Brandon Sutter Autographed Card

Mark this one as the biggest success story of the evening: Vancouver Canucks second-line center Brandon Sutter scored the game winner in his return from a 21-game absence due to a lower-body injury.

The former first-round draft pick (11th overall, Carolina Hurricanes, 2007) has only reached the 40-point mark once in his nine-year NHL career so far, but I do feel like he's a fine #2 center on a playoff team or an excellent #3 on a Stanley Cup contender; he is good at keeping and retrieving the puck, won 54.3% of his faceoffs last year (but realistically should hover around the 52% mark most years), draws penalties and takes very few, leading some to speculate that he may have been the Canucks' most useful player last year. Then again, the Canucks were a tire sale last year.

But he does fall into the third tier, below the elite stars (Sidney Crosby, Ryan Getzlaf, Patrice Bergeron) and the dependable veterans who are sometimes award-worthy (Tomas Plekanec, Ryan Kesler).

Still, it's nice to see him get his legs back. Welcome back!

Here he is from his WHL days, wearing the Red Deer Rebels' burgundy (away) uniform, on card #118 from In The Game's 2006-07 Heroes And Prospects set (and Prospect sub-set):

He signed it in blue sharpie during the 2014-15 season.

Brandon Sutter Autograph Card

I last featured Brandon Sutter two years ago when he'd been traded from the Carolina Hurricanes to the Pittsburgh Penguins; today, the Pens sent him to the Vancouver Canucks for center Nick Bonino and Adam Clendening.

Clendening's a decent defensive prospect from the Chicago Blackhawks' system who had very good statistics in the AHL and just needs to translate that into the NHL, while I still think Bonino has the potential to be a consistent 20-goal scorer in the NHL; still, the best player here is Sutter, who actually not only already is a consistent 20-goal man, but did so on the Pens' third line while Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby monopolized all the best wingers for themselves.

You could argue that by signing free agent Eric Fehr on the same day, though, the Pens ended up even, while the Canucks gave more than I would have but may have cemented their 2C spot for years if they can sign Sutter and not lose him as a UFA by the end of the year.

We're talking about a guy who often gets Selke and Lady Byng votes at the end of the year and has won gold with Team Canada at the World Juniors (2008). At age 26, he's still a guy you can add to your nucleus and will add leadership and help steer the kids in the right direction. He's a Sutter, after all, and has even worn the alternate captain's ''A'' as a young guy with the Canes, as can be attested in card #BSU from Panini's 2011-12 Titanium set (part of the Private Signings sub-set):

The gold foil border's a nice touch, as is the Hurricanes' black (third) jersey. It's signed on-card in thin blue sharpie and just generally has a nice vibe to it.

Ironically, today marked the second time in three years Jim Rutherford has traded and praised him, as he was also the one who sent him to Pittsburgh in the first place when he was GM in Carolina.

Brandon Sutter Swatch Card

I guess I was destined to acquire this card... I participated in another Ebay box break last week, and lots were sold for two teams at a time. I took the lot combining the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes and ended up with Brandon Sutter, who is now a Pen after a trade last summer with the Canes.

Many, had they known they were going to ge a guy who played for both teams, would have set their sights on Jordan Staal - not me, not at all. The Sutters are hockey royalty, and I was a big fan of the first wave - already have autographed cards of Brent Sutter and Ron Sutter - and have been following Brandon's (Brent's son) career since the day he was drafted - the ninth in the family to have that happen. I was hoping he'd land with the New York Islanders or Chicago Blackhawks (like his father), or the Calgary Flames (where the family comes from, and a team suited right for their style of balls-out play), but really, it's a dream come true to get drafted, and beggars can't be choosers.

Now, onto the swatch card:

http://amzn.to/2ouNydpIt's from Panini's 2011-12 Certified set (card #31, numbered 21/399), and features a nice black swatch, either from the team's third jersey, or the sleeve or belt line of their home (red) uniform. The Certified cards have a long, white border that the swatch doesn't come close to filling, so perhaps I'll try to have the card signed some day.