Joe Veleno Autographed Card

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The Montréal Canadiens signed a former first-round draft pick to a one-year, $900K contract earlier today, a left-shot centre who should see time in the bottom-six (I would guess Jake Evans is slotted as the third-line pivot which would relegate Joe Veleno to the fourth) and will essentially replace departed free agent Christian Dvorak.

He'd been practising with Habs players at the team's Brossard practice facility this summer, so GM Kent Hughes (his former agent) got to see him quite a lot before putting ink to paper.

He thus becomes the third hometown kid to get repatriated over the summer, after the free agent signing of Stanley Cup (St. Louis Blues, 2019) and Calder Cup (Abbottsford Canucks, 2025) winner Sammy Blais and trade acquisition Zachary Bolduc (from the Blues, for Logan Mailloux).

At age 25, Veleno will aim to change the perception on his career trajectory, as the second member - with Sean Day - of the five-man club of players granted "exceptional status" in Juniors, i.e. players who were allowed to make their Junior hockey debuts at age 15 (one year ahead of usual phenoms) and reached their prime age without achieving "impact player" status at the NHL level; John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad, and Connor McDavid have all reached stardom, while a trio of youngsters who were also given that chance - Shane Wright, Connor Bedard, and Michael Misa - have yet to reach those peaks but get a pass due to their age.

As a 16-year-old high schooler in 2016-17, he helped his Saint John Sea Dogs win the LHJMQ's league championship, with 20-year-old Matthew Highmore, 19-year-olds Mathieu Joseph, Thomas Chabot, and Jakub Zboril, and 18-year-old Julien Gauthier.

He split the next season between the Sea Dogs (6 goals, 25 assists and 31 points in 31 games, with 26 penalty minutes and a -10 rating) and Drummondville Voltigeurs (16 goals, 32 assists and 48 points in 33 games, with 22 penalty minutes and a +14 rating, plus 11 points and 10 PIMs in 10 playof games), leading the Detroit Red Wings to pick him 30th overall at the 2018 draft, ahead of Alexander Romanov (Montréal Canadiens, 38th), Ryan McLeod (Edmonton Oilers, 40th), Jack Drury (Carolina Hurricanes, 42nd), Martin Fehervary (Washington Capitals, 46th), Kirill Marchenko (Columbus Blue Jackets, 49th), Sean Durzi (Toronto Maple Leafs, 52nd), Jack McBain (Minnesota Wild, 63rd), Lukas Dostal (Anaheim Ducks, 85th), and Philipp Kurashev (Chicago Blackhawks, 120th). With 306 NHL games played, Veleno currently ranks 15th in his draft class, while his 81 points place him 22nd for now.

He followed that up with 104 points (42 goals, 62 assists) in 59 games in 2018-19, with 19 penalty minutes and an astonishing +63 plus/minus rating for his final season in Juniors before turning pro. He then posted 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in 54 games with the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins in 2019-20, opted to play overseas with the Malmö Redhawks (20 points and 18 penalty minutes in 46 games) before finishing the season with the Griffins (3 points and 4 PIMs in 4 games) and Red Wings (1 point and 4 PIMs in 5 games). He's mostly been an NHL regular with the underwhelming Wings and Blackhawks these past three seasons. This upcoming season may well be his first true shot at a playoff berth in the NHL as the Habs look to repeat last season's success and perhaps even go deeper in the postseason.

Here is the Player of The Day sporting Team Canada's red uniform in the 2016 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, where his team placed fifth, on card #70 from Upper Deck's 2017-18 Team Canada Juniors set, signed a couple of years ago in blue sharpie:

He captained the team to the championship the following season. As a matter of fact, his international record is pretty stellar, with gold medals at the 2020 World Juniors (6 points in 6 games as assistant-capitan) and 2023 World Championships (5 points in 5 games with current Habs teammates Blais and Samuel Montembeault), and fellow Quebecers Devon Levi and Pierre-Olivier Joseph).

Sens Preview: Colin White Jersey Card

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: I liked doing last year's format, so I'll be doing it the same way this season as well, partly because of that but also because as a father of a toddler and a baby, I just do not have enough time to write two separate posts per day on each blog. I'll copy these on each one instead. Like last year, 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 training camp being set to start, several players haven't found a team yet, many RFAs haven't signed with their respective teams, and a few clubs are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much maneuvering left to do.

Key exits: Evgenii Dadonov (RW), Ryan Dzingel (F), Artem Anisimov (C), Derek Stepan (C), Marcus Hogberg (G), Joey Daccord (G), Matthew Peca (F)

Key Arrivals: Michael Del Zotto (D), Nick Holden (D), Kole Sherwood (RW)

Top prospects: Shane Pinto (C), Filip Gustavsson (G), Jake Sanderson (D), Jacob Bernard-Docker (D), Tyler Boucher (W), Roby Jarventie (LW), Lassi Thomson (D), Ridley Greig (LW), Tyler Kleven (D), Zack Ostapchuk (LW), Egor Sokolov (RW), Mark Kastelic (C), Maxence Guenette (D)

It would take a lot of things to go right with the development of the Ottawa Senators' young stars for the team to be able to contend for a playoff spot until the end of March... but chances are a lot of them will. Most of the forwards will take a step forward (although Tim Stützle may go through a sophomore slump, particularly if asked to fill the #2 centre role instead of remaining on the wing), and the defense showed during the final month of the 2020-21 season that they were ready for more responsibilities. As a matter of fact, had the Sens received just league average goaltending from Matt Murray in any of his first 10 games, they team would have been a lock for the playoffs, seeing as they fell a single point behind the Montréal Canadiens who were in a tailspin at the end of the season, because of a compressed schedule due to a Covid outbreak.

What makes their odds look good:
Finishing the season with a 10-4 record was impressive, but it may be a mirage, due to teams resting players or being unprepared to face them because they were at the bottom of the standings. Illusion or not, these young players learned to win and can now bank that experience for future use.

Question marks: Can sophomore Josh Norris continue progressing to keep a stranglehold on the #1 centre role? Will Murray bounce back, or has he simply lost his way? How many games will Brady Tkachuk miss as a contract holdout, and will it cost him the captaincy (I, for one, would give it to Thomas Chabot at this point, who has bought into what the team is looking to build by signing the eight-year deal that GM Pierre Dorion hopes to build other contracts around)?

Outlook:
This team will be a powerhouse three years from now, it's just a matter of gaining more experience, some of the current contenders taking a step back, and Tkachuk deciding if he wants in or if he'll conspire with brother Matthew to eventually land with the St. Louis Blues together.

Prediction:
Tied for 4th in the Atlantic Division, with the Boston Bruins and Habs.

One key player in the Sens' rebuild had been Colin White, a 2015 first-round pick (21st overall) who plays well in all three zones, once thought to be the team's next first-line pivot (which is why he was given a six-year deal averaging $4.75M after a strong rookie season in 2019) but who can go up and down the lineup without hurting the team while amassing anywhere between 25 and 45 points, perhaps with a peak of 60.

Unfortunately, he will miss the entire 2021-22 season after falling awkwardly and dislocating his right shoulder in a pre-season game.

The good news for the Sens is the Canadiens and Bruins also have plenty of injury troubles to start the season, as do the Pittsburgh Penguins who will be competing for the same Wild Card playoff spot - and Ottawa has the most depth and best prospects of the lot.

Here is White, wearing the Senators' white (away) uniform from a few years ago, on card #DD-CW from Upper Deck's 2017-18 Black Diamond collection and Diamond Debut Relics sub-set:

It features a matching white swatch from a photo shoot.

Lightning Preview: Andrei Vasilevskiy Jersey Card

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: I liked doing last year's format, so I'll be doing it the same way this season as well, partly because of that but also because as a father of a toddler and a baby, I just do not have enough time to write two separate posts per day on each blog. I'll copy these on each one instead. Like last year, 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 training camp being set to start in less than two weeks, several players haven't found a team yet, many RFAs haven't signed with their respective teams, and a few clubs are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much maneuvering left to do.

Key exits: Yanni Gourde (C), Blake Coleman (LW), Barclay Goodrow (RW), Tyler Johnson (C), David Savard (D), Luke Schenn (D), Curtis McElhinney (G)

Key Arrivals: Brian Elliott (G), Corey Perry (RW), Zach Bogosian (D), Pierre-Édouard Bellemare (C), Charles Hudon (C)

Top prospects: Alex Barré-Boulet (C), Roman Schmidt (D), Boris Katchouk (LW), Taylor Raddysh (RW), Simon Ryfors (C), Odeen Tutfo (C), Cal Foote (D), Hugo Alnefelt (G), Jack Finley (C), Nick Perbix (D), Dylan Duke (C), Cole Koepke (LW), Gage Goncalves (C)

I have called the Tampa Bay Lightning the "best-assembled team in the cap era", but "best team" would be just as fitting. Even past Rocket Richard Trophy winner and captain Steven Stamkos, Hart and Art Ross winner Nikita Kucherov, Vezina and Conn Smythe winner Andrei Vasilevskiy and Norris and Conn Smythe winner Victor Hedman, there is still the ever-clutch antics of point-per-game player Brayden Point, two-way star Anthony Cirelli, playoff hero Alex Killorn, consistent beast Ondrej Palat, heart-and-soul grinder Pat Maroon, future Norris winner Mikhail Sergachev, All-Star Ryan McDonagh, sophomore Foote... they're like the Canadian Olympic team, they could ice two teams and still be serious contenders.

What makes their odds look good:
They are the back-to-back champions and replaced every departed player with their equivalent (at least on paper).

Question marks: They lost their entire third line (Gourde, Coleman and Goodrow), which had been essential for them last postseason - while Coleman and Goodrow also led the team with over 100 hits apiece in the regular season, followed by Schenn, with 99, who also left. But they have players lined up to replace them, both old (Perry, the returning Bogosian) and young (Barré-Boulet) and in-between (Bellemare and Hudon).

Outlook:
This team can withstand missing an entire season of Stamkos and win the Cup. This team can withstand missing an entire season of Kucherov and win the Cup. This team can withstand a sub-par postseason by Hedman and win the Cup. They could possibly only get challenged by losing two MVP-level players, as losing "just" one clearly still had them on top of the rest of the league. We have three more years of them being heavy contenders for the title - or until they get bored and tired of winning.

Prediction:
1st in the Atlantic Division.

Of course, Vasilevskiy will have a great say on whether the Bolts finish first, second (if he misses time to injury), third (if for some reason he falters and completely loses his way) or fourth (if he misses nearly the entire season due to unforeseen cicumstances), but unless the team's plane crashes altogether, Tampa will make the playoffs and be a threat to win it all again this year. The only thing standing between Tampa Bay and a third consecutive Stanley Cup is fatigue - not just accrued from the last two championship runs, but also because a lot of their best players (Vasilevskiy, Hedman, Kucherov, Palat, Point, McDonagh, possibly Stamkos) will be representing their countries in the Olympics mid-season.

You may recall my attempts at ranking Vasi with the best of the best last season, admitting he was currently the best in the world at covering the bottom-third of the net, but that he had flaws up high; in terms of "which goalie would be best playing behind the same team as his counterparts", I would likely have him second behind the Winnipeg Jets' Connor Hellebuyck with an asterix for John Gibson in that he would be capable to elevate his game to #2. Rounding out my top-five for the upcoming season are Marc-André Fleury and Jacob Markstrom, with Robin Lehner right outside. Thatcher Demko is making a strong case for consideration as well. In terms of a farther future, say five years down the line, Spencer Knight, Cayden Primeau and Devon Levi are probably the bigger names coming, ahead of Carter Hart, who I do not necessarily view as a future perennial Vezina candidate the way many pundits do.

Here is #88 sporting the Bolts' blue (home) uniform on card #GJ-AV from Upper Deck's 2017-18 Series 1 set and UD Game Jersey sub-set:

It features a matching game-worn jersey swatch.

Richard Panik Autograph Card

(team links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

Once considered a reliable middle-six forward who was good for some 35-40 points per season, Richard Pánik's production has fallen off in recent years, partly because he played on bad teams like the Arizona Coyotes and Detroit Red Wings, but perhaps also because when he signed as a free agent with the Washington Capitals, he was mostly seen as depth and insurance, seeing his ice time fall from 15 minutes per game in Arizona to just a little over 12 in Washington because he didn't get to fill in for anyone injured on the second line.

At the trade deadline, he was part of a package the Caps sent to the Wings to acquire power forward Anthony Mantha, and he was flipped to the New York Islanders earlier today in return for defenseman Nick Leddy, in a move impacted by the upcoming Seattle Kraken expansion draft.

Playing away from the puck is not his strength - he's more of a Thomas Vanek-type, with decent speed, good hands and a good shot - so I'm not sure how he'll fare on a team managed by Lou Lamoriello and coached by Barry Trotz, but if anything, he can get flipped to yet another team if it doesn't work out. I have a soft spot for Leddy, so I'll say the Wings win this one.

Here is the former second-rounder (52nd overall in 2009, a Tampa Bay Lightning selection) wearing the Coyotes' burgundy and black home uniform, on card #SOTT-RP from Upper Deck's 2017-18 SP Authentic collection and Sign Of The Times sub-set:

It features a blue-sharpied on-card autograph, including his jersey number (14) tagged at the end.

Samuel Morin Jersey Card

(team links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

Seven and a half years after getting drafted 11th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers (2013), Samuel Morin finally scored his first NHL goal, although to be fair it was in just his 14th NHL game, as his career had been derailed by serious injuries. He had never suited up for more than 17 games in a single season - all levels combined - since appearing in 75 (74 of them with the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms) in 2016-17.

Two consecutive ACL tears in the same knee in a 19-month span and a number of other injuries caused him to be limited to 20 games in 2017-18, 7 in 2018-19 and 4 in 2019-20, and in order to have him dress at the NHL level, Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault even tried Morin at left wing earlier this season, before the team's record and depth injury status had the organization review its plan.

Morin's goal was the game-winner, ending a four-game losing streak.

Here is the 6'6", 200-pound gentle giant wearing the Flyers' current/classic orange uniform, on card #RM-SM from Upper Deck's 2017-18 Series 2 collection and Rookie Materials sub-set:

It features a rather large jersey swatch that probably comes from a photo shoot, with a small black thread at the bottom.

Owen Tippett: Two Autographed Cards

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I read things online about Florida Panthers fans worrying that Owen Tippett is not yet ready to be a top-six forward when others who were selected after him in the 2017 draft are already impact players, such as Nick Suzuki (13th), Robert Thomas (20th), Filip Chytil (21st), Kailer Yamamoto (22nd), Henri Jokiharju (29th), Alexandre Texier (45th), Maxime Comtois (50th) and Drake Batherson (121st) - and those voices aren't going to quiet down now that he's been relegated to the taxi squad once more with a production of just 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points and 4 penalty minutes in 15 games.

However, keep in mind he's still just 22, barely has 51 AHL games under his belt, that the Panthers have six players with 16 or more points (a 0.75 point-per-game clip) who all deserve their ice time and the team is tied for sixth-most wins (15) in the NHL, sitting relatively comfortably in a playoff position in the division that houses both of last season's Stanley Cup finalists.

He was a point-per-game player in the OHL, he was almost a point-per-game player as a rookie last season in the AHL (19 goals and 40 points in 46 games) and was slated to play in its All-Star Game until he got injured the game prior.

The "good" news for Florida fans is he's expansion draft protected because his Entry-Level Contract slid for two seasons and will now expire in 2021-22 (and rookie contracts are exempt from being selected by the Seattle Kraken)... unless the team comes to an agreement with Kraken GM Ron Francis to accept Tippett as payment for not selecting someone else, but I doubt it; his skating and shooting ability make him a candidate for at least a middle-six role à la Mike Hoffman.

He's suited up for Team Canada a number of times, only medaling in 2015 at the U-17s, and this is what he looks like wearing the nation's red (away) uniform, on card #64 from Upper Deck's 2017-18 Team Canada Juniors set:

And here he is wearing the white (away) #74 jersey with the Panthers, on card #642 from the 2017-18 O-Pee-Chee set (and Marquee Rookie sub-set) by Upper Deck:

He signed both cards in blue sharpie with #74 tagged at the end. I received them in the mail during the 2018-19 season.

Christian Jaros Autographed Card

The Ottawa Senators have ultimately parted ways with defenseman Christian Jaros and gained forward Jack Kopacka (who this morning belonged to the Anaheim Ducks) and the San Jose Sharks' 7th-round draft pick from 2022; in the three-way trade, the Sharks sent former fourth-rounder Trevor Carrick to Anaheim.

I had identified size on the back end in my Shaks Season Preview post as a need they needed to fill, and it seems instead of going with the devil they knew, they opted to give a guy who couldn't make it out of the Sens' Taxi Squad a chance instead. Jaros is 24 years old, 6'3" and 222 pounds; he's good enough to be a top-four defender in both the Swedish League and the AHL, he just has to transpose his skill to the NHL level. Last season he had three assists and six penalty minutes in 13 games in Ottawa to go with 2 goals, 13 assists, 15 points, 14 PIMs and an astonishing +20 rating with the Belleville Senators.

What I've seen from him so far can be solved with a bit of self-confidence: he's already good defensively and uses his size to make timely hits; he rarely gets outskated (although he won't get confused with Connor McDavid anytime soon, either) and he seems to have good offeinsive reflexes, a decent pass and a good shot. In that sense, he reminds me of Peter Popovic in the 1990s, a guy who was comfortable on the second pair, who remained on the back end, until he started shooting more, and little by little gained some powerplay time. He unfortunately went back to Sweden just as he was hitting his stride and quickly became his team's captain overseas. I see the same type of skill, with perhaps more speed on Jaros' part.

Here he is wearing the Senators' white (away) uniform on card #638 from Upper Deck's 2017-18 O-Pee-Chee collection and Marquee Rookies sub-set:

He signed it in blue sharpie after a preseason game; it allows me to enter him as #83 in my Sens Numbers Project.

Blues Preview: Vladimir Tarasenko 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 St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019 and had only lost a handful of support players to defend their title prior to last season - Joel Edmundson and hometown hero Patrick Maroon - but this time around, losing captain Alex Pietrangelo, retiree Jay Bouwmeester, free agent Troy Brouwer and goalie Jake Allen makes for a greater impact on paper, even though the team remains solid and among the best in a top-heavy but shallow West division. Nearly as significant is the loss of Vladimir Tarasenko to a long-term injury, although he could be back in time for the playoffs, which would be a huge boost.

What makes their odds look good:
They still have 15 players who won a Cup just 18 months ago, including Jaden Schwartz, Ryan O'Reilly, David Perron, Brayden Schenn, Samuel Blais, Colton Parayko and Jordan Binnington. They also replaced Pietrangelo with Torey Krug, who was on the Boston Bruins team the Blues faced in that Final, with a four-point game to show for it.

Question marks:
Is Justin Faulk a fit on this team, or will he get traded before the end of the season? Which is the real Binnington - the one from the 2019 or the 2020 playoffs?

Outlook:
There is no need to worry about missing the playoffs, but playing in the same division as the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights means that making it past the second round is going to be extremely difficult and exhausting.

Prediction:
Third in the West Division.

Back to Tarasenko, who underwent his third shoulder surgery in three years last September and will be out until the end of March. He had 10 points in 10 games in 2019-20, which is a better scoring rate than he's ever achieved over a full season, so at age 29, he really is in his prime, but despite having posted five straight 30-goal seasons (with a high of 40 in 2015-16), he still falls short of what was expected of him: 50-goal seasons and chanllenging Alex Ovechkin for the scoring crown; part of that can be attributed to Tarasenko also developing as a passer (he is usually at no more than a 10 goals-to-assists ratio difference at the end of any given season), whereas Ovie is definitely a shoot-only type of player, but it also has to do with the Blues' historically defensive style of play. Tarasenko will likely never win a Selke Trophy, but he has less leeway than his Team Russia teammate in his own zone. We'll see if there are any long-term consequences to his surgery in the next couple of years.

Here he is sporting the Blues' white (away) uniform on the jersey insert version of card #11 from Upper Deck's 2017-18 SPX set:

It features a game-worn dark blue jersey swatch that is probably from the Blues' blue (home) jersey. I got it in a trade for a few in-person autograph cards before realizing it could be purchased for $5-10 on Ebay. Internationally, Tarasenko has a gold medal from the 2011 World Juniors and silver from the 2008 U18s, 2009 Hlinka Cup, and 2015 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.

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.

Habs Preview: Tyler Toffoli 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. 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 Division, and the Montréal Canadiens.

The Habs surprised many by ousting the Pittsburgh Penguins in last August's Return To Play and fared decently against a much stronger Philadelphia Flyers team in the first round, after finishing 12th in the Eastern Conference during the interrupted regular season - with the very real possibility of falling even lower had the season been completed with the dozen missing games. They had missed the playoffs for the previous three seasons.

They are also the most-improved team this off-season, with the additions of #1B goaltender Jake Allen, 30-goal scorer Tyler Toffoli, 27-goal scorer Josh Anderson, and shut-down defender Joel Edmundson joining the fold, and rookie Alexander Romanov expected to become the next star on the team's blue line. However, whenever a team adds that many new faces (essentially a quarter of a line-up), there are usually growing pains and chemistry issues that take until the Holidays to sort out - or roughly half the year. There will not be the luxury of time this year, as the season will actually start after the Holidays have taken place and will have to end before mid-July because of the Summer Olympics.

What makes their odds look good:
The middle: Phillip Danault is now rightfully seen as one of the best two-way centers in the NHL, Nick Suzuki is looking like an eventual first-line pivot and Jesperi Kotkaniemi has shown enough promise to justify the gamble of using a third-overall pick to select him.

The right side is also now comprised of three 25-to-30-goal scorers in Brendan Gallagher, Toffoli and Anderson.

The defense now boasts eight credible and healthy NHL-level names, in addition to Noah Juulsen who may yet recover from concussion issues and is still a top-level prospect in his early 20s.

The team also had a 10-3-2 record against Canadian teams last season; they had the Calgary Flames' and Toronto Maple Leafs' number, they did well against the Ottawa Senators (a historical anomaly), and split the season series with the Winnipeg Jets and Vancouver Canucks. The Edmonton Oilers did a number on them. I figure things will be a little harder in 2020-21 because of the lack of fans in attendance - the Canadiens usually draw huge crowds out West that makes away games feel like home games - but they are built to withstand this exact type of adversary.

Question marks:
Shea Weber has made way for Jeff Petry as the most-used defenseman on the right side for a couple of years now; he has looked slow at times, but his monster shot remains a threat on the powerplay. There will come a day when he is best bought out, which will impact the Nashville Predators' cap because they're the ones who signed the cap-circumventing contract.

Outlook:
Remember when the saying went "as Carey Price goes, so do the Canadiens"? That didn't turn out all that well, as the team has missed the playoffs more than they've been in them since he was appointed as the unquestioned #1, a situation that has been made worse by his current contract. Luckily for him and the team, Montréal has a shot at winning the division if he can simply be the 15th-best goalie in the league and Allen can perform around 20th-best for some 20-to-25 games. There will be a shit-ton of back-to-back games and teams who do not have a good tandem in net will be penalized, either by missing the postseason or by not faring well in them.

My reservations are with the shortened schedule, the lack of preparation time ahead of facilitating the integration of four new important pieces of the regular lineup and one team possibly gaining improbable momentum. I would normally also worry about message fatigue from long-time head coach Claude Julien, but his health issues from the playoffs buys him sympathy and time.

Prediction:
Second in the Canadian/North Division.

Which brings me to Toffoli, seen here wearing the Los Angeles Kings' white (away) uniform on card #GJ-TT from Upper Deck's 2017-18 Series 1 collection and UD Game Jersey sub-set:

It features a superb silver game-worn jersey swatch. Toffoli is not only a former 30-goal scorer but also a Stanley Cup champion (L.A., 2014), co-starring with Jeff Carter and Tanner Pearson on the team's top unit, dubbed "That 70s Line". He has also won gold with Team Canada at the 2015 World Championships.

At 6'1", 195 pounds, and 28 years of age, he should remain fairly productive for three of the next four seasons. He is a great addition to this team.

Taylor Hall Jersey Card

The most coveted forward in this off-season's free agency, Taylor Hall, will go through the process again next year, as he's agreed to a one-year deal worth $8M with the Buffalo Sabres.

You may recall him saying he was looking to win and that a large paycheque was not the top thing on his shopping list, that he was looking for stability...

While this move makes his previous comments seem a tad hypocritical, bear in mind that most contending teams are tight against the cap this year with a flat cap looming over GMs' heads for the next couple of seasons - and few of them were looking to make trades to make room to add salary, save perhaps for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who already have arguably three better forwards on their roster and instead need to find a way to keep pucks out of their own net at this point.

So instead, Hall is betting on himself, hoping he gets to line up with Jack Eichel, that neither of them gets injured, and that they can pad each other's statistics enough for Hall to force himself to an even greater payday next summer. If all the stars align, the Sabres can win it all in 2020-21, but that's going to take a near-miracle. Hall's semi-realistic hope is to crack the 100-point mark with Eichel to parlay his way onto a stacked team like the Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, Vegas Golden Knights, St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets, Colorado Avalanche or Vancouver Canucks.

I, for one, expect the market to remain essentially the same next time around, however, with GMs going for safe, reasonable bets.

Here is Hall wearing the New Jersey Devils' red (home) uniform, on card #24 from Upper Deck's 2017-18 Premier set, which I got in a trade last summer for a card of his wearing the Edmonton Oilers' blue uniform:

It features a matching game-used piece of "memorabilia" (as per the back, the front specifies it's a jersey). The actual card has the foil at the bottom in pure silver, the scan rendered it beige.

David Savard Autographed Card

The Columbus Blue Jackets had lost 10 of their past 11 games while dealing with an incredible amount of injuries, but they kept hold of the Wild Card position tonight by defeating the Vancouver Canucks 5-3, overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the process. The Canucks' loss helps the Vegas Golden Knights, Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames out West.

A key player on the Jackets since the 2014-15 season has been David Savard, an underrated defenseman who plays behind Seth Jones and Zach Werenski but would be a fist-pair defender on most NHL teams.

We're talking about a guy who is built like a cliché'd Canadian Lumberjack - 6'2" with a perfect stature, 230 pounds of muscle and a face that reads "no bullshit" and "no drama" at the same time - who doesn't make mistakes yet plays upwards of 20 rough minutes per night, like a mixture of Nicklas Lidstrom and Niklas Kronwall.

As the Jackets as a whole have taken a step back in terms of offensive production - last year's points leader on the team, Artemi Panarin, produced 87 points in 79 games while this year's leader, Pierre-Luc Dubois, may not hit the 60 mark - so has Savard, yet his PDO (shooting % + save percentage) is a solid 99.7%, which is fine on a bubble team that scores so little.

Internationally, he's only suited up for Team Canada once - at the 2015 World Championships - and the team went to have a perfect 10-0 record to win gold for the first time since 2007. He can't make it all that often because the Blue Jackets are always in the playoffs.

Here he is wearing Columbus' white (away) uniform, on card #297 from Upper Deck's 2017-18 O-Pee-Chee set:

He signed it in thick silver sharpie, which didn't leave him enough room to spell out his entire name. He did attempt to tag his jersey number (58) at the end, though.

Alex Galchenyuk Jersey Card

Honestly, it feels like Alex Galchenyuk is running out of chances and will be facing KHL purgatory for at least two or three years, as he's two days away from his 26th birthday, on the final year of a deal that brings him to unrestricted free agency and is in his fourth organization in a year and a half after getting traded from the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Minnesota Wild earlier today, with a first-rounder and a decent defensive prospect, Calen Addison, a 2018 second-rounder who just won gold with Team Canada at the World Juniors, for Jason Zucker.

It looks like Galchenyuk brought the overall deal's value down, which is why the Pens had to include a pick and a prospect for the three remaining contract years of second-liner Zucker.

This is the second time in less than a year that the teams had agreed on a Zucker move, but Phil Kessel has nixed the first attempt with his no-trade clause, and he's the one Pittsburgh sent to the Arizona Coyotes for Galchenyuk.

Galchenyuk is currently on pace for 8 goals, but he had scored 19 in each of the previous two seasons, 17 the year before that and a career-high 30 in 2015-16 with the Montréal Canadiens, who had selected him third-overall in 2012.

Many people at the time thought he may have been the most talented forward in his draft class - Filip Forsberg (11th) has shown this to be incorrect and Teuvo Teravainen (18th) is making a case to relegate "Chucky" further down the line, with Tomas Hertl (17th) also looking to do the same.

It's a shame, too, because he does did have all the tools to be an elite forward, from size (6'1", 207 pounds) to a good vision to good passing skills to way above-average puck-handling and deking skills to decent speed to a very good wrist shot... but he seems a lot slower now when he should be in his prime, and he can't seem to be able to keep up with the type of players that could help him get back to top-six production numbers.

Let's hope he's put in the proper environment to salvage the rest of his 20s and not one where off-ice temptations are too difficult to resist.

Here he is from brighter days, sporting the Habs' classic red (now-home) uniform on card #GJ-AG from Upper Deck's 2017-18 Series 1 set and UD Game Jersey sub-set:

It features a white game-worn jersey swatch that is probably from their away uniform.

Ed Belfour Jersey Card

Ed Belfour was a mostly-good goalie who had very bad years sprinkled in throughout his career. He won the Calder as the NHL's top rookie in 1990-91 despite also appearing in 23 games in 1988-89 and 9 playoff games in 1989-90 for the Chicago Blackhawks and also captured the Vezina Trophy as the GM's choice for top goalie that same year and in 1992-93, as well as the Stanley Cup in a hugely-contested 1998-99 Final where, according to the rules of the era, Dallas Stars superstar Brett Hull's series-clinching goal should have been disallowed.

The call was bullshit, as were Eddie The Eagle's Vezinas, as was his selection as a first-ballot Hall of Famer, which wouldn't have happened if he hadn't two very good seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs near the end of his career.

That's my biggest beef with Belfour: he was very good overall.

He had one excellent season (1994-95) in parts of nine years with Chicago, was awful with the San Jose Sharks, was very good for three of five seasons with Dallas but hugely protected by Ken Hitchcock's super-defensive system (and the likes of Derian Hatcher, Richard Matvichuk, Jamie Pushor, and Brad Lukowich while Sergei Zubov and Darryl Sydor were tasked with handing the forwards the puck), was mostly very good in Toronto save for the last season and all the playoffs, and was a parody of himself with the Florida Panthers.

And through it all, one constant: drinking.

I was first a witness to it at the 1993 All-Star Game held in Montréal where he and teammate - and former star defender of the Montréal Canadiens - Chris Chelios took full advantage of the city's legendary night life and were drunk at the skills competition (Belfour letting five goals in) and hung over during the game itself, with their Conference losing 16-6, including Belfour letting the Wales Conference team leave the ice with a 6-0 lead after one period, his opponent, Habs legend Patrick Roy, getting the shutout at the other end of the ice. Maybe Chelios was a bad influence, though.

There were rumours throughout the years, but another documented case was his 2000 arrest in Dallas, where he scared a woman enough to have her call security on him in a hotel while she fled by cab, with Belfour retaliating by putting the bouncer in a headlock and assaulting him. Upon resisting his arrest, he offered the police officers "a billion dollars" if they let him go.

While in Florida in 2007, he got teammate Ville Peltonen in trouble for drunken disorderly conduct and resisting arrest again.

And earlier today, he was "arrested for criminal mischief and alcohol intoxication in a public place after an incident in a hotel early Tuesday morning":

The arrest report says Belfour was lying on the floor clutching a curtain rod that had been ripped out of the dry wall above a window when police approached him.

The report adds that Belfour was kicking a door to the locked spa in an attempt to get in. It says he had slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and could barely stand up.

The police say Belfour was not being compliant when officers tried to put handcuffs on him.

This was his smug mugshot:

This is not meant as an attack, slander or to make fun of him; the man needs help and he has pretended not to for the better part of the past 25 years, getting away with slaps on the wrist that have never taught him a true lesson.

After all, his liquor (whisky) company - Belfour Spirits - has a slogan that seems to tell us how he really feels:

None of this looks like someone who is trying to atone for their troubles with alcohol...

But back to his on-ice achievements.

Again, he was good. All-time great? In the era of Roy, Dominik Hasek and the great-in-numbers-only-but-has-to-be-included Martin Brodeur, not near that trifecta for sure. Considering some of the guys who came after him - Miikka Kiprosoff, Henrik Lundqvist, Roberto Luongo, Sergei Bobrovsky and Tim Thomas - not as consistent as those guys either, no, and no peak as high, either, having never once been dubbed the "best goalie on the planet" for even a year.

On the other hand, imagine if he'd been on top of his game for his entire career, would it have been more consistently close to his peaks, instead of riddled with valleys? Would it have lasted longer at a high level?

Who knows?

But considering the fact that not all retired Vezina winners other than Jim Carey are in the Hall, that some Conn Smythe winners aren't there either, and that one guy who has both will never get there - Ron Hextall, another uneven-but-mostly-very-good goaltender - they could have at least waited for a few years before letting him in.

Here he is in what many consider his "peak" years - a Cup victory, and two seasons with a GAA below 2.00 although Hasek and Ron Tugnutt also had a habit of turning in those types of performances at the time on lesser teams - wearing the Stars' best-looking uniform, the classic green star-shaped jersey from 1997-2006:

That's card #DM-EB from Upper Deck's 2017-18 Black Diamond collection and Diamond Mine Relics sub-set, numbered 63/299. I got it on Ebay in October for under $5. It features a black game-worn jersey swatch that is probably from that uniform.

Justin Abdelkader Jersey Card

For the third time this season, the Detroit Red Wings - the worst team in the NHL - beat the Montréal Canadiens earlier tonight; newcomer Ilya Kovalchuk had two assists and now has three points in two games for the Habs, as he's seemingly taking a liking to the positive reception he's getting.

Montréal's current seven-game winless streak isn't its worst of the season: they had an eight-loss streak in November. Some fans have started chants encouraging the team to tank to increase its odds of landing local kid Alexis Lafrenière as the first-overall pick of the upcoming draft, the most inventive of them being "Finir en dernière pour Lafrenière" ("Finish last for a Lafrenière draft"), especially since this year's event is being held at the Bell Centre.

They'll have to compete with the San Jose Sharks, Ottawa Senators, Los Angeles Kings and Wings for that, however.

Detroit is saddled with seemingly untradeable contracts to aging veterans, such as 35-year-old Valtteri Filppula ($3M until the end of next year), Frans Nielsen (35, $5.25M until 2022), Darren Helm (32, $3.85M until the end of next year), Mike Green (34, $5.75M), Jonathan Ericsson (35, $4.25M), Trevor Daley (36, $3.167M), Jimmy Howard (35, $4M), Jonathan Bernier ($3M for a backup until the end of next year), and Justin Abdelkader (32, $4.25M until 2023).

Abdelkader, a Michigan native, is probably the one who gets the most flack because at his peak, he was a big-bodied (6'2", 215 pounds) winger who may have been able to post 40-point seasons on a second line, with a second-round draft pick pedigree.

He fell to 19 points last year and only has 3 so far in 27 games this season (and is injury-prone). But he's one of the last remaining Wings with Stanley Cup Finals experience, something the current crop of young prospects could use. He also scored important goals in his heyday, including the winner for Michigan State against Boston College in the Frozen Four Final, where he was named Most Outstanding Player. His first two NHL goals came in the Cup Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009.

He's been clutch.

 He would probably be a perfect bottom-six guy were it not for his cap hit, and he'll probably be an excellent development coach some day. However, paying him $4.25M isn't a problem in itself: he's a local kid, a great leader, has a wealth of experience (the Cup Final, but also a member of the bronze-winning Team USA at the 2007 World Juniors, the 2012 and 2014 World Championships and 2016 World Cup), can help other players come to grips with line-bouncing and is further proof that the Wings treat their veterans with respect and loyalty - a key point in enticing free agents to sign with the team.

Building a team isn't only about grabbing the best players available on the free market (New York Rangers), tanking (Buffalo Sabres) or playing a near-perfect defensive system (Barry Trotz' Nashville Predators, Jacques Lemaire's Minnesota Wild). After all, only X first-overall picks from the past 30 years have won Stanley Cups: Vincent Lecavalier, Marc-André Fleury, Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, and Patrick Kane - and two of them, Fleury and Crosby, won as part of the same team, with a second-overall pick (Evgeni Malkin) with them.

No, successful teams are usually built through a cohesive unit that includes veterans and young guys, stars and bruisers, leaders who inspire others to play above their heads for a limited amount of time, a good goalie, and guys who are willing to sacrifice themselves so their teammates can reap the benefits.

Adbelkader can be one of those ingredients, for sure. Here he is sporting the Wings' white (now-away) uniform on card #GJ-JA from Upper Deck's 2017-18 Series 1 set and UD Game Jersey sub-set:

It features a red game-worn jersey swatch that could be from either their home or away uniform - they're exact opposites and are only made of red and white.

Patrik Laine Jersey Card

A lot of folks were writing him off last summer, as the sneaky/streaky Patrik Laine had an 18-goal November last year, making him only the 10th player in NHL history to accomplish the feat and the first one since Pavel Bure in 1994. Goal #17 also happened to be his 100th career goal, scored at 20 years and 224 days of age, making him the fourth-youngest in NHL history to accomplish the feat, after Wayne Gretzky (20 years, 40 days), Jimmy Carson (20 years, 116 days), and Brian Bellows (20 years, 179 days). Of course, Gretzky spent his 18-year-old season in the WHA, so you might take his first place with even more awe (as a matter of fact, I seem to recall reading he reached the 200-goal mark in his age 20 season...).

Also, Alex Ovechkin reached the NHL at age 20, so that's the only reason why he's not on that list.

I thought we could look at Laine's output this season, as he stands at 12 goals, 21 assists and 32 points in 32 games ahead of tonight's games, on pace for an 82-point season if he doesn't go through a similar drought as last year after the Holidays. It seems his underlying numbers show his stats are bound to dip like last year, but he is playing with Mark Scheifele this year, so he's going to grab points left and right whether he tries to or not.

This year might be a better indication of who Laine really is: the 44-goal scorer from two years ago -  which was good for second-overall - who could peak at 60 a couple of times, or a perennial 30-goal scorer who may reach 50 once. It took Ovi a while (and a Stanley Cup for some) to get the respect he rightfully deserved as one of the best snipers of all time, so maybe Laine has to keep maturing until he develops a more rounded game that his team can build around. Or maybe he's at the very least a Max Pacioretty-type of player who scores goals and does little else but eat time. There's something to be done with that as well, it's just that high-scoring second-liners make 70-80% of what elite sharpshooters make.

The kid's 21, we won't be able to fully judge him for at least another five years.

Here he is wearing the Winnipeg Jets' white (away) uniform on card #ST-PL from Upper Deck's 2017-18 Black collection and Star Trademarks Relics sub-set:

It features a matching game-worn jersey swatch.

Jonny Brodzinski Jersey Card

You may recall this Jonny Brodzinski jersey card from a box break last year:

It's #RM-JB from Upper Deck's 2017-18 Series 2 collection and Rookie Materials sub-set, showing him wearing the Los Angeles Kings' black (home) uniform, with a matching "player-worn memorabilia", without specification if it's at the draft, during practice, a game or a photo shoot. Or just in the press box while watching other Kings players practice.

Upon signing him to a one-year deal with the San Jose Sharks on July 2nd, GM Doug Wilson had this to say:

Brodzinski has an excellent combination of power and scoring skill-set. He had a great collegiate career at St. Cloud State and has continued that success at the professional level. We feel there’s a good opportunity for him to earn playing time and help us offensively this upcoming season.

His father Mike and uncle Steve as well as second-youngest brother Easton are all products of St. Cloud State, while his two middle brothers Michael (a Sharks draft pick) and youngest brother Bryce opted for the University of Minnesota.

I want to disagree with Wilson's rose-coloured glasses assessment of Brodzinski, however, as he was barely a point-per-game forward in College, never actually got there at the AHL level but did get close once with the Ontario Reign and has yet to translate any of that to the NHL level, although to be fair, he was mostly asked to play a fourth-line role with the Kings.

I see his upside as a third-line winger more than a centre, if he can translate some of that offensive skill by playing with more talented players than your average fourth-liner. But let's keep in mind he's a fifth-round pick who is already 26 years old. He needs to grab the bull by the horns if he doesn't want to remain a 'tweener alternating between the NHL and AHL.

I'd love to see all four brothers on the ice at once, though, so perhaps there's a chance with the San Jose Barracuda.