Flames Preview: Mikael Backlund Autographed Card

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This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: Unlike in the distant past where I would post different texts on this collectibles blog and my personal one, I've been using a new format for the past couple of years, where I'll copy the same text on each one. As a father of two young kids, I just do not have enough time to write two separate posts per day on each blog. This year again, the entire scope of the analysis will take place first and the featured player will have a direct or perhaps indirect connection to what's written, below.

Caveats: At this point, despite training camp being set to start in a week, several players haven't found a team yet and a few clubs are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much maneuvering left to do.

Key exits: Tyler Toffoli (RW), Milan Lucic (LW), Troy Stetcher (D), Michael Stone (D), Nick Ritchie (LW), Trevor Lewis (C), Dryden Hunt (RW), and Matthew Phillips (C).

Key Arrivals: Yegor Sherangovich (C), Jordan Oesterle (D), xxx (C/LW), xxx (C), xxx (LW), xxx (D), xxx (G)

Top prospects: Jakob Pelletier (LW, 22 years old, point-per-game player in the AHL, 26th-overall pick in 2019), Dustin Wolf (G, 22 years old, .932 save percentage in the AHL), Matt Coronato (RW, 20 years old, 13th-overall pick in 2021, point-per-game player in the NCAA), and Connor Zary (C, 22 years old, 24th pick in the 2020 draft).

The Calgary Flames are a riddle in a question in quicksand in a parallel universe in a different timeline trying to prentend they were of this worls all along. They are everything you ever thought and its exact opposite. They are a two-year-old having hissy fits in need of a new downtown arena.

What makes their odds look good:
Three-quarters of this team won its division two seasons ago, and although two 100-point players left that team, they were replaced by another division winner in Jonathan Huberdeau and Stanley Cup winner Nazem Kadri. This is a much better team than what transpired last season.

Question marks: Previous GM Brad Treliving left because the Darryl Sutter problem was getting too big - both men were eventually replaced by their direct underling. Will that really be enough to change the team's culture? Will that really get Huberdeau back to his All-Star level, or incite Elias Lindholm to re-sign?

Outlook:
This team is too good and too deep to not make the playoffs two years in a row regardless of circumstance, and with a goalie like Jacob Markstrom, once in there, they could make a serious dent into many experts' prognoses.

Prediction:
Fourth in the Pacific Division.

With news that he had been signed to a two-year contract extension, Flames utility forward Mikael Backlund was named the team's 21st captain - and first since Mark Giordano's exit at the Seattle Kraken expansion draft.

Backlund is a cerebral two-way centre who can chip in offensively, able to replace on the first two lines at a whim but at this point in his career ideally situated in the 3C role where he can shut down opposing teams' top lines and pad his stats up when playing againt middle-of-the-lineup players.

After missing the playoffs by two points last season, his end-of-season presser was steeped in disappointment, and he let float the idea that he might leave as a free agent next summer or perhaps even ask for a trade, as it seemed the drama surrounding the team had put too much weight on him, but he seems to view the new admninistration in a positive light, enough to warrant sticking around for a couple of extra seasons at least and give it an honest chance. His staying means the Flames don't have to go through a rebuild regardless of Lindholm's status and that the team can contend for a playoff spot (and likely get in).

Here he is wearing the Flames' white Reebok-designed uniform on card #178 from the 2016-17 O-Pee-Chee set, manufactured under license by Upper Deck, always a favoutite of mine to get signed:

He signed it in thick black sharpie after a game against the Montréal Canadiens, probably that same year.

Josh Morrissey: Two Autographed Cards

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I didn't post my usual NHL playoff predictions on my regular blog this year, so you'll just have to take me at my word that I'm not looking like Nostradamus right now...

The Winnipeg Jets taking their first game against the Edmonton Oilers didn't really make a dent in my prediction that the Oilers would win in 5, but their taking a 3-0 series lead looking for a sweep tomorrow - particularly when trailing 4-1 with 9 minutes left in the third in Game 3 - reinforces my belief that this team is built with great character (Blake Wheeler, Nikolaj Ehlers), is a deep offensive juggernaut (Mark Scheifele, Paul Stastny, Kyle Connor, Pierre-Luc Dubois) and has the best goalie in the game today (Connor Hellebuyck).

But the Oilers have the best player in the past 30 years (Connor McDavid) and Leon Draisaitl, who qiualifies as one of the five best forwards in the world right now as well - they supporting cast just hasn't been able to do what it takes to either steal or keep the lead in a game.

In their press conferences, Jets head coach Paul Maurice also looks not only more in control and better able to communicate his messages to his players (and the media), he also constantly adds value to his answers with tactical information or historical tidbits, whereas Edmonton's Dave Tippett looks like someone who once coached the Phoenix Coyotes.

The key play that got the Jets back in the game was Josh Archibald's dangerous and useless "tripping" (actually clipping the kees) penalty on rookie defenseman Logan Stanley, for which he'll get a hearing tomorrow, opening the possibility of a suspension which would facilitate Tippett's removal of his top checker from the next game.

Obviously, with a pair of goals including the goal that sparked the comeback and the overtime game-winner, Ehlers was celebrated as the game's hero, but Josh Morrissey, with an assist on Wheeler's 4-3 goal and the tying one just seconds later, both on similar plays where he took full control of the puck at the blue line to set up and maintain the attack, arguably had just as much impact on Winnipeg's comeback win. The defenseman had been blanked in the first two games of the series after a 21-point regular season (to go with 86 blocked shots, 78 hits and 25 penalty minutes). He had had back-to-back 31-point seasons before that, earning then cementing his place as the team's top defender.

It's odd to think he was a rookie not so long ago, as can be attested from card #282 from Upper Deck's 2016-17 MVP set, showing him wearing #36, meaning the picture was taken dring his lone NHL game in 2015-16:

He has since worn #44, as can be seen on card #NL-21 from Upper Deck's 2016-17 Overtime hockey collection and Next In Line sub-set:

It's a beautiful silver foil card, even though it appears as teal in the scan.

He signed them in thin blue sharpie in 2018.

David Savard Autographed Card

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With apologies to the ghost of Taylor Hall, the biggest "get" at the 2021 NHL trade deadline has to be the trade that sent rugged defenseman David Savard to the Tampa Bay Lightning by way of the Columbus Blue Jackets retaining 50% of his salary and the Detroit Red Wings taking on 25% of their own for a fourth-round pick in the next draft. Columbus grabbed a 2021 first-rounder and a 2022 third-rounder. Detroit also unloaded Brian Lashoff to Tampa in the deal, which gives them even more depth and experience.

This sets the Bolts up as the heavy favourites to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, as Savard not only replaces last year's trade deadline rentals Kevin Shattenkirk and Zach Bogosian, but he's also an upgrade on both of them; despite slowing down a bit in the past couple of years and his offensive game giving way to a more robust defending acumen, the Team Canada alumnus (2015 World Championship gold with a perfect 10-0 record) remains a force, a legitimate top-four option and an ideal stay-at-home counterpart to, say, a Victor Hedman on the first unit, or the type of player who can make Mikhail Sergachev look like Hedman out there. And he's hungry for a Cup. And he's fresh off playing for John Tortorella for a long time, so he's disciplined and hard-working.

He makes an already perfect team even better, retaining its favourite status despite the upgrades the Vegas Golden Knights, Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins or Washington Capitals might try to pull.

Here he is wearing the Blue Jackets' blue (home) uniform, on card #400 from the 2016-17 O-Pee-Chee collection by Upper Deck:

He signed it in silver sharpie at the same time as the card I featured last year, I had just misplaced it when writing that post up.

Philipp Grubauer Autographed Card

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Colorado Avalanche goalie Philipp Grubauer has just passed important milestones, hitting the 100-win mark (career, including his first 43 with the Washington Capitals) in the same game where he broke the Avs franchise record for most wins in a single month, his 11 surpassing the previous mark held by Semyon Varlamov, Craig Anderson, Peter Budaj and Daniel Bouchard (with the Québec Nordiques). That's right - goaltending legend Patrick Roy didn't hold that record, though his childhood idol Bouchard achieved it in probably just the right period for Roy to take notice.

Which is not to put Grubauer in the same league as Roy yet - he's still 450 wins and, more importantly, three Vezinas and three Conn Smythes away from entering the conversation - but it does cement his position as the Avalanche's current undisputed #1 goalie in a league where that position (on the same team) has a shelf life of three to five years at the moment.

The team is one of two clear powerhouses in the Western Conference these days - with the Vegas Golden Knights - and it's reasonable to think Grubauer might win a Stanley Cup or two in the next few seasons.

Here he is wearing the Caps' red (home) piping-heavy Reebok Edge (2007-2017) uniform on card #273 from Upper Deck's 2016-17 O-Pee-Chee collection:

He signed it in thin blue sharpie, I believe in March 2018.

Anthony DeAngelo Autograph Card

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The New York Rangers have put one of their best defensemen, Tony DeAngelo, on waivers after an altercation with goalie Alexandar Georgiev and alternate captain Chris Kreider.

As good a hockey player as DeAngelo is, his personality was always an issue. While this is the first time I have personally heard a lot of this (I knew he was a Trump supporter, but my Quebecer bias thought a hockey player might have only been a passive supporter or at worst gone "cult-light" unlike, say, the Capitol insurrectionists), it is substancially documented that he has always had issues.

There was a bout of anger after a loss as a youth, an eight-game suspension in the OHL for using racial slurs on a teammate that shed light on the fact that it was at the time his second disciplinary measure in such circumstances, and he's been suspended in the OHL and NHL for (physical) abuse of officials. And the intention to leave Twitter for Parler speaks loudly to his worldview as well.

I don't know how I missed a lot of this. I kept wondering why he wasn't mentioned by the Canadian (and Hockey) media in general, and it felt off that a top-four regular who is among the league leaders in points would be so often overlooked, but I get it now, they were just sweeping it under the rug. I have (at least) three of his cards, so one more to feature here after today's post - and I'm fairly certain no one will take them off my hands even if I don't want them in my collection anymore. I'll have to recycle them as a "teaching tool" for my kids, I guess. And I didn't mention it here today, but even in the NHL, he's been a dick to a Black teammate, K’Andre Miller, so I guess I already know what I'll write about next time.

We'll see how that all develops. Deadspin - which looks intent on calling all hockey players inherently racist while overlooking the fact that skaters from 21 countries and 30 nationalities whose homelands may be dealing with racial issues in ways that differ from the Amerian white/Black/OPOC paradigm form their "white" contingent - are on DeAngelo's case and dug out quotes from his father that show this is how he was probably raised. I'm confident they'll get at the bottom of the story.

Here is today's subject, on card #176 from Fleer's 2016-17 Fleer Showcase set and Hot Prospects Autos sub-set, manufactured by Upper Deck:

It features a blue-sharpied, on-sticker autograph and shows him as a member of the Arizona Coyotes. It is numbered #200/499.

Alexander Steen Jersey Card

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A month ago to the day, St. Louis Blues forward Alexander Steen announced his retirement due to "multiple levels of degenerative herniated discs of his lumbar spine" from an injury suffered during the 2019-20 season. He would technically have been a free agent at the end of the current season, but his retirement frees the Blues of his $5.3M cap space, which was enough to sign free agent Mike Hoffman and provide breathing room should Vladimir Tarasenko return from injury before the playoffs.

Steen was a terrific two-way forward who hit the 20-goal mark four times, received Selke Trophy votes in seven of his 15 NHL seasons, and even some Hart consideration in 2013-14 from a 33-goal, 29-assist and 62-point season (in 68 games), including 9 game-winning tallies.

With 245 career goals, 377 career assists and 622 career points in 1055 games, he joins his father Thomas Steen as only the fourth father-and-son duo to each surpass the 600-point mark in the NHL (Thomas had 917 points in 955 games, all with the Winnipeg Jets).

Here he is wearing the Blues' white (away) uniform, with the alternate captain's "A" visible on his chest, on card #GJ-AS from Upper Deck's 2016-17 Series 1 collection and UD Game Jersey sub-set:

Steen won the Stanley Cup with the rest of the Blues players in 2019.

Stars Preview: John Klingberg 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 Dallas Stars are the hardest-hit team from the Covid-19 pandemic, with six players so far having confirmed positive tests, and two staff members hit as well; this might actually be a blessing in disguise for the team, as both star center Tyler Seguin and #1 goalie Ben Bishop are out long-term with injuries, which is why I have them outside the playoff picture looking in, despite their reaching the Stanley Cup Final last season. However, a ten-day delay to the start of their season gives the two star players nearly two weeks of leeway where they won't miss any games, which helps Dallas' chances greatly.

What makes their odds look good:
The fact that they reached the Final just a few months ago tells you this team now has depth, grit, defense and goaltending, probably solid team chemistry and very good coaching as well. They just need their offensive weapons to produce more so the senior executives don't lash out at them in the press.

Question marks:
Although... it is fair to wonder if we're all asking too much of Jamie Benn and Alexander Radulov, as they're now over 30 with years of hard, physical hockey taking its toll on their bodies - and the same can be said for 28-year-old Seguin, who has a couple of deep Cup runs under his belt. And Joe Pavelski will eventually start showing his own age (36) as well.

Outlook:
With Miro Heiskanen and John Klingberg, the Stars pack a one-two punch on defense that compares favourably with anyone else in the NHL; the offense can change, but they have a certainty on D that has them set for the next decade. All they need is to renew the goaltending and first line in due time and ride the studs. There are interesting prospects up-front, with Radek Faksa, Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov making for an interesting middle-six core and possibly Ty Dellandrea as the lone future star in the lot, but the D is going to be their bread and butter, with Thomas Harley, 19, also developping nicely in Juniors.

Prediction:
Fifth in the Central Division.

Initial rumours had Dallas in the West in lieu of the Minnesota Wild, and I would have seen them make the playoffs there, but when I made my predictions and saw that Seguin wouldn't be back until March and Bishop until May, I thought the blow would be too hard to come back from and that the Florida Panthers would jump ahead. The condensed make-up schedule might be what does them in, at the end of the day.

Normally, the offensively-gifted, smooth-skating Klingberg should be good for some 50-60 points in an 82-game season - he had a high of 67 in 2017-18 - and many were disappointed that he was only able to accumulate 32 (from 6 goals and 26 assists) in 58 games last year, but he more than made up for that with 21 points in 26 playoff games, good for second in team scoring behind Heisnanen's 26 (in 27 games); it was the second straight year Klingberg put up impressive postseason numbers, having posted 9 points in 13 games in 2018-19.

Here he is wearing the Stars' white (away) uniform on card #GJ-KL from Upper Deck's 2016-17 Series 1 set and UD Game Jersey sub-set, featuring a matching game-worn jersey swatch:

Internationally, he plays for Team Sweden and already has three gold medals on his resume, from the 2012 World Juniors and 2017 and 2018 World Championships.

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.

Cody Ceci Autographed Card

Fresh from having bought their way out Jack Johnson's contract, the Pittsburgh Penguins signed an equally defensively-minded rearguard, Cody Ceci, to a one-year deal worth $1.25M, a more than $3M paycut for the former Ottawa Senators first-round draft pick.

At his best, the 26-year-old defenseman is a second-pair defender who can be counted on for 5 to 10 goals and 20 to 25 points in a given season, who plays decently well against the bottom of a lineup in his own zone, using his 6'2" frame and 210 pounds to clear the net and knock the puck around without amassing too many penalty minutes.

Other times, he can be seen as a liability in all three zones, as Toronto Maple Leafs fans will likely attest.

There is ample time for redemption, but the Pens are likely the worst possible team for him to try to find it, because their best defendeman, Kris Letang, also plays on the right side, is often injured, and will turn 34 sometime this season, with a lot of mileage on his body. John Marino is his heir apparent, which Pittsburgh management probably hopes relegates Ceci to his recent comfort zone as a depth insurance policy.

At this point, I will not hold my breath to see him develop into the next Jay Bouwmeester, but if he can fulfill the shut-down role this season and keep putting up good penalty-kill numbers, maybe he can evolve into a Ron Hainsey-veteran type who will never be out of work and will always earn his paycheque, which is a lot better than his detractors make him out to be.

Here he is wearing the Sens' red (home) uniform on the Rainbow Foil variant of card #7 from the 2016-17 O-Pee-Chee set by Upper Deck:

He sigend it in blue sharpie during the 2016-17 season. It looks very blue in the scan, but the card is silver to the naked eye, and actually makes the Senators' uniform look pretty good.

Brendan Gallagher Jersey Card

Brendan Gallagher is the Montréal Canadiens' heart and soul. Sure, he also happens to be their leading goal scorer - with a team-leading 22 tallies in 59 games in 2019-20 (tied with Tomas Tatar, who posted that total in 68 games), and the lone 30-goal scorer the previous two seasons, 5 more than Max Domi (and 8 more than Tatar) in 2018-19 and a whopping 11 more than Paul Byron in 2017-18 - but he's also the guy sho sparks the offense on listless nights by planting himself in the opposing goalie's crease no matter the adversary joining him there. He has even taken to replacing his displeasure at missed calls with a smirk or a laugh in the face of pain or even a brutal injury, or in the case of a broken jaw suffered at the hands of Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Matt Niskanen in the 2020 playoffs, yapping like his life depended on it: Then again, Gally is used to dealing with Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, who has tried numerous times to sever his head by guillotining his throat: And yet, his penalty minute tally had gone downward as his point production has increased, as his PIM count was far superior to his point totals in three of his first five NHL seasons, while the complete opposite has been true for the past three.

With this in mind, Habs GM Marc Bergevin offered the diminutive winger a six-year contract extension that nearly doubles his cap hit this off-season, prompting the reflection as to whether the best asset management was signig him from ages 29 through 35 as a first-line winger when the wear-and-tear will start showing more and more on his small frame rather than banking on his current status as a producer and leader on a playoff bubble team to add premium talent elsewhere in the lineup or prospects and high draft picks in a trade to a contender where he would play in the middle six.

I'm in the camp that would rather see him retire with the team he was drafted by, but the contract cements my thinking that he should have been wearing the "C" on his chest two captains ago, earning it ahead of Max Pacioretty and thus negating the need to hand it over to Shea Weber afterwards. You hear a lot about the Canadiens being Carey Price's team, or Weber's, but the truth of the matter is Price has been a middling goaltender for the past four seasons, which has pretty much corresponded with Weber's presence as the top guy on D, a job he has kind of lost to Jeff Petry for the past two seasons.

For all those reasons and because he's the team's sparkplug, its default sniper and its chief grinder, and because when he falls to injury the team drops in the standings like a 1980s Mike Tyson opponent, the Habs are Gallagher's team. So goes #11, so goes Montréal.

It's fitting that Upper Deck chose this photo for card #GJ-BG in their 2016-17 Series 1 collection and UD Game Jersey subset:

It shows him wearing the team's classic bleu-blanc-rouge (now-home) uniform, but the team's logo is hidden by his position, and instead his Warrior gloves are front and center. The fact that this card contains a white game-worn jersey swatch just further leads the eye to the center of the card to push the message further forward.

Olli Maatta Jersey Card

Once a top prospect selected 22nd overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins and a two-time Stanley Cup winner while with the organization, 26-year-old Olli Maatta has now been traded twice in two off-seasons, the latest sending him from the Chicago Blackhawks to the Los Angeles Kings.

Injuries seem to have slowed his offensive progress, and the player who was once counted on for 30+ points should now be expected to produce between 15 and 25, but his very good defensive play should keep him in a middle-pair role for the duration of his current deal, which lasts for two more seasons. He was, after all, the Hawks' best player in the post-season, finishing with a +7 (with 3 goals, 3 assists and 6 points in 9 games) despite the team only making it to the first round.

In L.A., Maatta will be part of a defense corps that is mostly in their mid-20s, with Ben Hutton (26), Kurtis MacDermid (25), Matt Roy (24), Joakim Ryan (26) and Sean Walker supporting star defender Drew Doughty (30) and young gun Mikey Anderson (20).

Internationally, he has suited up for Team Finland at the World U18s (2011), three World Juniors (2011-13), the Olympics (2014) and the World Cup (2016), with Olympic gold to show for it, as he was dominant in posting 5 points in 6 games, including the nail in the coffin goal taht secured the medal against Team USA.

Here he is wearing the Pens' 2000s white (away) uniform, on card #GJ-OM from Upper Deck's 20106-17 Series 1 set and UD Game Jersey sub-set:

It features a "Vegas gold" game-worn jersey swatch.

Tuukka Rask Jersey Card

The biggest news today is probably Boston Bruins star goalie Tuukka Rask leaving the NHL bubble to attend to a family emergency that is no longer a crisis but nevertheless is a situation that he feels is better handled if he is present. He could return to the bubble if his circumstances change, but it's widely expected GM Don Sweeney's words still true, whereas he's expected to come back next season and the team will welcome him at that moment, and in the meantime they'll ride co-Jenning winner Jaroslav Halak's coattails - despite the never-ending rumours about Rask's possible early retirement.

The change from this year's Vezina nominee to a proven playoff performer does not affect Boston's outlook on their Round 1 chances, as both their goalies are better than the Carolina Hurricanes'; it could become an issue later on, if the Bruins were to face the Tampa Bay Lightning or Vegas Golden Knights.

Here's a good look at who the Bs will be missing, in the team's white (away) uniform:

That's card #GJ-TR from Upper Deck's 2016-17 Series 1 and UD Game Jersey sub-set, featuring a black game-worn jersey swatch.

Since he has appeared in the postseason, there is no question his name will be on the Stanley Cup should the Bruins, win despite his voluntary leave.

Alexander Wennberg Autographed Card

Alexander Wennberg is bouncing back from a pretty awful 2018-19 season where he had just 2 goals, 23 assists and 25 points in 75 games and was a healthy scratch for half the Columbus Blue Jackets' postseason games, as he's currently on pace for his usual 35-40 points... if the upper-body injury he suffered at the hands of the Montréal Canadiens this afternoon isn't too serious.

The 25-year-old Swede may hit the 59-point peak he attained in 2016-17 again later in his career a couple of times, but it's looking like the 14th-overall pick of the 2013 draft - ahead of the likes of Ryan Pulock (15th), Anthony Mantha (20th), Andre Burakovsky (23rd), Tristan Jarry (44th), Tyler Bertuzzi (58th), Pavel Buchnevich (75th), Jake Guentzel (77th), Anthony Duclair (80th), Oliver Bjorkstrand (89th) and Andreas Johnsson (202nd) - will likely never be a point-per-game player.

Then again, everyone on that list except Guentzel took years to earn their spots, and most aren't done improving.

It just goes to show that although the NHL has become a much younger game, most humans need to learn to adapt to their surroundings, and forwards' primes still usually take place in their mid-to-late-20s.

Here's wishing him a speedy, sure, but more importantly, a full recovery.

Here he is wearing #41 in the Blue Jackets' blue (home) uniform on card #52 from Upper Deck's 2016-17 Series 1 set:

He signed it last season in blue sharpie and the number he tagged at the end (10) is the one he's been wearing since 2016. Marian Gaborik and Jack Skille had worn #10 in his first two seasons, and he waited for it to be available to make the switch.

Laura Fortino: Three Autographed Cards

The NHL announced it will hold a Women's 3-on-3 tournament during the All-Star Weekend, featuring an American and a Canadian team facing off, with 10 players suiting up for each. Of course, that means 13 players from World Championship and/or Olympic rosters didn't make the cut for reasons ranging from unavailability to marketability to the NHL not having French-speaking decision-makers and the PWHPA choosing to play its run of exhibition games in places like Hartford, Etobicoke, Hudson (New Hampshire), and Buffalo instead of, say, Montréal, where half the Canadian Olympic team played for the CWHL's Montréal Canadiennes, the team that has won most of the league's championships in ended up as finalists almost every other time.

All of this to say that the only three Quebecers who made Team Canada were Marie-Philip Poulin (the current best player in the world), Mélodie Daoust and goalie Ann-Renée Desbiens, leaving out Lauriane Rougeau, Annie Bélanger, Catherine Daoust, Tracy-Ann Lavigne, Geneviève Lacasse, Mélanie Desrochers, Sarah Lefort, Ann-Sophie Bettez, Sophie Brault, Kim Deschenes, Maude Gélinas, Karell Emard, Marie-Soleil Deschenes, Genevieve Bannon, other francophones such as Ontario's Carolyne Prevost and Marlene Boissonnault from New Brunswick and current Québec residents Emma Martin, Hilary Knight, Jill Saulnier and Erin Ambrose.

That being said, the 20 players who will be there are, indeed, among the 50 best players in the world - roughly the same percentage as the"real" All-Star Game, which will be played without the likes of Alex Ovechkin (declined invitation), Marc-André Fleury (declined), Darcy Kuemper (injury), Jake Guentzel (injury), Johnny Gaudreau (not invited), and Nikita Kucherov (not invited) and Sidney Crosby (missed nearly the entire first half of the season to injury).

Among those who made the cut is defender Laura Fortino, the CWHL's first-overall pick in 2014 who assisted on the gold-winning goal by Poulin at the 2014 Sochi Games in her first Olympic experience and helped Canada capture silver at the 2018 games in Peyongchang. She also has World Championship gold (2012), silver (2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017) and bronze (2019) medalsas well as two U-18 silvers (2008 and 2009).

Professionally, she wore the assistant-captain's "A" for the Brampton Thunder and Markham Thunder. She was mostly a point-per-game player when the team was in Brampton, finishing close to forward Jamie-Lee Rattray for the team's scoring crown. She rarely gets called for penalties, is a quick skater and controls the play very well.

Here she is wearing Canada's 2014-15 pseudo-vintage white ("home") uniform with "CANADA" written diagonally, New York Rangers-style, on card #55 from Upper Deck's 2015-16 Team Canada Juniors/Women set:

And here she is wearing the 2015-16 uniform with the "Hockey Canada" logo (first worn 2008-13), from UD's 2016-17 Team Canada Juniors/Women set:

On the left is the base card (#22 in the collection), while the card on the right is #POE-42 from the Program Of Excellence sub-set.

The Cornell University graduate, College All-Star and 2015-16 CWHL Defenceman (sic) of the Year signed all three in blue sharpie after a game against the Canadiennes in 2017or 2018. She fits perfectly as #8 in my Team Canada Numbers Project.

Zach Werenski Jersey Card

The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated star defenseman Zach Werenski from the Long-Term Injured List and and placed winger Josh Anderson on it after suffering an injury against the Ottawa Senators in the game in which former Jacket Anthony Duclair scored a hat trick against his former team and head coach who had said he "wasn't sure (Duclair) knew how to play".

At the time on Werenski's injury, he was expected to miss four weeks - which, with the Jackets' schedule, could have led to the New Year - and led the team's defence corps with 6 goals and 16 points; despite missing 7 games, he remains first, tied with Seth Jones, who has played relatively well in his partner's absence.

As predicted, however, goaltending has been the team's Achilles Heel and the main reason why the team is sixth of eight teams in the Metropolitan Division. Team scoring is down from last year without the superstar presence of Artemi Panarin, but Gustav Nyquist, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Cam Atkinson are carrying the offence and giving the team a chance to win on most nights. I bet head coach John Tortorella would like to get help between the pipes, though, but perhaps GM Jarmo Kekalainen feels the price is too steep to take a risk on the likes of Jonathan Quick and Devan Dubnyk, two star #1s of the past five years who have since lost their starting positions.

Having Werenski back should help keep the goals-against down, though, if only because having him and Jones on the ice for half the game will keep the opposition from having prime scoring chances.

Here he is wearing the Jackets' white (away) uniform on card #RS-ZW from Upper Deck's 2016-17 SP Game-Used Edition set and Rookie Sweaters sub-set:

It features a matching jersey swatch from a rookie photo shoot and is numbered 260/499.

Nick Paul: Two Autographed Cards

First things first: Nick Paul was a power forward in Juniors who didn't quite live up to that reputation in the AHL afterwards, but with 9 points in 25 games with the Ottawa Senators so far in 2019-20, it feels like the 24-year-old, 6'3", 220-pound winger is getting a feel as how to translate that in the Big Show. However, he'd left Wednesday's game against the Edmonton Oilers in the first period with a neck contusion, so he wasn't playing at 100% against the Philadelphia Flyers this afternoon.

Second: Flyers gonna Flyer. It looks like a bench that has Alain Vigneault to lead it and Michel Therrien, Mike Yeo and Ian Laperriere wants to bring grit back after the Ron Hextall/Dave Hakstol talent-driven years, as the Flyers players took exception to many a hard, legal, quality hit by the Sens to retaliate, cheap-shot and goat Ottawa players into fighting.

Joel Farabee initiated a fight with Jean-Gabriel Pageau of all people for a clean hit Pageau had laid out on his prior - what ever happened to taking note of a guy's number and trying to get him back later? Does Farabee not trust himself enough to put himself in a position to either hit Pageau back or strip him off the puck in a manner that'll make it on a highlights reel? Pageau defended himself ok and threw a decent couple of shots, but someone should clock that rookie to teach him some respect.

Which brings me to Jakub Voracek. I like him a lot and will continue to defend his play and effort (when defensible) even as the 60-point seasons become more common than the 80-point ones, but seriously, it's not his role to pick a fight with Paul after the Sens laid big hits out on Travis Konecky (a masterclass center-ice hit by Mark Borowiecki, the guy who stopped a robbery in Vancouver earlier this week) and Farabee:

It was a case where I had to root for Paul, who dished out a couple of nice uppercuts, not just because the Sens were playing clean and didn't deserve to get called out on their hits, but also because Paul was damn close to having had a concussion just three nights ago and this dickhead chose him as the scapegoat to try to change the momentum of the game.

It did, as the Flyers ended up intimidating their way to a 4-3 win, and now head coach D.J. Smith has to convince his team that the pain they endured in a losing cause wasn't worth it, but perhaps just a tiny bit more pain - 5% more - would have resulted in a win, and that's pain that's worth the effort.

So Nick Paul and Jean-Gabriel Pageau deserve stars in their notebooks today, as does Borowiecki - and the Flyers earned a note in the teacher's binder that they are not mature enough to be patient, not smart enough to be strategic and win clean, not brave enough to fight fire with fire, and not talented enough to keep up with a team that was destined to be a bottom-two this season. They are once again bullies, but probably not tough enough to handle big boys like the Boston Bruins or St. Louis Blues.

Here is Paul wearing the Sens' best-looking jersey of all time, the "Black O", on card #299 from Upper Deck's 2016-17 MVP set:

And here's a close-up of his face, wearing Ottawa's white (away) uniform, on card #P-107 from Upper Deck's 2016-17 Series 2 collections and UD Portraits sub-set:

He signed both "Rookie" cards in blue sharpie last year, when the Sens lost 5-2 against the Montréal Canadiens at the Bell Centre.

He suited up for Team Canada at the 2015 World Juniors, and one of his 3 goals (in 7 games) was scored in the final against Team Russia, helping the Canadians win gold on home soil in a 5-4 game.

Mark Borowiecki: Two Autographed Cards

They call him "Borocop" and the nickname proved to be truer than ever today, as Mark Borowiecki of the Ottawa Senators thwarted a theft in Vancouver ahead of tonight's game against the Vancouver Canucks.

Essentially, a man stole something from the back of a vehicle, tried to flee with it on a bike, BoroCop ran after him, clothes-lined him, wrested him, retrieved the bag and called the police. And this being Vancouver, the police have a word of warning:

As this did happen on Dec. 1, it’s the start of the holiday season, we are going to see more and more parcels in the back of vehicles and the front of vehicles. We’re asking people: keep your property in your car safe, keep it secure and out of sight.

I hate that we're there, in this day and age, that someone's stuff is only theirs until someone else takes it away and where folks are being spied on by the State and the police are militarized yet no one ever seems to catch petty criminals.

At least there are god people like Borowiecki, who we can watch 82 times a year perform his craft of defending his own zone and looking like a superhero on a card like #347 from Panini's 2011-12 Pinnacle set:

It's a dark, silver foil in the same vein as Upper Deck's Black Diamond series.

Here he is on the more classic card #486 from Upper Deck's 2016-17 Compendium Series 2 (Blue parallel, which one gets for redeeming 10 "regular" base cards on E-Pack) set:

Both feature him wearing the Sens' white (now-away) uniform; he signed them during the 2017-18 season in blue sharpie.

Michael Rasmussen Autograph Card

A lot of Detroit Red Wings fans are quick to push the panic button on their first-round prospects if they aren't as quick as Dylan Larkin to have an impact in the NHL, but these people need to realize Larkin took a major step back in his second and third seasons; Anthony Mantha also needed some grooming, and it too a stint playing for Team Canada for him to fully develop the confidence that he could be as dominating with adults as he was in Juniors.

At 6'6" and 221 pounds, it's quite possible that Michael Rasmussen's development path will follow that of a power forward, and he could become a dominant player only at age 24-26 - it's a bet all GMs make when they select a giant in the first round. He's producing at a point-per-game average with the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins this season, but again, people need to let him develop at his own pace, and not place undue pressure on him if he regresses or stagnates or goes pointless in ten straight games - these things happen to all players, particularly young ones.

Wings fans should remain optimistic that they will have a very good team in two or three years, and that perhaps at that moment or right afterwards, Rasmussen may very well be an important part of the core, either as a middle-six centre or as a net-crashing and board-busting playmaking winger.

Here he is wearing the WHL's Tri-City Americans' white (home) uniform on card #BA-MR1 from Leaf's 2016-17 Leaf Metal set:

Oddly, it bears the In The Game logo on the back but not the front, possibly because they hold the license for CHL cards, but Leaf doesn't want to give them a second life after having purchased their vault a few years ago:

The all-silver foil card features a blue-sharpied on-sticker autograph.

Mark Letestu Autographed Card

The bad news just keeps piling on for the Winnipeg Jets, following an off-season where they lost half their defense: Patrik Laine will be out for at least a couple of games with a lower-body injury, Dustin Byfuglien was operated on an ankle with or without the team's consent and will miss up to four months, and Mark Letestu has now been shut down for six months with myocarditis, which I know from watching House, M.D. is a viral infection to the heart.

Undrafted out of Alberta Junior "A" and then Western Michigan University, Letestu first signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins as a free agent, made his way to the Columbus Blue Jackets, then the Edmonton Oilers, an hours-long trip to the Nashville Predators only to be traded back to the Blue Jackets, a tryout deal with the Florida Panthers, a new deal with the Jackets, and this summer signed on with the Jets.

He has mostly played in blue in the NHL - even in Pittsburgh. Here he is wearing the Oilers' classic uniform of the same colour on card #192 from Upper Deck's 2016-17 O-Pee-Chee set:

He signed it in blue sharpie after a game in Montréal in 2018. He's wearing #55 on it, which is perfect for inclusion in my Oilers Numbers Project.

Nick Leddy Jersey Card

Nick Leddy made history earlier tonight as the first New York Islanders defenseman to score on a penalty shot as his three points helped his team win against the Ottawa Senators. Furthermore, it was thought for a while that he had joined Hall Of Famer Denis Potvin as the only d-men to score hat tricks for the franchise, but the (third) goal was given to Cal Clutterbuck a few minutes later when the NHL head office realized he'd actually deflected Leddy's shot ever so slightly.

Ever since coming from the Chicago Blackhawks in October of 2014, Leddy has been a steady offensive presence for the Isles, generally oscillating between 40 and 45 points per season except last year where he only collected 26, although his defensive play has sometimes angered the team's fans; one need only look at his stats from 2017-18 to understand their frustration: in 80 games, he scored 10 goals and had 42 points with just 20 minutes (not too bad for a defenseman who weighs 210 pounds), but his -42 ratio was unforgivable.

It's a far cry from the 10-goal, 37-point and +18 rating rating from 2014-15 that got him some Norris Trophy votes.

This year, he's again on track points-wise, with 5 points in 9 games, 2 penalty minutes and a +5 rating in part thanks to tonight's game. Head coach Barry Trotz seems to know how to best utilize him, too, because he was an even +0 last year on the team with the best goals-against average, so he's getting matchups where he can contribute and not put his team in a bad situation.

Here he is wearing the Isles' white (now-away) uniform on card #FA-NL from Upper Deck's 2016-17 Artifacts collection and Frozen Artifacts sub-set:

It features a bright orange (much brighter than the scan lets on) game-worn jersey swatch. Artifacts remains the best-looking set on the market year in and year out, in my opinion.