Niklas Kronwall Dual Jersey Card

(As per years past, this is a twin-post with my "regular" blog, where I predicted the Detroit Red Wings would finish seventh in the Atlantic Division in 2019-20).

One of the hardest hitters of all time took his final bow today, as Niklas Kronwall of the Detroit Red Wings announced his retirement.

He was only suspended once (for a single playoff game, but a Game 7, see the second hit, on the Tampa Bay Lightning's Nikita Kucherov, in the video below) in his 15-year NHL career, which means that the league deemed the rest of his crushing hits (dubbed "Getting Kronwalled") legal. Which they were. Take a look:

At 6' and 195 pounds, he was fairly small for a defenseman drafted in 2000 (29th overall), but it fit his style perfectly, as it enabled him to check opponents right in the middle of the chest - exactly where it's ok to hit, where they should see you coming - usually skating backwards toward them so as to ensure he hits them with his back or shoulder, making certain his elbow stays low and to avoid head contact.

But let's not forget he was also way more than that. He had a booming shot and was a fast and smooth skater, too.

He had a few 40-point seasons (with a high of 51 in 2008-09, leading the Wings to a second straight Stanley Cup Final, following the 2008 Cup win) and wore the "A" as the team's alternate captain. He also won Olympic gold (2006) and silver (2016) and World Championship gold (2006) and silver (2003) medals with Team Sweden. With Henrik Zetterberg and Mikael Samuelsson, he's part of the trio of special players who own the distinction of having acquired the Triple Gold title the fastest - in just over two years' time.

He will now be an assistant to the team's new GM, Steve Yzerman.

Here he is wearing the team,s white (away) uniform, on card #DET-NK from Upper Deck's 2011-12 Black Diamond set and Double Diamond Jerseys sub-set:

It features two game-worn jersey swatches that could be from either the home or away uniform, as one is white and the other is red.

Thank you for your time, sir; you will be missed, but you will also be remembered. Best of luck in your new career.

Cody Hodgson Jersey Card

Cody Hodgson.

Leading scorer at the 2009 World Juniors where he helped Team Canada capture gold, the Vancouver Canucks' first-round pick (10th overall) in 2008, the guy the Buffalo Sabres gave a six-year contract to only to buy him out of it after two seasons, and the guy the Nashville Predators took a risk-free flyer on ($1M one-year deal) that lasted only half the season.

I do not use the word often, nor do I take it lightly, but having disappointed three NHL franchises - two of which were struggling and needed him to develop into a good player - he retired prior to last season, after failing to land a contract, at age 26, making him a "bust", despite respectable numbers for "a player" (64 goals, 78 assists and 142 points in 328 career games), just not worthy of a tenth-overall pick.

He's now affiliated with the Preds' "youth program", although I'm not certain how even that will pan out. I mean, it's not the best example to have, someone who can honestly say "I had enough talent to be a top-line player in the best league in the world but coasted through and made millions by not trying hard enough and not impressing my coaches!"; the Preds wouldn't have made a worse move by handing the position to alcoholic and former drug addict Mike Ribeiro, who has accomplished far more on the ice and is just as bad of a role model.

Here's Hodgson wearing the Sabres' recent/retro blue (home) uniform, on card #BUFF-CH from Upper Deck's 2013-14 Black Diamond collection and Double Diamond Jerseys sub-set:

It features two matching game-worn jersey swatches.

Nathan Beaulieu Jersey card

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a trade!

Indeed, in a move half designed to not lose him in the expansion draft for nothing and half because he does not fit with new/current Montréal Canadiens head coach Claude Julien's conception of a hockey team - as exemplified by the fact that he did not suit up for the team's elimination game against the New York Rangers last month - Nathan Beaulieu was sent to the Buffalo Sabres earlier today, in exchange for the 68th pick at this year's amateur draft.

At first glance, it is a step back to trade a player who was selected 17th overall (2011) for a 68th pick, but Beaulieu was supposed to be Andrei Markov's heir as top-pair defender on the left side and powerplay quarterback, yet at 38 years of age, apart from an excellent October on Shea Weber's part, Markov was - again - far and away the best defenseman on the Habs in 2016-17.

The Sabres get a low-risk, high-reward reclamation project who may thrive under new head coach Phil Housley - whose game Beaulieu seems to have modeled himself on. The Sabres immediately put Beaulieu on their protected list, proving they do plan on giving him a fair shot; this trade likely means Alexei Emelin is on his way out of Montréal and off to the Vegas Golden Knights. Honestly, I'd rather have lost Beaulieu for nothing than Emelin.

Ironically, this means GM Marc Bergevin, who always claimed to want to build via the draft,  has now traded away the team's 2009 (Louis Leblanc), 2010 (Jarred Tinordi), 2011 (Beaulieu) and 2016 (Mikhail Sergachev) first-round picks - all at low value - and is reportedly shopping its 2012 (Alex Galchenyuk) draft pick as well. Panic, much?

Here is a young Beaulieu, wearing his rookie #40 and the team's classic red (now-home) uniform, on card #ROOK-NB from Upper Deck's 2013-14 Black Diamond set and Double Diamond Jerseys sub-set:

It features two matching red jersey swatches that were worn in a rookie photo shoot.

Andrei Markov Double Jersey Card

Andrei Markov made a bit of Montréal Canadiens history tonight as he tied Guy Lapointe for second for points by a defenseman in franchise history. That's nearly 110 years of history, folks.

He is without a doubt the most underrated NHL player of his generation, having never finished higher than sixth in Norris Trophy voting despite being one of the five best passers in the game (with Joe Thornton, Jason Spezza, Mike Ribeiro and Sidney Crosby) for most of that stretch.

By playing alongside him, Sheldon Souray, Mark Streit, Mike Komisarek and P.K. Subban all had career years that led to signing huge contracts, each with Norris consideration (Subban actually won); Streit did a decent, honest job captaining the New York Islanders upon leaving the Habs, and Subban is a superstar and likely will remain one for the next decade, but Souray and Komisarek could never live up to the expectations their contracts promised - mainly because they priced themselves out of playing with Markov, but also because there wasn't anyone like him where they went.

The General went through a dark period in December 2015 when he split with long-time partner Natalia Streckova, and his play was affected for a month or two, leading many talk radio callers to voice their opinion that he should be traded; they're no longer saying that this year, as he's back to his usual dominating, smart self on the ice, even helping Shea Weber look better than he has in years.

Unfortunately, Streckova died of cancer earlier this year, forcing Markov to travel to Russia to repatriate his twin five-year-old sons during the team's bye week last month.

It remains to be seen how many top-level seasons the 38-year-old has left in him - realistically, he should start slowing down next year and perhaps retire at 40, as a #3-5 defender, following the 2018-19 season. On any other team, he'd see his jersey number raised to the rafters the following October, but the Habs have nearly-impossible standards to meet before one gets that privilege: individual hardware, a Stanley Cup AND a Hall Of Fame nod seem to be the minimum-required elements for that honour. Markov, Team Russia's captain, winner of World Championship gold (2008) and bronze (2005 and 2007) medals and World Juniors silver (1998) and bronze (1997) is not the type to cry his way onto a Norris like Drew Doughty did last year.

He's the consummate team player, always putting the team's success above his own; in that regard, what's missing on his mantle isn't a Norris but a Stanley Cup and Olympic gold. His odds are about the same for each - I'll put them at 10:1 - but you want a guy who's worked so hard at his craft and even harder for it not to show to get his dues. I hope he does.

Here he is wearing the Habs' classic white (now-away) uniform on card #MTL-AM from Upper Deck's 2011-12 Black Diamond set and Double Diamond Jerseys sub-set, sporting his usual alternate captain's "A":

It contains two red game-worn jersey swatches.

Ilya Bryzgalov Jersey Card

Another Canada-Russia game, another blowout...

One guy who is missed in today's NHL is goalie Ilya Bryzgalov, hockey's "Spaceman", who was always good for a great quote. This time around, he had a few choice odd bits for ESPN's Craig Custance regarding the 2010 Olympics, where Team Canada came out to a 7-3 win against Team Russia, in a performance he said:

They came out like gorillas out of a cage. (...) Big picture. Small picture, total domination by Canada. (...)

Not gorillas, more like Orcs from The Hobbit. You watch that movie, right? Big. Mean. Scary.

Sure, he probably meant Lord Of The Rings, but the point remains that the evil Canadians always seem to have that mix of grit and talent to wreck everything on their way to gold.

That, and exceptional coaching:

Canadian coaching much, much better than coaching in Team Russia. They're not in the same league.

 Here he is sporting the Philadelphia Flyers' current/retro orange (now-home) uniform on card #PHI-IB from Upper Deck's 2012-13 Black Diamond set and Double Diamond Jerseys sub-set:

It features two burgundy game-used jersey swatches from his days with the Phoenix Coyotes, prior to his career taking a down turn when away from the teachings of Sean Burke.

Jamie Benn Jersey Card

There were two big pieces of news regarding Jamie Benn today: first, he signed a new monster contract that will pay him $9.5M per season for eight years, and second, the Dallas Stars' captain might miss the World Cup because of abdominal surgery to repair a muscle injury.

Let's talk about his deal first, which kicks in for the 2017-18 season. Is he worth that kind of top-player money right now? Absolutely, seeing as he won the Art Ross Trophy in 2014-15 and was runner-up in 2015-16, he's definitely a top player worthy of being "in the conversation" in terms of rare franchise players. However, he still has a year to go on a contract that currently pays him $5.75M, which makes him one of the most affordable and valuable players in the league at the moment, meaning some view him as currently underpaid.

His style of play is straight-up power forward, but he doesn't get that many penalties called against him, which differentiates him from the prototypical/stereotypical power forwards of the past, such as Keith Tkachuk, Eric Lindros, Todd Bertuzzi, or Jeremy Roenick. He does hit and get hit a lot, though, which means his body may get some bumps and bruises over time.

As I wrote somewhere else:

Ironically, the one thing that could save him with his physical style of play is a serious injury that takes a year for him to recover from, as every other bone and muscle in his body will also get some rest and he’ll be able to bounce back and buy back some time.

If not, the last couple of seasons may seem like overpayment and some disgruntled fans may scream for a buyout, which would be unfair for a true leader who really gives everything he's got for his team.

I'd featured Benn in the Stars' post-lockout black (home) atrocity a little over a year ago, so now it's time to do so with its counterpart white (away) monstrosity on card #DALL-JB from Upper Deck's 2013-14 Black Diamond set and Double Diamond Jerseys sub-set:

I'm so glad Dallas changed their uniforms to the current green and white ones with an actual logo instead of just letters; there are limits to identifying with colleges, i.e. amateurs.

Jimmy Howard Dual Jersey Card

Just when everyone was counting him out, when it seemed assured that Petr Mrazek had taken the #1 spot from him two years ahead of schedule, here are the Detroit Red Wings parking #34 and starting #35 to keep their playoff hopes alive.

I got to see it first-hand last Tuesday, when Mrazek got the start against my hometown Montréal Canadiens but was pulled midway through the first period, with Jimmy Howard coming close to pulling an upset after starting with a 2-0 deficit.

Is Howard a top-100 goalie in the world? Absolutely? Top-30? For sure. Top-10? Probably not.

My top-tier consists of Henrik Lundqvist and Jonathan Quick, and Pekka Rinne rounds up the top-three most years; Braden Holtby seems like he wants to be part of that group and is well deserving of Rinne's spot this year.

The rest of the "truly elite" has Roberto Luongo, Carey Price (for now), Ben Bishop and Marc-André Fleury. Perhaps also Corey Crawford.

The rest of my top-10 features guys who can, once in a while, contend for recognition (close to a Vezina, close to a Conn Smythe, All-Stars), are mostly consistent but have one caveat (injury-prone, plays on very-defensive teams, etc.): Jaroslav Halak, Brian Elliott, Craig Anderson, Cory Schneider. John Gibson with one more season under his belt will be in this conversation.

That's more than ten right there, and that's not counting Olympian and past Vezina winner Tuukka Rask and nominee Devan Dubnyk.

But take Howard now and drop him in 1999-2000 and he's among the best of the best. I really liked watching him last week, going toe-to-toe and glove save to glove save with the Habs' Mike Condon, not letting the rookie get the upper hand easily. He had some fight in him, and I appreciate that in a goalie, much more than if he had so calm a demeanor that he'd seem detached and uncaring (like, say, Price).

So here's a tip of the hat to Jimmy Howard, with card #DET-JH from Upper Deck's 2011-12 Black Diamond set and Double Diamond Jersey sub-set:

He's pictured wearing the club's classic red (now-home) uniform, with white and red game-worn jersey swatches inserted into the card and the team's winged wheel in the back; it was a design concept that four jersey cards of the same team would form the team's complete logo if placed correctly.

Brendan Gallagher Jersey Card

It's been roughly a year and a half since I last featured Montréal Canadiens pest, leader and sparkplug Brendan Gallagher; he's since been given an ''A'' as an alternate captain, and earlier tonight scored his first goal of the season - a game-tying tally against the Detroit Red Wings - becoming the tenth Habs forward to score this season.

A three-time 40-goal man in Juniors, Gallagher still stands as the Vancouver Giants' all-time goals (136) and points (280) leader; keep in mind, that puts him ahead of the likes of Milan Lucic, Gilbert Brûlé, Cody Franson, Lance Bouma, Evander Kane, and Jordan Martinook.

At the NHL level, he cracked the 20-goal mark last season, finishing with 24, and now has a goal and 4 assists (5 points) in 6 games so far this year, playing on the Habs' newly-formed top line with fellow alternate Tomas Plekanec and new captain Max Pacioretty.

For most of his first three seasons, he'd played alongside Alex Galchenyuk (now converted into a center), with centers ranging from Plekanec to Jan Bulis Lars Eller to Torrey Mitchell to whoever was available and needed a bit of a youthful boost.

To have an idea as to how consistent and surly he's been, former star winger and current team ambassador Guy Lafleur has been pushing him as captain for the last couple of years now.

I think he's the kind of player that ultimately becomes replaceable over time, as a combination of his body wearing down, teams looking for the type of leadership he brings, and an equally hungry and determined youngster coming up in the minors create a marketable value that is hard to ignore.

In the meantime though, me and my fellow Habs fans will continue to encourage him and cheer for him every chance we get. The way he always puts in maximum effort and goes all-out is reminiscent of all the players we're used to cheering, from legends as Maurice ''The Rocket'' Richard and Patrick Roy to stars like Saku Koivu to grinders like Chris Nilan, Francis Bouillon, Steve Bégin, and Bob Gainey.

Here he is in the team's white (now-away) uniform, from Upper Deck's 2013-14 Black Diamond set (in card #ROOK-BG from the Double Diamond Jerseys sub-set):

Because it is also his rookie jersey card, the two matching white jersey swatches incorporated into the card are from a photo shoot, not an official NHL game.

Dustin Brown Jersey Card

I had my annual keeper pool draft tonight, and it's always a great time talking with fellow hockey nerds. I will admit that while I was ahead of the curve three and four years ago (I finished second three years ago, first two years ago), some folks' knowledge of the game has surpassed mine in terms of age of players, cap hits, and potential of certain rookies.

It felt like I was on the wrong side of the die in some cases (though I chose pretty much almost all the players I had initially targeted), and in some respects, that made me think of Los Angeles Kings captain Dustin Brown.

He hasn't scored 20 goals in a single season since 2011-12, often relegated to the team's third line, and hasn't even reached the 30-point mark since then; truthfully, he did get 29 points in 46 games in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, but only 27 points the past two years as the Kings either entered the playoffs as the final seed or missed them entirely.

L.A.'s thing was that they could turn their game ''on'' at any time and just plow through the opposition when need be, but last season served to show it wasn't a foolproof plan. This year again, they're struggling out of the gate, going 0-3 with superstar goalie Jonathan Quick's goals-against average standing at 3.70 and his save percentage at .861. Brown himself only has a lone assist.

Then again, three games is not even 5% of a season, it's one week. Out of a possible 20. There is no need to panic. Except there wasn't last year, either, and it didn't end well. And the team's playing like crap.

It could be the beginning of Darryl Sutter fatigue, or the team's reaction to how Dean Lombardi threw Mike Richards under the bus after getting rid of his cap hit.

Whatever it is, it better get fixed soon, because it's extremely ugly.

That being said, here's the captain sporting the Kings' black and purple uniform, from Upper Deck's 2013-14 Black Diamond set (card #LAK-DB of the Black Diamond Jerseys sub-set):

It features two white game-worn jersey swatches of the same size.

Despite his slowing down, I anticipate he will suit up for Team USA in next year's World Cup, as he has in the last two Olympics.

Rick Nash Jersey Card

After a 42-goal season in 2014-15 - a career high and the league's third-highest total - Rick Nash has fallen into familiar times this postseason, reduced to hoping for a favourable bounce to fix a 3.1 shooting percentage - an awful number for pretty much any NHLer, let alone a sniper of his caliber, and below even his career average of... 3.5.

Some articles written about him are downright mean:

During Game 1 of the New York Rangers’ series against the Washington Capitals, NBC analyst Mike Milbury said that Rick Nash was playing a “marshmallow soft” brand of hockey, which wasn’t exactly fair, considering that marshmallows are visible.

Through eight playoff games, Nash has one goal and four assists. Against the Capitals, he has one assist. In his last 33 playoff games with the Rangers, he had four goals. In his last 33 regular-season games with the Rangers, he had 14 goals.

I get it: he makes a lot of money, eats a lot of cap space, and is relied upon to score goals, which he does amazingly well in the regular season, but seldom in the playoffs. I'd be mad if he were on the team(s) I'm rooting for, sure, probably, but these are the same playoffs where Steven Stamkos was shut out for 8 games, where grinders outproduce stars, and where all 8 teams remaining in the second round have a legitimate shot at the Stanley Cup (ok, maybe not the Calgary Flames, but one can dream/hope).

And he's a big body with good speed who still gets covered like a sniper, so he's helping his team by occupying the defensive players and creating more space for his teammates. That probably won't get enough to quell his critics, but it'll make his coach and GM appreciate some of his play, at least.

This card is very similar to the one I featured last October, in that it shows him wearing the Rangers' white (now-away) uniform, but has two game-worn jersey swatches from a black uniform, likely from the Columbus Blue Jackets' alternate uniform from the 2003-07 era, the only one he's worn that has black on it:

It's from Upper Deck's 2013-14 Black Diamond set (card #NYR-RN of the Double Diamond Jerseys sub-set).

Devan Dubnyk Dual Jersey Card

I know I talked about Devan Dubnyk a couple of months ago, but the Arizona Coyotes have just traded him to the goaltender-depleted Minnesota Wild for a third-round pick.

Per NHL.com:

The Wild desperately needed goaltending help. Josh Harding was playing like a Vezina Trophy candidate last season despite being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, but he has not played since Dec. 31, 2013 because of complications with the treatment of the disease and a broken foot sustained during training camp.

Darcy Kuemper has a .902 save percentage) and Niklas Backstrom is at .887; they are 35th and 40th, respectively, out of 42 qualified goaltenders this season.

So, sure, Dubnyk might solve some of the Wild's woes short-term, but he remains a pending free agent at the end of the season, so not only is this just a stop-gap measure and borderline panic move on the part of GM Chuck Fletcher, but possibly his last hope of saving head coach Mike Yeo's job by the end of the week (and his own by the end of the season).

And while I stand by some of my message-board posts pinning 80% of the Wild's problems on their goaltending and its subsequent taking the wind out of the rest of the players' game, the team's been playing terrible defensive zone coverage of late, leaving gaping 2-on-1s and 3-on-1s too often. That will need to be addressed so that Dubnyk can perform (or at least attempt to perform) the miracle of turning this team's fortunes around.

In any event, unlike the asking price for other goalies Fletcher may have gone for, a third-round pick isn't so costly, though it's one for this year, a supposedly deep draft.

On the other hand, Coyotes GM Don Maloney also got rid of a potential problem, as Dubnyk was outplaying starter (and highly-paid) Mike Smith - and by a wide margin at that. By getting rid of the low-cost free-agent-to-be, he avoids a goaltending controversy... and enters the First Draft Pick derby almost unofficially.

But I'm happy I get to feature another card of Dubnyk's wearing the Edmonton Oilers' beautiful classic white (now-away) uniform, from Upper Deck's 2013-14 Black Diamond set (#EDM-DD of the Double Diamond Jerseys sub-set), featuring orange and blue game-worn swatches:

Jarred Tinordi Dual Jersey Card

I tried to avoid talking about it, but I just couldn't. It happened in the AHL, but no doubt it'll be another spark in the Fighting Debate at the NHL level as well, so, uh, before getting to verbalizing about it, here's the fight from Friday night's game between the Hamilton Bulldogs and the Utica Comets (which the Bulldogs won 3-0), pitting Montréal Canadiens prospect Jarred Tinordi against Andrey Pedan of the Vancouver Canucks' organization:



Tinordi, the son of former NHLer Mark Tinordi, grew up in the American system, where there are no fights. He only started fighting after being drafted by the Habs (first round, 22nd overall, in 2010), when they pressured him into going to the OHL's London Knights instead of the University Of Notre Dame Fighting Irish, so he could ''learn to play like in the NHL'' and ''be more physical'', which included fighting and ''defending his teammates''.

Pedan is a Russian-born (some sources say Lithuanian, some say he was born in Moscow) heavyweight enforcer who had two seasons of 145 PIMs or more in the OHL, then spent parts of the next two seasons in the ECHL, where he was in the minuses both times. He was traded earlier this season, but in 6 (six) games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers before the deal, he had 51 penalty minutes - and I'm pretty certain those weren't all tripping calls.

It was never going to be a fair fight.

I touched upon fighting in a recent post on Vincent Lecavalier, saying the ''heat of the moment'' fight between he and Jarome Iginla was about two leaders going at it, two tough star players eking out their frustrations, an equal loss and equal spark on both sides.

I also showed how hard the so-called ''goons'' have it mentally in a recent post about Brent Severyn, with the sub-text that everyone knows they wouldn't want to do that job and how self-destructive it is, yet they all turn a blind eye to it.

When polled, players usually overwhelmingly state they'd rather keep fighting (and fighters) in the game, usually as a fraternal move, because everyone hates to see a friend lose their job, especially one who they consider was protecting them.

There as well lies a conflicting underlying message: protect them from what? Inevitably, the answer is ''from dirty hits'', all of which are illegal according to the rule book. So, the second underlying message is: if referees would do their jobs properly, there wouldn't be an issue, but players seem to think they simply can't - whether it's because they're awful, or it's what their bosses - the NHL GMs and owners, through the Board of Governors - ask for is up for debate.

Still, it's clear the players need to be protected from themselves, and staged fights pitting enforcers against one another need to go. Sure, John Tortorella overreacted last year after the Calgary Flames started their five toughest players to start a game, but he wasn't wrong in being pissed off. If he'd started his best players to face them, they were all at serious risk of being injured, whether directly at the face-off, or as soon as Calgary would have lost control of their defensive zone ten seconds later, and any one of the Flames players could have taken a run at any Canucks player. Instead, Tortorella started his five toughest guys, two of which were no match in the melee that ensued.

And if staged fights - the ''before the face-off'' fights, those ''to create momentum'' when a team is trailing, the ''wake-up'' fights when a team is slumping - have to also bring with them the more honorable ''heat of the moment'' fights, then so be it. There are no fights at the Olympics - perhaps the best hockey on the planet; there are no fights in U.S. College games.

It's gotten to the point where any good, legal, hard hit gets a retaliatory fight - and that's not right. It's unsportsmanlike. Hockey is a physical sport, and the dumb, Boston Bruins-type ''you hit my guy, you have to pay by getting your face smashed in'' fights are perhaps the worst thing in the game today. Proponents of keeping fighting in the game are quick to point that it would take the physicality out of the game, when in reality, it's probably closer to the opposite. How many big hits are thrown in football versus the number of fights there?

In a very physical league with no fighting, Tinordi would be a very useful player, a valuable commodity. But because fighting isn't in his DNA (yet), he's in the AHL this year, despite having a better point-per-game average (2 assists in 9 games) than fellow prospect Nathan Beaulieu (4 assists in 26 games) who, as a shorter, offensive defenseman, has never been asked to fight.

I won't solve this issue here, today, by myself. The debate will go on for years. Hopefully Tinordi recovers fully soon, and by then no one will have died.

In the meantime, here's a beautiful card I got last year, from Upper Deck's 2013-14 Black Diamond set (#ROOKD-JT of the Double Diamond Jerseys sub-set), showing him wearing the Habs' white (now-away) uniform, with red and blue swatches from a photo shoot: