Blue Jackets Preview: Pierre-Luc Dubois: Two Autographed Cards

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: 2020 is a different beast and requires adaptability; in my case, it means the joint posts with my "main/personal" blog will not be in the "player here/analysis there" format but rather the entire scope of the analysis will take place here and the player will have some sort of direct connection to what's written. Caveats: at this point, despite the season being set to start in Mid-January, several impact players haven't found a team yet and quite a few teams are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much maneuvering left to do.

That being said, one team that benefits from the temporary realignment is without question the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are plucked from the very competitive Metropolitan Division and transferred to the Central Division with the lowly Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks.

The Jackets made cap room in the hopes of enticing a high-priced free agent or two to move to Ohio, and in the process only really lost oft-injured middle pairing defenseman Ryan Murray, while the top pair of Seth Jones and Zach Werenski remains intact, as does the goaltending duo of Elvis Merzlikins and Joonas Korpisalo, which along with John Tortorella's system and style keeps them in the mix with division leaders Tampa Bay Lightning and slightly ahead of rivals Carolina Hurricanes and Nashville Predators with the quality of goaltending.

What makes their odds look good:
Jones and Werenski are one of the best defensive pairs in the NHL, Tortorella is one of the best motivators in the game, Cam Atkinson is a goal-scoring machine, and Pierre-Luc Dubois looks poised to take on the #1 centre job with aplomb. They have no glaring weaknesses and form one of the tightest team units in the league.

Question marks:
The Blue Jackets traded away hulking presence Josh Anderson - who scored 27 goals a couple of seasons ago but just 1 in 26 games in 2019-20 after a serious injury - for Max Domi, a small agitator who had never been a centre before two seasons ago and now has it in his head that he's a star at the position; he had 17 goals and 44 points in 71 games last season while watching two rookies pass him by on the Montréal Canadiens depth chart. Free agent signing Mikko Koivu captained the Minnesota Wild for the bulk of twelve years and they still saw fit to cut ties with him instead of letting him stay there as their bottom-six center. At 37 years old, last season's 21 points in 55 regular-season games and a blank slate on 4 postseason outings may be a sign that he's reached the end of a superb career.

Outlook:
Nashville's window has closed and they're on the way down until they can add forwards who can score, Chicago and Detroit are still in the bottoming-out phase of their rebuilds, and the Wild are opting for a retool-on-the-fly which will have them oscillate between mediocre and bad for two or three years, which leaves the Bolts, Canes, and Florida Panthers as serious foes for Columbus. That's good enough for me.

Prediction:
Second in the Central Division.

Earlier today, Dubois signed a reasonable two-year bridge deal carrying a $5M cap hit that "only" takes him to a $6.65M qualifying offer to retain his services after it, when he will remain a restricted free agent. GM Jarmo Kekalainen did a good job with this one, showing his young star faith while not strapping the cap in seasons that will still be formative to the young Quebecer.

There have been rumours that he's asked for a trade, and I could see the Ottawa Senators being interested and having the assets required to make that kind of deal, but I think Dubois may have a preference for other Canadian teams - the Habs, for instance, and also the Winnipeg Jets and Vancouver Canucks - but the #1C/2C spots seem pretty set in stone for all of them at the moment.

Still, now's a good time to revisit his time with Team Canada, first with card #58 from Upper Deck's 2016-17 Team Canada Juniors/Women set, where he's seen wearing #8 at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, scoring twice in the gold medal-clinching game against Team Sweden:

He also wore #18 at the 2017 World Juniors as seen on card #8 from UD's 2017-18 Team Canada Juniors/Women set:

He posted 5 assists in 7 games to help Canada to a silver medal at that tournament. He signed both cards during the 2018-19 season.

Isles Preview: Johnny Boychuk: Three Autographed Cards

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: 2020 is a different beast and requires adaptability; in my case, it means the joint posts with my "main/personal" blog will not be in the "player here/analysis there" format but rather the entire scope of the analysis will take place here and the player will have some sort of direct connection to what's written. Caveats: at this point, despite the season being set to start in Mid-January, several impact players haven't found a team yet and quite a few teams are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much maneuvering left to do.

The New York Islanders have the best coach in the business in Barry Trotz, and they remain one of the better-balanced teams in the NHL, with one star in the making in Mathew Barzal up front and an ensemble cast of selfless players.

What makes their odds look good:
Trotz has devised a defensive plan that can shut down just about anyone that three full lines of second-liners take pride in adhering to, with an effective defense and pair of goalies that make it work every night. Add Barzal and a few prospects like Oliver Wahlstrom who may or may not end up on his level - but doesn't even need to to succeed with this team.

Question marks:
Are Jordan Eberle's days as a 20-goal, 60-point player behind him? Does anyone realize Josh Ho-Sang is still in the Isles organization?

Outlook:
Most of the team's core is under the age of 30: Barzal is 23, Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock are 26, Jean-Gabriel Pageau is 28, Brock Nelson and Nick Leddy are 29, Anthony Beauvillier is still just 23 and Anders Lee and Eberle are 30 on the dot. This team will make the playoffs for five of the next six seasons.

Prediction:
Third in the East/Metro.

One player whose run with the Isles has come to an end is Johnny Boychuk, whose eye injury against the Montréal Canadiens right before the pandemic struck last season has left him with bad peripheral vision, forcing him to retire. The dependable rearguard was a fixture on the Islanders' blue line for six seasons, after six years in the Boston Bruins organization and four in the Colorado Avalanche system. He went on two Stanley Cup runs with the Bruins, winning it in 2011 and losing the Final to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013.

Here is what he looked like wearing the Islanders' classic white (now-away) uniform, on card #657 from Upper Deck's 2015-16 MVP collection:

Here he is shooting from the point in the team's blue (home) uniform with the 2014-15 patch commemorating the move from Nassau Coliseum to Barclay's, sporting the alternate captain's "A", on card #375 from Upper Deck's 2015-16 Series 2 collection:

And here he is once again in blue, this time with the NHL's 100th Anniversary patch oddly placed below the jersey number instead of on the shoulder, on card #323 fro UD's 2017-18 O-Pee-Chee set:

He signed them in black sharpie after a game in Montréal during the 2018-19 season.

Preds Preview: Viktor Arvidsson Jersey Card

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: 2020 is a different beast and requires adaptability; in my case, it means the joint posts with my "main/personal" blog will not be in the "player here/analysis there" format but rather the entire scope of the analysis will take place here and the player will have some sort of direct connection to what's written. Caveats: at this point, despite the season being set to start in Mid-January, several impact players haven't found a team yet and quite a few teams are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much maneuvering left to do.

Everyone not named Roman Josi or Ryan Ellis was a disappointment for the Nashville Predators (buying from team links may get me paid) in 2019-20, which is why four regular NHLers (Kyle Turris, Craig Smith, Nick Bonino and Austin Watson) were let go in the postseason, replaced by six skaters (Mark Borowiecki, Luke Kunin, Nick Cousins, Brad Richardson, Matt Benning and Tyler Lewington).

What makes their odds look good:
They were Stanley Cup finalists and Presidents' Trophy winners not too long ago, they're integrating youngsters like defenseman Dante Fabbro and goalie Juuse Saros carefully and methodically, and have skill at every position.

Question marks:
Why did they hire John Hynes as head coach? Can either Saros or Pekka Rinne get it together in net and keep the Preds in contention for a playoff spot in a Central Division that now includes the reigning Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning?

Outlook:
Hynes notwithstanding, GM David Poile has chosen as a theme for his centermen players who had asked for trades from their previous teams; even with Turris gone, he still has Ryan Johansen and Matt Duchene who fit that desciption, two players who believe themselves to be #1 centers, neither of whom has ever played like one, and yet both are paid like one. That is how you end up with nine wingers who produce like they're on a middle-six and never an elite, 40-goal scorer. It's not like they still have Barry Trotz behind the bench keeping the team's goals-against average under 2 per game.

Prediction:
Sixth in the Central Division.

There is talent there, it's not so bleak, particularly in the same division as the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks, but not enough to compare with the Bolts, and without as effective a system as the Columbus Blue Jackets or Dallas Stars, and with a blue line that has now been surpassed by that of the Carolina Hurricanes.

One player who has to step up and regain his form is Viktor Arvidsson, who has hit the 61-point mark twice in a row, leading the team in 2016-17 and finishing second behind Filip Forsberg's 64 in 2017-18. His career-high 34 goals in 2018-19 actually stands as the Predators' team record, and he often displays a lot of skill with open ice. He also has a tendency to score game-winning goals. Here he is wearing Nashville's white (away) uniform on card #GJ-VA from Upper Deck's 2020-21 Series 1 set and UD Game Jersey sub-set, which I pulled less than two weeks ago:

It features a matching game-worn jersey swatch that is well-integrated in the design of the card, as the tape on a stick.

Internationally, Arvidsson plays for Team Sweden, upgrading his medal collecting at seemingly every turn, going from U-17 and Hlinka Cup (2010) bronze, to U-18 (2011) and World Juniors (2013) silver, to World Championship gold (2018). Playing for Sweden, Olympic gold and a World Cup title are both strong possibilities.

Kings Preview: Anze Kopitar Jersey Card

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: 2020 is a different beast and requires adaptability; in my case, it means the joint posts with my "main/personal" blog will not be in the "player here/analysis there" format but rather the entire scope of the analysis will take place here and the player will have some sort of direct connection to what's written. Caveats: at this point, despite the season being set to start in Mid-January, several impact players haven't found a team yet and quite a few teams are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much maneuvering left to do.

The present and recent past have been bleak, but the Los Angeles Kings (team links are ads for which I may eventually get paid) have positives they can build on: they were the only team in the NHL that didn't surrender a single goal while on the powerplay last season and they finished 13th in the league in goals against, as Calvin Petersen looks poised to steal more starts away from future Hall Of Famer Jonathan Quick. They also seem to have drafted well, they just need to ride out bad (or in the case of Jeff Carter, merely "too long") contracts to veterans to make room for that talent before it gets overpriced, too.

What makes their odds look good:
The Kings have more blue-chip prospects than dependable NHLers right now: Quinton Byfield, Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Turcotte, Samuel Fagemo... unfortunately, they're all huge power forwards who will take years to reach their prime, so instead of being two or three years away from dominance, think four or five. That's a long time with no offense and rookie mistakes, but it will be exciting. They also have a ton of players who have won Stanley Cups, and although they're are generally trending downwards, they can at least dispense experience and are not adverse to each having a miracle rejuvenation in a shortened season. If "anything is possible", then of all the teams I've excluded in the playoffs, my "long-shot" betting money would be on the Kings to make a surprise deep run.

Question marks:
Is Drew Doughty already in a steep decline? How long will Dustin Brown be kept around? These physical players don't typically have a long shelf life. How long will L.A. keep putting Quick between the pipes?

Outlook:
Some teams will be out of their rebuilding phases soon, your Ottawa Senators in a year, your Detroit Red Wings in two or three. The Kings took a longer route, that of waiting out long contracts, which means they will actually hit cap connundrums right before turning into contenders, as this current wave of youngsters age out of their rookie and bridge deals and into lucrative prime years, while they fight for pretty much the same spots, and the team will have to choose between top-five picks from a five-year gap to fit into the lineup. So the playoffs are a ways away, and contention a little further still. But I see the Kings ahead of the other two California teams.

Prediction:
Sixth in the West.

One player who's had his ups and downs since the Cup-winning days of 2011-12 and 2013-14 is current captain Anze Kopitar, the first Slovene to play in the NHL, a towering two-way center who almost always gets his 60 points per year but whose plus/minus stats oscillate greatly from year to year:

Take a look starting in 2013-14: +34 (Selke Trophy win), -2, +34 (Selke), -10, +21, -20, +6, -1... lesser players have had their contracts bought out for that kind of inconsistency, but Kopitar hasn't even been the most at-risk of that happening on his own line. He is due to hit a few milestones this season, notably the 100th-best rank on the career points list, surpassing defenseman Larry Robinson's 958; Kopitar stands at 950, meaning he likely won't hit the 1000 mark this year in a 56-game season, but definitely early in the 2021-22 campaign. Should he play in at least 40 contests this year, he will surpass both Luc Robitaille and Dave Taylor and stand second of all-time for games played by a King. Here he is wearing Los Angeles' white (away) uniform from 2007-11 (the team also used a version of it as its home version with a more elaborate bottom than just the "Los Angeles" wordmark from 1998 until 2002):

That's card #GJ-KO from Upper Deck's 2011-12 Series 1 collection and UD Game Jersey sub-set, featuring a matching white game-worn jersey swatch. Although, for obvious reasons, he has never medaled with Team Slovenia at the U18s (three times), World Juniors (three times), World Championships (six times), and Olympics (twice), he was a member of the Team Europe squad that finished as runner-up to champion Team Canada at the 2016 World Cup and had an assist in the first game of two in the Final.

Wings Preview: Keith Primeau Patch Card

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: 2020 is a different beast and requires adaptability; in my case, it means the joint posts with my "main/personal" blog will not be in the "player here/analysis there" format but rather the entire scope of the analysis will take place here and the player will have some sort of direct connection to what's written. Caveats: at this point, despite the season being set to start in Mid-January, several impact players haven't found a team yet and quite a few teams are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much maneuvering left to do.

GM Steve Yzerman was always going to come back to his Detroit Red Wings roots and try to build a contender in the city where he won three Stanley Cups as a player, and he will have to take action and make tough calls sooner or later, chief among which is when to fire head coach Jeff Blashill. There's something to be said about this roster needing to ride a few bad contracts out at the bottom of the standings and how next to no one would be able to pull off a miracle and get this team to a playoff spot, but at some point, you need an NHL-level head to make the calls and Blashill had not shown to be on that level at any time since taking over in 2015.

The problem with rebuilding teams is that they usually have a few terrific pieces they can build upon, who pour their heart and soul into bad seasons and produce some kind of result, but not enough to make a dent on their own; they need help, which is why you build around them. But sometimes, one has to realize the first-line centerpiece/possible captain (for the sake of argument, let's give that hypothetical player a name, Dylan Larkin) might actually be better suited for a second-line role on a contending team, a move that would be impossible if he's paid like a first-liner, a salary he has deserved for all the lean years in which he was clearly the best player there. But if he's the best, the team will always fall short of the ultimate goal, because other teams will have the better players. It's a Catch-22.

What makes their odds look good:
Larkin is good and is from Michigan; make him captain already. Anthony Mantha will be a perennial 30-goal scorer who might even hit 40 a couple of times. Filip Zadina (RW) will eventually develop, as will Moritz Seider (D) and Lucas Raymond (F). Joseph Veleno (C) and Jared McIsaac (D) should be able to contribute regularly in the middle of the lineup in three years as well. Robby Fabbri may have found his niche in Detroit, Tyler Bertuzzi seems to have shown some 30-goal potential as well (although diminshed ice time on a better team might keep him in the 20-goal range, which is still excellent), but the smart money remains on seeing most of these guys as projects that are still a couple of years away or currently playing one line too high.

Question marks:
Why make Larkin wait so long? Was Bobby Ryan hired to fill a middle-six role for one season or will his perennial comeback story make him an invaluable piece of the leadership group going forward? How does Thomas Greiss compare with the other #1 goalies in the NHL? Why do the Wings always go out of their way to not employ a true, in-his-prime, star goalie? What is with this defense?

Outlook:
Detroit may not be the worst team in its division - the Chicago Blackhawks will certainly give them a run for their money in that regard - and they will have the company of the New Jersey Devils as well at the bottom of the standings, but both of those teams have a true star defenseman to build around and are grooming young goalies for their rise, whereas the Wings employ soon-to-be-35-year-old Greiss and 32-year-old career backup Jonathan Bernier in net. Upgrades are needed throughout the back end.

Prediction:
Eighth in the Central Division.

Which brings me to Keith Primeau, an excellent hockey player whose career was cut short due to a lockout and post-concussion syndrome. If we had a re-do for the 1990 draft - one of the best of all-time - he likely wouldn't have been selected third overall, but he's definitely top-10 material.

Even though he was never exactly at the point-per-game mark or higher only hit the point-per-game mark once with 73 in 71 games in 2000-01, he was close pretty often, operating at above 0.75 PPG six times in 15 games, with two All-Star Games appearances and two top-10 finishes in Selke Trophy voting (1997-98 and 2003-04). He also suited up for Team Canada, falling short at the 1996 World Cup and 1998 Olympics and World Chapionships (he captained the team on the latter), and winning gold at the 1997 World Championships.

He captained two NHL teams, the Carolina Hurricanes (1998-99) and Philadelphia Flyers (2001-06), and his performance with the Flyers in the 2004 playoffs against the Tampa Bay Lightning - in a losing effort - had Hall Of Famer Phil Esposito saying it was the most dominating performance he'd ever seen, and inspired Bolts star Vincent Lecavalier to change his style of play from elegant (in the style of Jean Béliveau) to more of a power forward.

He officially announced his retirement on September 14th, 2006 - my 28th birthday.

Here he is wearing the alternate captain's "A" on the Red Wings' classic red (away) uniform, on card #PH-44 from In The Game's 2013-14 Motown Madness collection and Patch Of Honor sub-set:

It features "a piece of replica Steve Yzerman Retirement Night patch", so a manufactured, make-believe patch from a player who wasn't on the team when Yzerman retired after the 2005-06 season. As a matter of fact, Primeau's trade to the Hurricanes (with Paul Coffey and the first-round pick that became Nikos Tselios, Chris Chelios' nephew, for Brendan Shanahan and Bryan Glynn) helped shape Detroit into the team that won two Stanley Cups, while his trade to the Flyers (with a fifth-round pick, for Jean-Marc Pelletier, Rod Brind'Amour and a second-rounder) gave the Canes a big piece for their own run in 2006.

As excellent as his own career was, I'm sure he's just as happy these days being a spectator cheering on his son Cayden Primeau's own progression as a goalie in the Montréal Canadiens organization.

Box Break: 2020-21 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey Tin

Whenever anyone asks me what I want for Christmas, the normal answers usually come out of my mouth: world peace, a job in hockey, and hockey cards. This year again, I was more than happy to receive a tin of Upper Deck's 2020-21 Series 1 hockey cards (buying from that link may result in my getting a commission for directing traffic). As mentioned previously earlier this month, I'm a big fan of the set, it looks and feels great. I had issues within my first break with many repeats, but I'm glad to say it didn't happen with the tin, fortunately, because having doubles of entire packs when there are just nine of them in total would have been insulting. Speaking of which, the tin came wrapped in a cardboard strip that looked like this front the front:

And like this on the side:

The way it says "8 packs per pack" and "10 packs per box" leads one to think there are 80 UD Series 1 cards plus the additional three O-Pee-Chee glossy rookie cards, but in fact, there were only nine packs of Series 1 cards and the OPCs came in their own foil pack, which brought the total card count to 75:

Speaking of which, two of them were seemingly of the regular-issue kind, Kiefer Bellows and Jake Evans:

The other one, featuring Josh Norris, was of perhaps a "Gold" variant:

In terms of standard UD cards, I was graced with three Young Guns, of Joel Kiviranta, Peyton Krebs and Evans:

I also landed a Canvas card of Rasmus Dahlin:

I pulled a Dazzlers card of New York Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin that appears golden to the naked eye, instead of pink like the scan:

And there were Portraits cards of Max Domi and Jack Hughes:

This means one of my packs had no inserts whatsoever, although I did get repeats fo the regular set Checklists that I had already gotten in my first box.

I couldn't have asked for a better present, but UD has to be more careful about how they label stuff, there could eventually be massive penalties in Canada from the many Consumer Protection boards resulting in millions of dollars in fines.

As far as this year's collection goes, I'm sticking with my original grade: 8.5/10.

Rangers Preview: Anson Carter Jersey Card

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: 2020 is a different beast and requires adaptability; in my case, it means the joint posts with my "main/personal" blog will not be in the "player here/analysis there" format but rather the entire scope of the analysis will take place here and the player will have some sort of direct connection to what's written. Caveats: at this point, despite the season being set to start in Mid-January, several impact players haven't found a team yet and quite a few teams are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much maneuvering left to do.

That being said, the New York Rangers are, surprisingly, one of the few teams who have some kind of control over their current cap, with just under $4.9M in cap space (including the $3.95M cap penalty because of all the bonuses on their contracts), and they only have 43 NHL contracts when most teams are near the limit of 50. They can acquire a star at the deadline to help push them over the edge and into a playoff spot if at all possible for GM Jeff Gorton (Covid-19 regulations and quarantine rules pending).

What makes their odds look good:
The Rags fast-tracked their rebuild last season with the acquisition of Artemi Panarin, who helped Mika Zibanejad complete his development into a true #1 centre. Ryan Strome has found his niche centering the middle-six in Manhattan, and he will be able to draw on his own experience to help guide the first-overall pick in the last draft, Alexis Lafrenière, around the difficulties that lie with high expectations. Speaking of high expectations, expect 24-year-old rookie Igor Shesterkin to be annointed the #1 goalie, ahead of Alexandar Georgiev - a duo David Quinn and the rest of the coaching staff were so confident in that the team bought out Henrik Lundqvist on a year where it will be mandatory to have three healthy goalies on hand. Vitali Kravtsov is another highly-touted rookie, but even though he is 20 years old (two years older than Lafrenière), he shouldn't be expected to make the team for another two seasons, because at 6'3" and 189 pounds, he's expected to become a power forward, and they take longer to develop and get comfortable with their bodies; he will also need to add more muscle to his frame.

The defense is impressive, particularly the right side with Jacob Trouba, Adam Fox and Tony DeAngelo. Someone on the right might actually get sacrificed to spruce up the left side, where veterans Brendan Smith and Jack Johnson have seen better days.

Question marks:
Can rookie goalies actually cut it in today's NHL? Does Kaapo Kakko require a couple of seasons in Europe to perfect his game and learn to play against, equal and eventually dominate against men? How long will Chris Kreider be worth his cap hit before age or karma start to collect on the many hits he's dished out over the years?

Outlook:
The Rangers are definitely on the rise and will be fighting for the last playoff spot in their division with the injury-depleted Boston Bruins and the fading Pittsburgh Penguins; they might surpass the Pens next season, but we're probably not there yet.

Prediction:
Sixth in the Metropolitan/East Division.

When the NHL and Adidas announced their "Reverse Retro" program in November, my very first thought was to feature the Lady Liberty jersey in my preview post, I just wasn't certain which player I would go with; I opted for Anson Carter, because I liked him a lot and because the jersey appears very clearly on card #110 from Upper Deck's 2003-04 SP Game-Used Edition set and SP Star Fabrics sub-set:

What a great jersey! The card itself features a blue game-worn swatch, but it could be from the Rangers' traditional uniform, as it's brighter than the Liberty one, I believe.

Kids these days mostly know Carter as a "former player" and NBC Sports and MSG Network analyst, but he was a heck of a hockey player. Originally a Québec Nordiques draft pick, he was sent to the Washington Capitals by the relocated Colorado Avalanche for a fourth-rounder after failing to sign a contract with the team despite having been named a CCHA First-Team All-Star in 1993-94 and 1994-95 and Second Team All-Star in 1995-96 with the Michigan State Spartans (my guess is the team was already overcrowded with offensive talent, having just won the Stanley Cup, and they wanted to kick the can of integrating young talent farther down the line).

He didn't stay long in Washington, as the team packaged him with Jason Allison, Vezina-winning goalie Jim Carey, a 1997 third-round pick (Lee Goren) and a conditional 1998 pick in a trade for the Bruins' top centre Adam Oates, starting goalie Bill Ranford and declining power forward Rick Tocchet. His 13 points in 19 games to close off the 1996-97 season were an instant hit in Boston, and while his 43 points in 78 games the following year had Bruins fans worried, he quickly gained back their trust and admiration with 46 goals, 41 assists and 87 points in his next 114 games in consecutive, injury-filled seasons in which he showed a lot of grit and emotion.

The turn-of-the-millennium Bruins were rebuilding around 20-year-olds Joe Thornton and Sergei Samsonov, so anyone 25 and older was trade bait, even long-time captain Ray Bourque, so Carter was sent to the Edmonton Oilers with the first-round pick that became Ales Hemsky and the second-rounder that became Doug Lynch, as well as a conditional pick in the 2003 draft, for Bill Guerin and a first-rounder in the 2001 draft (Shaone Morrisonn).

Carter would excel in Edmonton, posting 42 points in 61 games in 2000-01 and exploding with 28 goals, 32 assists and 60 points in 82 games the following year in the midst of the Dead Puck Era, a production he followed with 25 more goals and 55 more points in just 68 games until the Oilers pulled the trigger on a deal themselves, sending him along with Ales Pisa to the Rangers for Cory Cross and Radek Dvorak.

He became a bit of a journeyman at this point, spending just under a calendar year in NYC, with the Rangers themselves sending him back to Washington (for the services of Jaromir Jagr, no less), who themselves sent him to the Los Angeles Kings a couple of months later after just 19 games (10 points); he'd close out the 2003-04 season with 15 games (with 1 assist) in L.A before signing a one-year deal with the Vancouver Canucks in 2005-06 and splitting the 2006-07 campaign between the Columbus Blue Jackets (54 games, 27 points) and Carolina Hurricanes (10 games, 1 goal).

His year in Vancouver was as remarkable as his time in Edmonton, hitting the 30-goal mark for the first time (33) to go with his 55 points.

He's also a three-time gold medal winner with Team Canada, at the 1994 World Juniors and 1997 and 2003 World Championships. He now resides in Atlanta.

Sabres Preview: Corey Tropp Autograph Card

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: 2020 is a different beast and requires adaptability; in my case, it means the joint posts with my "main/personal" blog will not be in the "player here/analysis there" format but rather the entire scope of the analysis will take place here and the player will have some sort of direct connection to what's written. Caveats: at this point, despite the season being set to start in Mid-January, several impact players haven't found a team yet and quite a few teams are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much maneuvering left to do.

There's something about the Buffalo Sabres that makes me unable to ever take them seriously, part of it based on 42 years of watching them implode and then watching them try to turn things around with absurd decisions, like that time in the mid-2000s when they fired almost their entire scouting staff and resorted to video instead of in-person scouting, resulting in a handful of first-round picks never suiting up for even an entire NHL season's owrth of games in their entire careers, the top picks of 2005 (Marek Zagrapan, 13th overall) and 2006 (Dennis Persson, 24th) never suiting up in an NHL game at all and no one in the 2011 crop ever playing in Buffalo. Signing Jack Eichel to an overpay three years too soon, extending Jeff Skinner to be paid more than Sidney Crosby and going at it without a true #1 goalie are all desperation moves that keep a team at the bottom of the standings, at least once the season's 15 games old, when the "real" teams get their legs going. Kevyn Adams is now in the ejectable GM's seat, probably because former captain Chris Drury is happier taking a back seat with the New York Rangers and awaiting an opening that doesn't seem like total career suicide.

What makes their odds look good:
Look, I'll say it now: Eichel is no Connor McDavid, not even close. He's no Nathan MacKinnon, no Leon Draisaitl, no Crosby. But he's a very good young player who may one day hit the 50-goal and 100-point marks - perhaps the century points plateau a handful of times - and who might grow into the captain's role, but he's not there yet. As a matter of fact, for all the rumours we've been hearing and that were semi-confirmed by both the star player and management over the past three years, it seems like he's learned how to lead from Ryan O'Reilly, who skipped town when Eichel took his job. One does not lead with negativity and threats. Well, ROR does and wins Selkes, Conn Smythes and Stanley Cups that way, but he also crashes into restaurants with his car. Rasmus Dahlin has also shown nice glimpses of a #1 defenseman, but he's still a few years away from his prime. While I do not believe in the Sabres' ability to grow so much as to make the playoffs and become serious contenders yet, they do have promising pieces. And I like Ralph Krueger as a coach, I just don't feel like he'll be the person they trust when the kids are ready; I think Buffalo might be the first team to hire a woman as head coach when they are, so that she gets a path to and true opportunity for success.

Question marks:
Is Eichel ready to take a team on his shoulders, Jarome Iginla-style? Will the Taylor Hall gamble pay off for anyone other than Taylor Hall (because so far in his career, it never has)? How much does Eric Staal have left in the tank? Are the Sabres - as currently constructed - better than at least four of the following teams: Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers?

Outlook:
There are some nice key pieces seemingly in the right spots on this roster, yet so many who just aren't. And others are in the right one technically (Cody Eakin in a #3C role, for instance) but who do not seem to fit with the team. I'll be honest, I don't know much about projected second-lone winger Dylan Cozens, but if he's as good as I've read, he'll surpass a lot of prospects in the organization that just haven't shown to be where they should be at this stage of their development; the Sabres should be either at the same level of evolution as the Edmonton Oilers (challenging for a division title) or Toronto Maple Leafs (due for a retool after failing for a few seasons as an actual serious contender).

Prediction:
Seventh in the Metrpolitan/East Division.

Which brings me to Corey Tropp, the team's late third-round pick (89th overall) in 2007, ahead of Alec Martinez (4th, 95th), Art Ross winner and Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn (5th, 129th, but everyone slept on Benn), Jake Muzzin (5th, 141st), two-time Stanley Cup winner Patrick Maroon (6th, 161st), Carl Hagelin (6th, 168th), Nick Bonino (6th, 173rd), Paul Byron (6th, 179th), and Carl Gunnarsson (7th, 194th).

At 31 years of age, he may not get another crack at the NHL and his statistics in 149 games over four seasons with three teams (6 goals, 21 assists, 27 points, 133 penalty minutes and an average of 9:08 minutes payed per game) show him as a fourth-line talent, but he was nearly a point-per-game player in the AHL from 2011-12 (22 points in 29 games) until 2018-19 (40 points in 55 games), meaning he had real talent that may read well on video and in highlights reels, but perhaps an in-person check might have shown something in his temper that could have lead to the 2009 NCAA incident with Steve Kampfer and his perpetual 100-PIM seasons in the AHL.

Here he is donning #78 in the Sabres' dark blue 2010s home uniform, on card #CS-TROP from Panini's 2012-13 Certified collection and Certified Signatures sub-set:

It features a blue-sharpied, on-sticker autograph.

Bolts Preview: Nikita Kucherov Jersey Card

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: 2020 is a different beast and requires adaptability; in my case, it means the joint posts with my "main/personal" blog will not be in the "player here/analysis there" format but rather the entire scope of the analysis will take place here and the player will have some sort of direct connection to what's written. Caveats: at this point, despite the season being set to start in Mid-January, several impact players haven't found a team yet and quite a few teams are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much maneuvering left to do.

One team whose cap cunnundrum was solved today is the Tampa Bay Lightning, who not only have the strongest team on paper but are also the reigning Stanley Cup champions. Unfortunately, the $9.5M in cap space comes in the form of an injury to star Nikita Kucherov that will see him miss the entire regular-season.

What makes their odds look good:
Despite losing Kucherov, they essentially replace him in-house with the return of captain Steven Stamkos, who missed half of last season and all but one playoff game, and a forward corps that still includes Brayden Point, Ondrej Palat, Anthony Cirelli, Alex Killorn, Blake Coleman, Tyler Johnson and Yanni Gourde, which means goals will still come often for the Bolts. Add a Vezina-winning goalie in Andrei Vasilevskiy, a Norris and Conn Smythe winner in Victor Hedman, a possible future Norris winner in Mikhail Sergachev, former All-Star Ryan McDonagh and a good support cast on defense and you've got one of the best teams in the salary cap era (although weaker than last season's with the departures of Zach Bogosian, Kevin Shattenkirk and the inevitable one or two pieces to leave for cap room (Johnson is a regular on the rumour circuit while I personally believe Braydon Coburn might fall victim to a bottom-role salary purge).

Question marks:
The only question mark I would normally have would be with head coach Jon Cooper suffering from messaging fatigue, but a Cup buys him leeway even if he fares badly during this shortened season, although I do not see that happening.

Outlook:
Tampa woud be first in any division, but placing them in the Central means they can even rest players during back-to-backs and move guys in and out of the Taxi Squad in the hopes of staying fresh for the playoffs. If the players accept to sacrifice statistical milestones for legitimate shots at multiple championships, that's one way to to have a clear path to another one.

Prediction:
First in the Central Division.

Kucherov's presence will be missed. While he's taken up more and more room as the years have passed - room that became legitimate as he had led the team in scoring for the past five seasons - this has been Stamkos' and Hedman's team for roughly a decade at this point, and #86 has merely been filling up the opposition's net for them, enough to have played in the 2017, 2018 and 2019 All-Star Games, which is where this card comes into play:

It's card #AS-NK from Upper Deck's 2018-19 SP Game-Used Edition and All-Star Skills Fabrics sub-set, featuring a swatch from the jersey in the picure, used in the 2018 NHL All-Star Skills Competition. Because of the talent in Tampa, Kucherov's career has been a bit overlooked at times, but he has three types of impressive numbers.

First, the comparisons:
His 529 points (212 goals, 317 points) in 463 games over the past six seasons are tied with Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane for the most in the NHL.

He also holds Lightning team records (the same team tghat once employed Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St-Louis):

Most Playoff Points - 95
Most Career Playoff Goals - 36
Most Career Playoff Assists - 59
Most points in a single season, 128 (2018–19)
Most assists in a single season, 87 (2018–19)
Most points in a single calendar month, 30 (2018–19)
Most assists in a single calendar month, 21 (2018–19)
Most consecutive games with a point to start a season, 11 (2017–18)
Most consecutive games with a goal to start a season, 7 (2017–18)
Most points in a single playoff season, 34 (2019–20)
Most assists in a single playoff season, 27 (2019–20)

He also holds two NHL records:

Most assists in a single season by a winger, 87 (2018–19) (Shared with Jaromír Jágr)
Most points in a single season by a Russian-born player, 128 (2018–19)

And he's still just 27 years old!

Flyers Preview: Bob Froese Autographed Card

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: 2020 is a different beast and requires adaptability; in my case, it means the joint posts with my "main/personal" blog will not be in the "player here/analysis there" format but rather the entire scope of the analysis will take place here and the player will have some sort of direct connection to what's written. Caveats: at this point, despite the season being set to start in Mid-January, several impact players haven't found a team yet and quite a few teams are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much maneuvering left to do.

After slowly building themselves up to get to this point, the Philadelphia Flyers have finally reached "Stanley Cup contender" status and merely require tweaks for a run each season; technically, this summer, they replaced second-pair defenseman Matt Niskanen - who retired - with Erik Gustafsson, and they could make a surprise run at Zdeno Chara who would fit right in going from the Big Bad Bruins to the Broad Street Bullies, but apart from that they only lost depth players (Nate Thompson, Tyler Pitlick and Derek Grant) who can be replaced at the trade deadline.

And while I feel that the team has technically taken steps back in each of the off-seasons since GM Ron Hextall - who built this impressive lineup from the ground up save for second-line center Kevin Hayes - was axed and replaced with Chuck Fletcher, it remains a team that's so deep it can afford to lose a piece per year and still remain in the mix.

What makes their odds look good:
Captain Claude Giroux is no longer the got-go buy for offense: that's now Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny's jobs, and Giroux can "coast" on 0.75 points per game without the pressure of facing the opposition's top players all the time, although he often joins the two young stars when he's not sharing the ice with his old compadre Jakub Voracek. James Van Riemsdyk is still good for 25-30 prorated goals (he had 21 in 66 games last year and some fans were still dissatisfied!), Scott Laughton looks solid in the middle of the lineup, and budding youngs stars Joel Farabee, Oskar Lindblom, Morgan Frost and Cameron York will also fight for some serious ice time, so even if Nolan Patrick isn't ready to come back from his concussion issues, it won't necessarily harm the team.

The defense is solid with the likes of Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim and Philippe Myers, so much so that once-highly-touted prospects like Samuel Morin and Robert Hagg may never get a true shot at making the regular roster.

Question marks:
None, really. If Fletcher can stop subtracting talent and adding to the salary cap, this team will be a yearly tweak from contending for the next decade. Acquiring Justin Braun on defense looks like a smart move right now, we'll just have to see how the deal looks long-term.

Outlook:
The Washington Capitals have been winning their division in the regular season for over a decade at this point, and they now have serious competition. Look for the two teams to exchange the lead all season long.

Prediction:
First in the Metropolitan/East Division.

Star goalie Carter Hart is not immune to suffering a setback in his progression, but not having the Philly crowd around will certainly help ease a lot of the pressure. After all, playing net in the City of Brotherly Love is a near-guarantee to fail; apart from Bernie Parent who retired due to injury and Pelle Lindbergh who died in a car crash, even Vezina and Conn Smythe winners and nominees have been run out of town, and that includes Hextall, but also Sean Burke, Sergei Bobrovsky and Ilya Bryzgalov.

One goalie who lost his job to both Lindbergh and Hextall yet still won the Jennings, was a Second Team All-Star and a Vezina runner-up in-between is Bob Froese, but a lack of patience with his playoff perfromances saw him get traded to the New York Rangers after Hextall came along. He was part of a formidable tandem with John Vanbiesbrouck until he retired to help groom their successor, Mike Richter, as the team's goaltending coach.

After a short stint in player development for the New York Islanders in the mid-1990s, he retired from the game permanently to become an ordained minister, a position he held until last year.

This is what he looked like wearing the Flyers' orange (away) uniform in the 1980s:

It's a picture I've been looking at regularly for the past 35 years, although I had the O-Pee-Chee version as a child and this is card #55 from Topps' 1986-87 Topps collection. I bought it on Ebay for $5. It seems every time I lay my eyes on the card, I see new details emerge, like the thin orange stripe on the sleeve, I'm not sure I had noticed it before today. What weird patterns everywhere on this jersey from my youth, I love it!

My Oilers Numbers Project: An Introduction

Long-time readers are probably familiar with my Habs Numbers Project, where I'm attempting to get a collectible item - ideally an autograph, but a jersey card will do - of a representative of every jersey number ever worn by a member of the Montréal Canadiens.

Since it's well underway and moving along nicely, I thought I could do the same for the Edmonton Oilers, seeing as I've already published 54, so I'm more than halfway there just by what I've already written, without counting my existing and extensive backlog.

Spoiler alert: I don't have anything from Wayne Gretzky. I don't think I'll ever be able to afford to, either, and he doesn't sign TTM, understandably - though many collectors confuse his autopen for an autograph. Which, when I get there, I might also count, myself (though I don't have one of those either).

Here's what I have:

1: Ty Conklin (also wore #29): check!
2: Eric Brewer and Lee Fogolin: check!
4: Kevin Lowe: check!
5: Steve Smith and Ladislav Smid (again here): check!
6: Jeff Beukeboom: check!
8: Joe Murphy: check!
9: Bill Guerin: check!
10: Shawn Horcoff, Pat Falloon, and Nail Yakupov: check!
12: Adam Graves: check!
13: Ken Linseman and Andrew Cogliano: check!
14: Raffi Torres: check!
16: Kelly Buchberger and Jarret Stoll: check!
17: Jari Kurri: jersey card check!
18: Craig Simpson: check!
19: Boyd Devereaux and Patrick O'Sullivan: check!
21: Vincent Damphousse and Andrew Ference: check!
22: Charlie Huddy and Roman Hamrlik: check!
23: Sean Brown: check!
24:  Theo Peckham and Kevin McClelland: check!
25: Mike Grier: check!
26: Mike Krushelnyski and Brad Winchester: check!
27: Scott Mellanby, Georges Laraque and Boyd Gordon: check!
28: Craig Muni: check!
29: Ty Conklin (also wore #1): check!
30: Bill Ranford: check!
31: Grant Fuhr: jersey card check!
33: Dan McGillis: check!
34: Fernando Pisani: check!

35: Mikhail Shtalenkov: check!
37: Lennart Petrell: check!
38: Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers: check!
39: Doug Weight: check!
40: Devan Dubnyk: check!
42: David Oliver: check!
44: Chris Pronger: jersey card check!
48: Ryan Hamilton: check!
49: Theo Peckham: check!
51: Philippe Cornet and Andrei Kovalenko: check!
54: Chris VandeVelde: check!
55: Mark Letestu: check!
56: Teemu Hartikainen: check!
57: David Perron: jersey card check!
58: Jeff Petry: check!
62: Mark Arcobello (also wore #26): check!
64: Nail Yakupov: check!
67: Benoit Pouliot: check!
68: Tyler Pitlick: check!
77: Garry Unger and Tom Gilbert: check!
78: Jordan Eberle (also wore #14): check!
81: Taylor Fedun: check!
83: Ales Hemsky: check!
84: Oscar Klefbom: check!
85: Petr Klima: check!
89: Sam Gagner (twice) and Mike Comrie: check!
91: Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson: check (twice)!
94: Ryan Smyth: check and check again!

Captains: Fogolin, Lowe, Buchberger, Ference, Smyth

Numbers 50, 53, 61, 63, 66, 69, 70, 72, 73, 74, 75, 79, 82, 86, 87, 90, 92, 95, 96, have not yet been worn by Oilers players, which means I'm looking to fill these:

3: Al Hamilton is the only one who's worn this number in team history
7: Paul Coffey, Martin Gélinas, Jason Arnott and Dan Cleary are good calls
11: Well, that's Mark Messier
15: This number changes owners almost yearly
20: Five players wore it in 1994 alone, 27 in total
32: Miroslav Satan, Ron Tugnutt and Mathieu Garon come to mind
36: Tough guy Dennis Bonvie may have worn it the longest - 2 years
41: Brent Gilchrist or Jean-François Jacques might be the easiest to get
43: Dennis Bonvie and Jason Strudwick have worn this one
45:  I liked Shawn Belle
46: Tough guy Zack Stortini would rule
47: Paul Comrie or Marc-André Bergeron work here
52: Allen Rouke and Jerred Smithson have worn this one
59: Brad Hunt is the lone bearer, and it happened this year
60: Sébastien Bisaillon wore this in 2010
65: Mark Napier wore this in 1987
67: Gilbert Brulé never replied to any of my TTMs
71: It's a toss-up between Petr Sykora and Lubomir Visnovsky
76: Bryan Young had it for one season
80: Ilya Bryzgalov, may have missed my chance with this one
88: Rob Schremp wore it half a decade ago
93: It's between Petr Nedved and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
99: The Great One, Wayne Gretzky

Oilers Preview: Fernando Pisani Autographed Card

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: 2020 is a different beast and requires adaptability; in my case, it means the joint posts with my "main/personal" blog will not be in the "player here/analysis there" format but rather the entire scope of the analysis will take place here and the player will have some sort of direct connection to what's written. Two more caveats: at this point, the NHL has not even confirmed the division make-ups yet despite the season being set to start a month from now, and several impact players such as 25-to-30-goal scorer Mike Hoffman and 20-goal journeyman forward Anthony Duclair, among others, haven't found a team yet. And quite a few teams are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much maneuvering left to do.

That being said, let's start with the one division we're pretty sure is going to happen if only because of the border situation, the Canadian/North Division, and the Edmonton Oilers.

GM Ken Holland continued to tinker with the roster and salary cap mess inherited from his predecessor, Peter Chiarelli, replacing Mike Green on defense with Tyson Barrie, bringing in Kyle Turris to center the third line in lieu of Riley Sheahan, backup goalie Anton Forsberg to relegate Mike Smith from the #2 spot to #3, and Dominik Kahun as a cheap gamble for a middle-six role because Andreas Athanasiou didn't pan out.

What makes their odds look good:
Having two of the three best forwards in the game - Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl - certainly helps, and having Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Kailer Yamamoto to play with them is a very good start; complementing them with veteran help in the form of James Neal, Tyler Ennis, Turris, Alex Chiasson and Zack Kassian makes for a solid if at times frustrating middle of the lineup (all of them except Turris and Chiasson were on a close-to-20-goal pace last season), and there is hope that the youth can also slide right in up font, with Jesse Puljujarvi, Jujhar Khaia, Gaetan Haas, Joakim Nygard, Dylan Holloway, Raphaël Lavoie and Tyler Benson conutinuing to show progress.

The blue line also seems more solid than it's been in over a decade, with Barrie seemingly sliding straight into the middle pair with top-unit powerplay time, Ethan Bear ahead of him and Adam Larsson completing the right side of the defense, and Darnell Nurse, Kris Russell and Evan Bouchard completing the back end, there is a role for everyone on that team. Top defenseman Oscar Klefbom's absence will be felt, but sliding Russell in and out of the Taxi Squad might create enough cap room to replace him until the playoffs come, at the very least.

Mikko Koskinen looks like a true #1 goalie in net.

Question marks:
No one seems to understand why Holland brought Smith back, and at a $2M cap hit, no less. Turris could very well be on his way out of the NHL. Depth is an issue in comparison to the true contending teams like the Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues and even Vancouver Canucks.

Outlook:
The Oilers would have had a harder time in the old Pacific Division with their Western Conference Canadian counterparts and the loaded Golden Knights, but by simply adding teams like the Montréal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators, McDavid and Draisaitl will be able to carry Edmonton to the postseason.

Prediction:
Third in the Canadian/North Division.

Barring an injury to Koskinen, the Oilers will sail to the playoffs in a little more effort than their fans would like, but in a certain matter nonetheless. They have more depth than at any other time in the McDavid era, now all they need is to find a playoff hero like Fernando Pisani in 2005-06.

Pisani could normally be counted on for a half a point per game in the regular season, a pace he mostly kept throughout his career even after being diasgnosed with ulcerative colitis, which is a feat onto itself, but during his hometown team's 2006 Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Final, he scored a league-leading 14 goals in 24 games including three important two-goal games and five game-winners, and he came within inches of having a game-tying second goal of the night in Game 7 of the Final against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Here he is sporting the Oilers' white (home) uniform from that era on card #34 from Upper Deck's 2006-07 Black Diamond set:

He signed it with a fading black sharpie in 2011 after a game against the Habs in his lone season with the Chicago Blackhawks; it cements him as #34 in my Oilers Numbers Project.