in 1988 and 1990, falling to my Edmonton Oilers both times - and the Wings would sometimes fail to make the playoffs altogether in a division where four teams made it and the same number of teams usually played below .500. The Montréal Canadiens were the only Original Six team that remained among the league's prestigious clubs, though 1995 was just around the corner, and with it a decade of shame.

Pre-salary cap, when owner Mike Illitch bought the Wings - and the Detroit Tigers, really - he went all-out to have his teams be as best as possible, hiring the best people to make the best decisions to best represent his beloved city. The Wings were among the league's biggest spenders - with the Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and Colorado Avalanche - and purchased themselves the last consecutive champion teams (1997 and 1998) and a 2002 championship by developping their own talent to build around, sure (Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Steve Yzerman, Nicklas Lidstrom, Sergei Fedorov, Chris Osgood) but also signing the best available veterans who agreed to leave their egos at home and step into specific roles that went against everything individual achievement they may have accomplished in the past, including the likes of highest-scoring left winger Luc Robitaille, highest-scoring right winger Brett Hull, most over-rated right winger Brendan Shanahan, one of the best defensemen of all time in Chris Chelios, and former-star-goalies-for-hire Mike Vernon, Curtis Joseph and Dominik Hasek.

Lidstrom, Datsyuk and Zetterberg - along with a fine supporting cast - helped Detroit reach the third-longest consecutive playoff streak with 25 despite the salary cap era bringing forth unparalleled parity, a streak that ended this season. Now, Lidstrom's in the Hall Of Fame, Datsyuk is playing his final season(s) in Russia, and Zetterberg's 36 years old, which didn't stop him from leading the Wings in points with 68 in 82 games, good for 904 in 1000 games so far. He also has 120 in 137 playoff games.

Here he is wearing the Winged Wheel's white (then-home) uniform, on card #MM-HZ from Upper Deck's 2005-06 Bee Hive set and Matted Materials sub-set, which features a red game-worn jersey swatch:
Like a card I featured nearly four years ago, it shows both Zetterberg and Lidstrom (in the background), the Wings' back-to-back Swedish captains.

He's an Olympian gold (2006) and silver (2014) medalist with Team Sweden, and also holds all three medal types from the World Championships: gold (2006), silver (2003), and bronze (2001 and 2002).

Saturday, April 8, 2017

Tye McGinn Autograph Card

This entire card will not be making the NHL playoffs this year:
The Philadelphia Flyers were eliminated more than a week ago, so that took care of that. Then, Tye McGinn, now part of the Tampa Bay Lightning's depth chart - he suited up in two games last season with no points or penalty minutes and suffered a pretty bad injury in late October that compromised his AHL season - who were also eliminated, along with the New York Islanders, when the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, will also not see NHL postseason action this year.

And, of course, this is the signed insert version - a blue-sharpied, on-sticker autograph - of card #626 from Panini's 2013-14 Score set and Hot Rookies and Dual Rookie Class sub-sets, showing McGinn wearing the Flyers' current/retro orange (now-home) uniform... and Panini is no longer an NHL-licensed card manufacturer after the second post-lockout backroom deal cut by Upper Deck in ten years.

It should be noted that McGinn was nearly a point-per-game player upon his return, with 16 points (9 goals and 7 assists) in 19 games with the Syracuse Crunch. He had accepted a drop of salary entering the 2016-17 season, going from $625K to $550K, and I'm guessing the Bolts will not re-sign him this summer. I'm curious to see where he'll end up.

Friday, April 7, 2017

Joe Nieuwendyk Autographed Card

I consider things as being "back to normal" when teams from my youth such as the Montréal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames make the playoffs, so things are, indeed, back to normal on that front. The Toronto Maple Leafs are also on the verge of clinching a playoff spot ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Islanders, which I would have preferred been avoided, but considering they'll be facing either the Washington Capitals or Ottawa Senators, I'm fairly confident they'll lose in the first round anyway.

The Flames played in the strongest division of the 1980s, with the Oilers and Winnipeg Jets as powerhouses, which didn't stop them from winning the Presidents Trophy in 1987-88 and 1988-89, and winning the Stanley Cup to close out the decade year as well, in addition to losing to the Habs in the 1986 Final. They were truly a force, with the likes of Doug Gilmour, Theoren Fleury, Joe Mullen, Sergei Makarov, Joe Nieuwendyk and Joel Otto up front, Al MacInnis and Gary Suter out back and Mike Vernon between the pipes.

Sure, I put Nieuwendyk fifth on that list, and I always viewed him as an over-achiever, but the truth of the matter is he did achieve all the things that had him inducted in the Hall Of Fame in 2011 and among the league's Top-100 players at last February's Centennial All-Star celebrations (that part is definitely an aberration, considering players like Jarome Iginla and Joe Thornton didn't make the cut).

Here are the facts: he was only the second rookie to ever score 50 goals in a single season, winning the Calder Trophy in the process. He won Stanley Cups with three different organizations (the Flames in '89, the Dallas Stars in '99 and the New Jersey Devils in 2003), winning a Conn Smythe in 1999 that could have easily gone to Mike Modano (who had two more points), Brett Hull (who scored the winning goal and played fine two-way hockey), Ed Belfour (who posted a .930 save percentage and 1.67 goals-against average with three shutouts) or even Dominik Hasek (.939 and 1.77 despite losing the Final 4 games to 2).

He played in two Olympics, posting 5 points in 6 games as Team Canada choked like never before or since at the 1998 Nagano Games but won gold at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games as a fourth-liner, with two points in 6 games. So, yeah, you can add Olympic gold to his resume, as well as silver from the 1986 World Juniors.

Add to that a King Clancy Trophy (for community and charity work) and you have yourself a fairly distinguished career...

All told, he scored 564 goals to go with 562 assists and 1126 points in 1257 regular-season games, having hit the 90-point mark twice, but never 100. He also has 116 points (66 goals and 50 assists) in 158 playoff games. Failing to post a career point-per-game average in either regular-season or postseason play, to me, says "semi-star" instead of "superstar", which should have excluded him from the Hall, but I'm still glad to have him serve as #25 and captain in my Flames Numbers Project:
That's, fittingly, card #25 in Fleer's 1992-93 Fleer Ultra set, which he signed in blue sharpie either in 2003-04 (while with the Leafs) or 2005-06 (with the Florida Panthers), after a game against the Sens in Ottawa.

Thursday, April 6, 2017

Steve Konowalchuk Autograph Card

The Washington Capitals have clinched the Presidents' Trophy for the second consecutive season, but getting out of the Metropolitan Division won't be a cakewalk, seeing as it's home to three of the top five teams in the league - points-wise, at least, although the division's basement-dwellers were among the worst in the league - but it must be pointed out that one of those will be eliminated when the Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Columbus Blue Jackets. Hopefully, the Jackets make it through.

The Caps really are a force, having the most offensive depth in the league (Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Justin Williams, André Burakovsky, Tom Wilson, Marcus Johansson, Lars Eller, Daniel Winnik, and Jay Beagle), the best goalie in the game in Braden Holtby, a very reliable defense that operates without a superstar (John Carlson, Dmitry Orlov, Matt Niskanen, Karl Alzner, Brooks Orpik, trade deadline acquisition Kevin Shattenkirk, Nate Schmidt, John Erskine and Taylor Chorney), and one of the best coaching minds in the league in Barry Trotz.

Here's an error card of former Cap two-way center Steve Konowalchuk (spelled "Konowalchuk"), showing him with the team's turn-of-the-millennium dark blue (away) uniform with the Capitol building logo, which is the signed silver version insert of card #13 from In The Game's 2000-01 Be A Player Signature Series set, autographed on-card in thin black sharpie:
When he first joined the Caps, who had drafted him 58th overall in 1991, he was slotted behind Dale Hunter, Dave Poulin, Michal Pivonka and Joé Juneau but climbed the ranks steadily, earning his teammates' respect enough to serve as captain (2001-03) until he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche. He could be depended upon for 40-some points each season in the era between the first two Gary Bettman-led lockouts (from 1995-96 until 2003-04).

He earned enough league-wide respect to not only be selected as a depth player for Team USA's 1996 World Cup run, but even to suit up in a game and help it earn the win. He also played in the 2000 (5th-place finish) and 2002 (7th place) World Championships.

Following his playing career, he spent time with the Avs in player development roles and two seasons as an assistant coach before becoming the WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds head coach in 2011-12; the team lost in the Finals last season and boasts an even better record (46-20-0, for a .681 win percentage) this year.

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Clarke MacArthur Autographed Card

Back in January, the Ottawa Senators announced they were shutting Clarke MacArthur down for the season due to post-concussion syndrome, and many thought it spelled the end for his career.

Until last night, when he suited up in a 2-0 win against the Detroit Red Wings:

It was only his fifth game since the start of the 2015-16 season.

This was 18 months in the making, and a grand moment for him and his family. We'll see where that leads, as concussions have a sneaky way of being symptom-free for a day or two then hitting back with a vengeance - and notwithstanding the fact that the playoffs are right around the corner and usually involve heavier hitting than the regular season - but, for now, this is a pure and positive a story as can be.

I wish him luck and health going forward.

Here he is wearing the Sens' white (now-away) uniform, on card #406 from Upper Deck's 2013-14 Series 2 set, which he signed in (fading) blue sharpie:
It depicts him fighting for the puck in front of then-Anaheim Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen, now with MacArthur's former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs... the Sens' likely first round opponents.

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Paul Kariya Dual Jersey Card

It turns out the St. Louis Blues will be making the playoffs after all, despite having traded defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk and fired head coach Ken Hitchcock. Good for them, though they will likely face the Minnesota Wild - no small task, considering they led the league standings nearly all year.

The Blues are one of two teams - with the Colorado Avalanche - with whom Paul Kariya has not had a point-per-game season. He was, of course, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim's long-time captain, but many folks forget he also holds the Nashville Predators' team single-season marks for assists (54) and points (85), both set in 2005-06.

Kariya retired after taking the 2010-11 season off altogether while recovering from the many concussions he incurred during his career, which he ended with exactly 989 points (402 goals and 587 assists) in 989 regular-season games; it would have been nice to see him reach the 1000-point mark, but alas, like Wayne Gretzky before him, he fell victim to Gary Suter's medecine: a cross-check to the head that forced him to miss the 1998 Olympics. Gretzky had been cross-checked in the back during the 1991 Canada Cup.

Upon retiring, Kariya had some strong words towards the NHL's safety measures and correctional department. Things haven't changed all that much since - except for the fact that Kariya no longer attends games or cares about hockey.

Here he is wearing the Blues' post-lockout blue (home) uniform, on card #FF-PK from Upper Deck's 2007-08 Ice collection and Frozen Fabrics sub-set:
It features grey and white game-worn jersey swatches taken from the Preds' post-lockout uniforms.

Monday, April 3, 2017

Oliver Ekman-Larsson Autographed 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)

Oliver Ekman-Larsson will miss the Arizona Coyotes' final (and very meaningless) games as he will travel back to Sweden to attend his mother's funeral, then take time to grieve.

He'll turn 26 this summer, and the Coyotes are about to waste his prime years by remaining bottom-dwellers for at least two or three more seasons. And with the NHL now saying they won't be sending their players at next year's Olympics, the league may also be robbing him of a chance at another medal, after helping Team Sweden to silver at the 2014 Sochi Games.

He's yet to capture gold at any level, having also won silver at the 2011 World Championship, as well as bronze at the 2010 World Juniors, 2010 Worlds and 2016 World Cup.

He's literally All-World and holds the NHL record for most game-winning goals by a defenseman in a single season, with 8 - again, on the Coyotes, who barely win more than 8 games per season as a team. He's also the franchise's all-time leader in powerplay goals by a defenseman, having tied the Winnipeg Jets' 1980s reliable Fredrik Olausson last month, with two years remaining on his current contract and possibly a decade left playing the sport.

This year, there's pretty much no way the Norris Trophy doesn't go to Brent Burns. Erik Karlsson is probably still the best defenseman in the world, skill-wise, while Duncan Keith is probably the "best package".

The rest of the "current elite" class has to include Victor Hedman, P.K. Subban, Aaron Ekblad, Roman Josi, Mark Giordano, Kris Letang, Ryan McDonagh, Marc-Édouard Vlasic, John Carlson, Alex Pietrangelo and Ekman-Larsson, while the "still pretty great but on their way down" crowd includes the likes of Dustin Byfuglien, Zdeno Chara, Shea Weber, Drew Doughty, Ryan Suter, and Andrei Markov. The likes of Seth Jones and Zach Werenski are on the rise.

That is a mighty clogged list of defensemen deserving of end-of-the-year accolades, a rich crop reminiscent of the 1980s (Ray Bourque, Chris Chelios, Brian Leetch, Éric Desjardins, Larry Robinson, Al MacInnis, Denis Potvin, Mark Howe, Paul Coffey, Phil Housley, Gary Suter, Scott Stevens, Steve Duchesne, Doug Wilson, and so forth), so he may never get his hands on a Norris.

Our thoughts are with Ekman-Larsson in these hard times.

Here he is sporting the Phoenix Coyotes' former alternate uniform, on card #639 from Panini's 2010-11 Score Rookies And Traded set and Hot Rookies sub-set, which he signed in blue sharpie:
At this point, I'm tired of how pathetic the Coyotes franchise has become. I feel sorry for every talented player they have for how inept their management and ownership has been, is, and likely will remain. They are a joke, which isn't funny for players like Shane Doan, Ekman-Larsson, Max Domi, Anthony Duclair and a slew of other kids whose dreams are about to get shattered by the incompetence of those tasked with developing them.

Sunday, April 2, 2017

Andrei Kovalenko Autographed Card

After entering him in my Oilers Numbers Project back in August, I thought I should feature Andrei Kovalenko once more to enshrine him as #51 in my Nordiques Numbers Project once and for all as well.

The 68 points (27 goals and 41 assists) he posted in his rookie season (1992-93) were not only a career-high for him, but also tops for a wearer of #51 in Québec Nordiques history, which makes him the perfect entry for said number, with card #122 from Leaf's 1993-94 Series 1 set, which he signed in blue sharpie:
What a beautiful uniform; this version, with the jersey numbers contoured in white, is particularly remarkable. That's the team's blue (away) uniform. He's seen here fighting for territorial advantage with the New York Rangers' Sergei Zubov, probably right after a face-off.

Saturday, April 1, 2017

Kris King Autograph card

Kris King is the type of grinder that not everyone remembers the same way. His career-high in goals (11), assists (14) and points (25) all came in the high-scoring 199-91 season as a member of the New York Rangers, good for 11th on the team - which didn't even include Tony Amonte and Doug Weight, who only played in the postseason.

Most remember him for being a tough guy, twice surpassing the 200-PIM mark (286 in 1989-90 with the Rangers, 2005 in 1993-94 whilst with the Winnipeg Jets, and another 199 in 1997-98 with the Toronto Maple Leafs).

Those with pretty good memories will remember he also captained the Jets during the 1995-96 season, after superstar and previous captain Keith Tkachuk signed an offer sheet with the Chicago Blackhawks; the Jets didn't want their locker room leader to be a defector, so they punished him by making likeable King the face of the franchise; other options included superstar Teemu Selanne, long-time defenseman Teppo Numminen, veteran Ed Olkzyk, tough defenseman Dave Manson, and rookie Shane Doan.

Here's a card depicting him as such:
That's card #A-KK from In The Game's 2012-13 Decades - The 1990s set (and Autograph sub-set), which he signed on-card in black sharpie.

It was after his lone season as captain - the team gave the title back to Tkachuk upon moving to Phoenix - that King was awarded the King Clancy Trophy, which combines leadership and humanitarian qualities.

Nowadays, he works for the NHL's Toronto office, as Senior Director of Hockey Operations.