Jeff Zatkoff Autograph Card

How many Pittsburgh Penguins goalies can I feature in a single month? After Eric Hartzell and Johan Hedberg, it's time to look at Jeff Zatkoff again and see what he's been up to for the past couple of years.

He last played in the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings in 2016-17, but his .900 save percentage and the fact that the Kings acquired Peter Budaj and Ben Bishop during the season made him more than expendable, so he was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets, only seeing time in 17 games with the AHL's Cleveland Monsters in 2017-18 before moving to Germany to play for the Straubing Tigers, where he's been the clear #1 ever since.

His save percentage was better last year (.910) than it is now (.900), so I'm not certain we'll be seeing the 32-year-old in the NHL again any time soon.

One thing no one can take away from him is his name on the Stanley Cup as a member of the 2016 Penguins - the year Phil Kessel should have won the Conn Smythe - appearing in 14 regular-season games and 2 post-season games, sharing in goaltending duties with Matt Murray and Marc-André Fleury.

Here he is wearing the Pens' Reebok-era black (home) uniform, on the signed insert version of card #118 from Panini's 2013-14 Dominion set and Dual Rookie Class sub-set:

It features an on-card blue-sharpied autograph and is numbered 202/299. Of note, he actually wore #37 for both the Penguins and Kings, but this was from a training camp before he was given that number, so he's wearing #36 instead.

Brandon Dubinsky Swatch Card

I love players who get under Sidney Crosby's skin. Granted, that's more than half the league's checking centers, but some do it better than others, often leading to his losing patience and dishing out some of the dirtiest hits or slashes in the modern-day game. And, with Maxim Lapierre gone, Brandon Dubinsky is the Van Gogh of that art form.

It helps that he's usually among the league leaders in face-offs won, gaining control of the puck so opponents - and mostly Crosby - have to chase it around the ice...

In recent years, however, Dubinsky has seemed content to just agitate Sid The Kid and forgot that he can also be pretty effective at producing points rather than just stopping opponents from racking them up - and against Crosby in particular, that hasn't stopped the Pittsburgh Penguins from totally owning the Columbus Blue Jackets in the past couple of years.

Dubinsky himself has gone from a 50-point threat to 41 last year and just 2 (two!!! - and both of them assists!) in 12 games this year. He hasn't scored 20 goals since doing it in back-to-back seasons with the New York Rangers (2009-10 and 2010-11), and head coach John Tortorella - who's known Dubs since his days in Manhattan and clashed with him once or twice at that time - made the difficult decision to remove the alternate captain's "A" from Dubinsky's jersey last week.

Torts' tough-love approach has worked with Dubinsky in the past, and with other stars as well (Vincent Lecavalier comes to mind, as does Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky). We'll see how this one pans out, but Dubinsky is 31 and has three more years to go on a deal that pays him $5.85M per, which means his production should be around 40, 40, 35 and 33 points for the last four years of his deal for it to be worth its value, with plus/minuses between +5 and +10 and a 52-55% face-off win percentage (he's at 48.8 this year and finished last season at 51.7).

Here he is wearing the blue jackets' beautiful third jersey from the past decade, on card #D-DU from Panini's 2013-14 Dominion set and Authentic Material sub-set:

It features a matching blue game-worn jersey swatch that could very well be from his days in New York. It's numbered 52-99.

Sam Gagner Swatch Card

It's been a rough couple of years for Sam Gagner, after he set an Edmonton Oilers record for most points in a single game (8, tied with Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey). He's bounced around some, first belonging to the Tampa Bay Lightning without getting to play for them, then posting a relatively disappointing 41 points in 81 games as the Phoenix Coyotes' first-line center, before spending last season splitting his time with the Philadelphia Flyers (16 points in 53 games) and their AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley Phantoms (6 points in 9 games).

That's right - the former sixth-overall pick who shares an Oilers record with The Great One spent parts of last season in the AHL.

And this summer, he signed a one-year deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets; at $650K, it's a no-risk proposition for the Jackets, but if he can't produce, it may spell the end of his NHL career, so it's high-risk for him, personally.

I wouldn't take a chance on him on my team, if I were GM, but at the same time, I wouldn't wish him any ill will either. I hope he gets his career back on track for his sake.

Here he is back when things were looking up, wearing the Oilers' classic/retro/current home uniform, on the jersey insert version of card #34 from Panini's 2012-13 Dominion set, featuring a huge matching game-worn jersey swatch:

Again, my only gripe with Dominion cards is how ridiculously thick they are, so much so that they're impossible to put in binders without ripping the plastic open. Cards don't have to be half an inch thick if the swatch they contain doesn't require that much space.

Jordan Schroeder Autograph Card

How dickish are the Minnesota Wild? Well, they spent all of last season praising Jordan Schroeder's talent, versatility, patience, and team spirit and, just as he's about to get his arbitration hearing in the hopes of securing a one-way contract, have placed him on waivers.

The Vancouver Canucks would be wise to pick him up the same way the Wild stole him from them in the first place...

I could also see the Arizona Coyotes - who are in harsh negotiations with Tobias Reider themselves - making a play for the former first-rounder.

Here he is as a Canuck, wearing their blue (home) uniform, from Panini's 2013-14 Dominion collection and Private Signings sub-set:

It's card #PS-OE (numbered 81/199) in the set and was hard-signed in thin blue sharpie. I really like the gold foil all around the card, it gives it an aura of semi-class.

Mikko Koskinen Autograph Card

Slowly but surely, Mikko Koskinen is fulfilling what many scouts - and particularly the New York Islanders' - saw in him when he became the first goalie drafted in 2009, at the 31st spot.

Though he left North America as the 2011-12 season began to return to the Kuopio KalPa ("Kalevan Pallo") and later the KHL, where his statistics are pretty much off the charts; he finished the 2014-15 season with a 1.89 GAA and .927 save percentage with SKA Saint Petersburg to end the regular season, and followed that up with a 1.61 GAA and .936 save percentage in 22 playoff games to help his team capture the Gagarin Cup.

In 2015-16, his regular-season stats were closer to average (2.42, .915%), but come playoff time, he did even better than last year, with a 1.47 GAA and .949 percentage.

He also claimed both Best Goaltender awards (by tournament organizers and the press) at the 2016 World Championships and made the All-Star Team as Team Finland captured the silver medal; Connor McDavid was the lone Team Canada player to score on him in the Final.

I think he certainly qualifies as one of the 60 best goalies in the world, probably even top-30 - which means should he want to return to the NHL, he'd probably find a suitor.

In the meantime, the only team he's ever known are the Isles, and he does look good in their blue (home) uniform, as can be attested by card #128 from Panini's 2011-12 Dominion collection:

It's signed on-card in blue sharpie and is numbered 60/199.

Here he is making a spectacular knob save:

Jonathan Audy-Marchessault Autograph Card

Well, hats off to the Tampa Bay Lightning for ousting the Montréal Canadiens tonight. It was a hard-fought series, and while my usual self would be inclined to say Tampa won 4-2 because Ben Bishop outplayed Carey Price, it's also true that the Habs have only one true goal scorer (Max Pacioretty) and just didn't have the firepower to match when goaltending is close to being even.

What I was happy about was that for the decisive game, head coach Jon Cooper opted to dress Jonathan Audy-Marchessault to replace Ryan Callahan (out after having had his appendix removed last night), keeping a right-handed physical player in the line-up, which dressing Jonathan Drouin may not have achieved (he's a play-making lefty who has yet to consistently make plays).

Also, Audy-Marchessault was a point-per-game player in the AHL and has been for his 4 seasons now (or in the vicinity, at least). And he had two points in two games with the Lightning earlier this season.

I've been sitting on this card of his for over a year now, and I was waiting for the right time to feature/criticize it:

Nice-looking card, right? The Columbus Blue Jackets' awesome alternate jersey, lots of silver foil (looks better scanned, but decent in person), with a short but well-placed on-card blue-sharpied signature, from Panini's 2013-14 Dominion set (#108 in the collection, part of the Dual Rookie Class, numbered 212/299).

I criticized the set (and its swatch cards) in this Erik Karlsson post last October, so I won't repeat my main gripes with it here (price was definitely an issue), and while I'll admit the autograph cards' silver foil makes the logos and letter easier to decipher, I HATED the difference in thickness between the auto cards and the swatches:

That's right - in an effort to thwart customers who ''feel'' packs up before they buy in an attempt to try to get the best ''hits'', they made the autograph cards double the thickness of the already-pretty-damn-thick jersey cards - meaning I can't store them in binders with my regular cards and, therefore, pretty much want to get rid of them instead of having them garner dust on some shelf or end up in a box in my closet.

You had one job, Panini, and you were too thick to cut it.

Jimmy Howard Swatch Card

Statistically speaking, Jimmy Howard's season is a fine one so far, what with a .912 save percentage and 2.41 GAA to go with a 23-13-10 record and 2 shutouts, but the reality is that injuries have kept him out of the middle of the season, hampering his groove, and he's finally hit a slump right when the Detroit Red Wings need him at the top of his game - looking to secure a playoff spot and enter the postseason on a positive note.

He's now won two in a row, but has had a few meltdowns in March that put doubts inside head coach Mike Babcock's mind as to which goaltender would give him the best chance to win between Howard and rookie Petr Mrazek.

I like Howard, he's a fine (but nowhere near perfect) goalie; I just don't like his cap hit - as a matter of fact, if Henrik Lundqvist's and Pekka Rinne's salaries are in the $7M range and Jonathan Quick's is at $5.5M, no other goalie should be making more than Quick - Olympian, Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe winner. No other goalie should be playing in over 60 games either, so, pro-rated, paying $5M for a 60-game top-10 starter is akin to (and a smarter deal than) a 70-game starter at $7M who'll tire when the heat starts and/or gets injured in the playoffs.

Howard's proven that he can stop 91-92% of pucks in any given year, but not that he can play with the big boys when it counts. As such, he ranks among the likes of a lot of his current peers, like Cory Schneider. His talent level compares to that of Corey Crawford, who has won a Stanley Cup, and Jaroslav Halak (a bit more ''naturally talented'', a little less heart), who has single-handedly taken a lower-tiered team to a Conference Finals, winning against perhaps the two best teams in the league in the best effort of rope-a-dope hockey of the past 25 years. Howard can probably compete with these guys, he just needs to get his focus back. He reminds me of Carey Price two years ago.

And so I wasn't disappointed when I came across this card (#D-HW, numbered 52/99) in a pack of Panini's 2013-14 Dominion last year, showing him in the Wings' classic red (home) uniform with a matching game-worn swatch:

The scan actually provides more detail in the foil (the team's logo, the bottom of the card, the brand name) than the naked eye can see - which is just a cluster of dark blue - unless, like a dress, I'm just seeing it wrong.

Tomas Plekanec Jersey Card

All summer, I've been hearing nonsense on Montréal Canadiens forums, like ''he's awful'', ''he has slowed down'', ''he won't score 10 this year'', ''I'm glad he isn't the captain'', ''trade him'', and ''he's no Patrice Bergeron''... and yet here stands Tomas Plekanec, atop the league scoring leaders, with 3 goals in 2 games - a game-winner, and a game-tying goal.

Sure, playing with Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher finally gives him capable offensive wingers rather than restrict him to just playing defensively, but that kind of talent doesn't just disappear anyway. Plus, he's always been great internationally with the Czech Republic, shining alongside Jaromir Jagr, at times even captaining the team.

It won't last, because nothing ever does, and no one has ever scored 100 goals (and Wayne Gretzky's record of 92 will stand for a long time still). I just hope no team makes it difficult for GM Marc Bergevin to hold on to him for a long time by offering a solid top-6 forward and two top-60 draft picks to obtain him this season - he still has another year left on a contact that carries a reasonable $5M cap hit.

Among the current crop of Habs players, he and Andrei Markov are the two I really, absolutely want to see retire as Canadiens - with P.K. Subban (and eventually maybe Galchenyuk) as (a) strong candidate(s) as well.

It was a no-brainer for me to accept a trade with another collector this summer for the following card, a beautiful, extra-thick jersey card from Panini's 2010-11 Dominion set (card #53, numbered 2/99) featuring a nice picture of Plekanec wearing the Habs' classic ''bleu-blanc-rouge'' uniform and a decent-sized blue swatch from the same home jersey:

Unlike last year's set, the 2010-11 Dominion collection was classy, sober, understated and clear. Like the player depicted on the card.

Erik Karlsson Jersey Card

I was actually ready for and expecting Chris Phillips to be named the next Ottawa Senators captain, and had been preparing for that news all summer... Instead of going with veteran experience, the Sens chose to go with Norris trophy winner Erik Karlsson, who is signed long-term and will be the face of the team for the next decade or so.

Karlsson is entering his sixth NHL season and is often considered the top offensive defenseman in the league; he has 63 goals, 174 assists and 237 points in 315 games so far, but has flirted with the point-per-game ratio for the past three seasons (78 in 81, 14 in 17, and 74 in 82 last year).

Sure, his defensive-zone play could use some work, but only P.K. Subban can compare in regards to creating offense from the back end.

Commissioner Gary Bettman often speaks about how the NHL has never been ''healthier'', and he means it on purely economic grounds, and that is a fact. If he actually cared or knew anything about the game, though, he'd also be able to claim that hockey, in itself, has never been played at such a high level before; despite the KHL boasting a high-caliber level of play, the NHL's talent pool just keeps getting deeper and deeper.

And this is particularly true of defensemen. With players such as Subban, Shea Weber, Drew Doughty, Duncan Keith, Niklas Kronwall, Ryan Suter, Alex Pietrangelo, Jay Bouwmeester, and many others currently in their prime, with veterans Zdeno Chara, Andrei Markov still having a tremendous impact and up-and-comers like Tyson Barrie, Dmitri Kulikov, Matt Dumba, and Jacob Trouba in the ranks, it could be hard for a one-dimensional player like Karlsson to repeat as a Norris winner, but who knows? Perhaps he has an 85-point season in him that will force voters into considering him, and the rest of the talent pool will cancel itself out the same year.

In the meantime, though, he'll be the face of the Senators, with a big ''C'' on his chest to remind everyone who the team is built around. And with that, I present you this 2013-14 Dominion card (#D-EK in the collection of jersey cards, numbered 7/99) from Panini:

I hinted I would go in more detail about the 2013-14 Dominion set back in July, and I guess I can start with this card. The foil on the front of the card is actually a bright blue, which looks cool except it's even harder to notice the team's logo (top-right) and brand name (bottom) on the actual card than it is in the scan; the ''Erik'' from his name is also blurry in real life; the die-cut area where the swatch is isn't in mint condition - the edges have noticeable wear, despite having been put straight in a penny sleeve fresh from the pack.

The design behind the player is a bit boring, but the back of the card even more so. Here's the kicker: boxes of these sold for around $200, which got you... 6 total cards: 2 ''regular'' cards, two autographed memorabilia cards, and any combination of two autograph or memorabilia cards. That's an average of $33 per card, including the base cards.

I'll tell you right now, this was my best hit, and there's no way I'd pay $10 for it, let alone $50. It wouldn't make a difference if the paper was from pristine pine, Santa's own fir, 100-year oak or hemp from George Washington's personal stash, this design is sub-par and the finish is awful.

Full disclosure: I got my box at half price ($99) from a very angry wholesaler who vowed never to buy Panini products ever again. ''Even'' at that price, I agree this product is crap.

Jaroslav Halak Swatch Card

By now you've probably guessed that Jaroslav Halak is my favourite NHL goalie, with Corey Crawford right behind as the de facto favourite Canadian goalie. Things haven't exactly always gone smoothly with Halak, but most of the players I admire often face adversity.

There are many who have waxed poetic about the 2009-10 playoffs he had with the Montréal Canadiens, but truth be told, he was the main reason the Habs even made the playoff three separate times; and his detractors like to point out that it was Carey Price who made the All-Star Game that year, but Halak nonetheless finished 10th in Vezina voting, which is voted on by the league's general managers and based solely on the regular season.

Halak also finished 6th in Vezina voting in 2011-12, in his second season with the St. Louis Blues - the year he and Brian Elliott shared the Jennings trophy. And while I openly rooted for Halak, I never became a Blues fan, so when they threw traded him away to acquire Ryan Miller, all I could wish them was a painful elimination. Which they got. And for all the flack that Halak got for having good statistics because he was playing in Ken Hitchcock's defensive system behind a wall of Olympic-caliber defensemen, Miller played behind the same guys on the same team, and the stats speak for themselves:

Halak: 24-9-4 (.686 winning percentage), Miller: 10-8-1 (.556)
Halak: 4 shutouts in 40 games (1 per 10), Miller: 1 shutout in 19 games (1 per 19)
Halak: 2.23 GAA, .917 save percentage, Miller: 2.47 GAA, .903 save percentage

Halak played like a #1 goalie, Miller played like a washed-up career backup. And Miller was even worse in the playoffs, with a 2.70 GAA, a .897 save percentage, and looking so shook up he rattled every single one of his teammates. Granted, injuries have prevented Halak from displaying his poise under pressure in St. Louis, but he still has a 1.73 GAA and .935 save percentage for the Blues in the postseason.

The only thing you can pin on Halak is his small stature (not his fault), that he gives a lot of rebounds (it's his style, he just needs to kick them towards teammates a bit more often), and the fact that while he is virtually unbeatable in pressure situations, he might lose his concentration against lesser teams after having won 3 or 4 unbelievable games.

One thing he has going for him next season (and for the subsequent three if he fulfills his contract with the New York Islanders) is that, more often than not, he will be on the lesser team, and will be facing the better opposition. But with him in nets and John Tavares up front, the Isles just might have the team to cost a few teams a playoff spot, and maybe squeeze into one themselves in a weak Metropolitan Division.

And, as at least one commentator so aptly put it:

(Elliott has appeared solid for the Blues during the regular season, but his playoff record indicates the inability to lead a team to the ultimate goal. Jake Allen may have what it takes, but it isn’t going to come without a learning curve or two.) Fans may soon realize just how good Jaroslav Halak was for the Blues during his time in the gateway city.

I didn't want to overload Halak with too many requests, so my plan was to write to him last year or this year to have him sign cards of himself with the Blues, but with the trade rumours intensifying, I didn't; and now he's on a team that isn't great at getting players their mail. Still, I have this card of him wearing St. Louis' third jersey (their nicest at the moment), from Panini's 2010-11 Dominion collection, #87 in the set (numbered 75/99):

It contains a white swatch that Panini - as is their custom - won't identify as being a jersey, but rather ''game-worn material'', so it could be a sock. (Just kidding, the checklist on their website says it's a jersey.) I'll get to it later, in the coming weeks or months, but I just want to say that Dominion was a much better product in 2010-11 than it was this year. This card looks great, and the back even has a different picture of him, wearing the team's white (away) jersey:

Matt Moulson Jersey Card

This beautiful, extra-thick jersey card from Panini's 2010-11 Dominion set (card #61, numbered 31/99) features a nice picture of Matt Moulson and a decent-sized dark blue swatch from the New York Islanders' home jersey. I used to be indifferent about the Isles' jerseys, but this return to their original design is a breath of fresh air after over a decade of sub-par uniforms.

As for Moulson, he's one of those feel-good hockey stories, a forgotten prospect passed over by two teams (the Pittsburgh Penguins, who drafted him 263rd overall in 2003 without ever signing him, and the Los Angeles Kings, who signed him to an entry-level contract but only gave him 29 games of NHL time) who became a two-time 30-goal scorer for the Isles, playing with prodigy John Tavares, a fellow Mississauga native.