Pierre-Marc Bouchard Dual Jersey Card

The Minnesota Wild are going through a rough patch, particularly in terms on injuries. Their 4-3-2 record (10 points in 9 games, which would mean a 91-point season over 82 games) isn't too bad, but it still puts them tied for last with the Winnipeg Jets in a strong Central Division.

However, that's 9 games in, and they've already lost 31 man-games between Marcus Foligno (1, facial fracture, returned on the 20th), Mikael Granlund (5, groin, returned last week), Zach Parise (9, no idea when he'll return), Charlie Coyle (6, operated for a right fibula fracture, out six-to-eight weeks), Nino Niederreiter (6, high left ankle sprain, expected back in mid-November), and Landon Ferraro (4, hip, day-to-day).

All of this is reminiscent of Pierre-Marc Bouchard's prime years where, as he had gone three straight seasons at or near the 60-point mark, the cheap boarding hits and elbows to the head just added to a litany of concussions, turning a once-promising career into more of a cruel joke. But unlike Parise's contract, this cruel joke made no one happy.

Bouchard did redeem his worth by the end of his career in the AHL and in Switzerland, but from age 28 onward, no one was willing to give him a true shot at the NHL level. Still, these are nice statistics to post before retiring at the age of 31:

From HockeyDB

Here he is sporting the Wild's white uniform on card #HS-PM from Upper Deck's 2008-09 Trilogy set and Honorary Swatches sub-set:

It features two matching game-worn swatches that are clearly from different parts of the jersey.

Brendan Shanahan Dual Jersey Card

I've been holding onto this card then losing track of it then waiting for the appropriate time to talk about it since 2010:

That's former head of the Department Of Player Safety and current Toronto Maple Leafs President Brendan Shanahan, sporting the New York Rangers' classic blue (now-home) uniform, on card #HS-BS from Upper Deck's 2008-09 Trilogy set and Honorary Swatches sub-set.

After predicting the Rangers would finish 5th in the Metropolitan Division but still make the playoffs as the Second Eastern Wild Card team, I figured now would be as good a time as any to feature the Hockey Hall Of Famer.

I've hinted at it in the past, but in my view, Shanahan was an All-Star, but not a Hall Of Famer. He reached the 50-goal plateau twice, both times before the Clutch-And-Grab Dead Puck Era, the second being his lone 100-point season; in both instances, he played on a line with Brett Hull, who had more goals than he did. He failed to score 30 goals eight times in a 21-season career (notwithstanding lockout-shortened seasons), and never won a scoring title of any kind; as a matter of fact, he only finished in the top-5 for goals once, finishing fifth in 1993-94 with 52, his career-high. He only twice finished in the top-10 for points, finishing eighth in 1993-94 (with 102) and tenth in 1996-97 (with 88), yet stands 26th in career points (with 1354) because he played seemingly forever; having suited up for 1524 games, he is not a point-per-game player despite playing eight seasons before the New Jersey Devils made it so that the entire league started playing anti-hockey.

And his three Stanley Cups came before the salary cap, when the Detroit Red Wings spent all the money in the world to ice the likes of Shanahan, Hull and Luc Robitaille in bit roles for the chance of buying themselves at least a Conference Finals finish every season between 1995 and 2005. Prior to that, his Devils, St. Louis Blues and Hartford Whalers never amounted to much, and later in his career, it was more of the same with the Rangers and his second stint in Jersey.

That being said, he's the only NHLer with career stats that include over 600 goals and 2000 penalty minutes, and he has had a few noteworthy postseasons, such as the Cup-winning 1996-97 and 2001-02 Wings teams, where he finished second in points both times, first behind Sergei Fedorov, then tied with Fedorov behind Steve Yzerman.

Again, "star player" material, just not any performances for the ages.

Chris Pronger Jersey Card

Time for the final entry in my Month Of Scary...

Once (maybe twice) every decade, a truly elite player joins the NHL with something more than the sum of just his talents; his meanness and penchant for dirty hits make him twice as dangerous, as opponents never know what to expect from him.

The 1910s brought us Sprague Cleghorn, the 1920s and 1930s are still synonymous with Eddie Shore, the 1940s and 1950s had Gordie Howe, the 1970s gave us Bobby Clarke, the 1980s brought us Mark Messier and Chris Chelios, the 1990s gave us Eric Lindros and Chris Pronger, the 2000s made way for Zdeno Chara and the 2010s, apparently, have Brad Marchand, as he's now a 30-goal scorer and World Cup champion with Team Canada.

Of note that I specified "truly elite", which is why very good players like Vincent Damphousse and Brendan Shanahan were omitted from this list.

Which brings me to Pronger who, like Shanahan before him, went from bruiser to working with the league's suspension-regulating committee, the Department of Player Safety, along with fellow former heavy hitters Rob Blake and Stéphane Quintal, the head of the department.

Yes, it's ironic that players who did get into trouble with questionable hits in their own time now get to dish out the punishment to those who do it now, but Pronger may be the weirdest of all; not only is he still being paid as an "active/concussed" player who hasn't played in a game since the 2011-12 season, but he's also a guy who was once suspended twice in the same seven-game playoff series.

The five-time All-Star and four-time Team Canada Olympian (winning gold in 2002 and 2010) is thus still feared by NHLers, it's just that he now does it in a suit and tie.

Here he is sporting the Anaheim Ducks' black uniform from the mid-00s, on card #HS-CP from Upper Deck's 2007-08 Trilogy set and Honorary Swatches sub-set:

It features a small matching game-worn jersey swatch.

Ilya Kovalchuk Jersey Card

So, uh, Ilya Kovalchuk's been acting weird since going back to the KHL, eh? From boycotting the Canadian national anthem at the World Championships to a recent incident where he seemingly took on the opposing team's entire forward line, he seems to have some anger management issues.

Talent-wise, he may very well be the best right-winger not named Alex Ovechkin, but Ovie has leadership qualities and a happy-yet-calming demeanor that Kovy clearly does not possess.

Just putting it out there while showing off this nice card from Upper Deck's 2007-08 Trilogy collection (and card #HS-IK of the Honorary Swatches sub-set):

Though the game-worn jersey swatch is dark blue and could be from either of the Atlanta Thrashers' uniforms, he is pictured wearing the team's white - and best-looking - garbs.

Despite having ''retired'' from the NHL at age 30, he stands seventh among Russians in all-time scoring, with 417 goals, 386 assists and an even 816 points in 816 regular-season games, and another 27 points in 32 games - most of them in a 22-game Stanley Cup Final run with the New Jersey Devils, because the Thrashers were so awful he only played 4 postseason games in his 8 years with the franchise.

He has six 40-goal seasons, two of them being of the 52-goal variety. He has exceeded the 80-point mark six times as well, with highs of 98 (in 2005-06) and 91 (in 2008-09).

He is also a point-per-game producer in the KHL, with 137 points in 135 games.

Bill Ranford Swatch Card

I wrote about Bill Ranford some four years ago with a post that I thought was heartfelt at the time but seems a bit negative in retrospect. I won't go back to re-edit it, because as a child, he did take the place of two of my favourite goalies - Patrick Roy and Grant Fuhr - although, to his credit, he did so with a bang, winning the Conn Smythe trophy and the Canada Cup MVP titles ahead of Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky, respectively, so he really took full advantage of his window of opportunity and jumped on it.

But what seems more impressive now than his two Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers (1988 as Fuhr's backup and 1990 with the roles reversed) is his work as the Los Angeles Kings' goaltending coach.

Considering current Colorado Avalanche goaltending guru François Allaire is pretty much the godfather of the position (working through Patrick Roy's three Conn Smythes, Jean-Sébastien Giguère's Conn Smythe and Cup in separate years, now Semyon Varlamov's superb comeback), the top-5 goaltending coaches has to be rounded up by the New York Rangers' Benoît Allaire (it runs in the family) who has worked with Henrik Lundqvist, Martin Biron and Cam Talbot while letting them all keep their distinctive styles; Stéphane Waite (Jimmy Waite's brother), winner of Stanley Cups with two different young goalies (Antti Niemi and Corey Crawford); Roland Melanson (multiple award-winning or -nominated goalies such as Roberto Luongo, José Théodore, Jaroslav Halak, Cristobal Huet, young Carey Price, Jeff Hackett), inventor of the ''one pad down along the goal line while hugging the post when the puck's in the corner'' move, which is perfect for stopping impromptu passes and/or deflections; and Ranford. (For the record, my former favourite was Sean Burke, who has since been promoted to the Phoenix Coyotes' Director of Player Personnel).

Except I rank Ranford second on this list, and perhaps first on the ''last three-to-five years'' list. During his tenure, Jonathan Quick has become a two-time Cup champion and Conn Smythe winner, a Vezina nominee and silver medalist. This season alone, though, two goalies have posted better numbers than Quick, each playing in a quarter of the season - 19 games. Youngster Ben Scrivens went 7-5-4 with an incredible 1.97 GAA and .931 save percentage (3 shutouts), while rookie Martin Jones went 12-6-0 with an unbelievable 1.87 GAA and .934 save percentage (4 shutouts). That's 7 shutouts in 38 games, which just add to Quick's 6 in 49, for a whopping 13 shutouts in a single season.

The season before that, Jonathan Bernier posted a 1.88 GAA and .922 save percentage in roughly a third of the Kings' games. And while Bernier had been a fixture on the team since 2010, Erik Ersberg had had the call in 2009-10, also with a 2.40 GAA and .906 save percentage that rivaled Quick's.

As a matter of fact, the difference between the pre-Ranford Kings and just his first season in L.A. is astonishing:

2007-08:

2008-09:

They went from 6 goalies with just one whose GAA was below 3.00 to 3 goalies all under 3.00; they doubled their shutout numbers and their team save percentage was up by over 50 points. And that was just the start, as I've demonstrated before.

And so perhaps Ranford ranks in another category as well: the excellent goalie coaches who had also previously been exceptional goalies, with Burke and, to a lesser extent in regards to his playing days, Melanson. And Roy, who probably does have some input with the goalies as the Avs' head coach.

And so today I pay tribute to Ranford's second Cup win as the Kings' goaltending coach (and subsequent 3-year contract extension) with this card, from Upper Deck's 2006-07 Trilogy set (card #HS-BR of the Honorary Swatches sub-set, with a blue swatch likely from the Oilers' blue away uniform):

It's a pretty basic design, compared to what the Trilogy set would offer in later years, but it works well.

Lanny McDonald Swatch Card

As many of you know, I'm a big fan of Lanny McDonald - both the player and the mustache. I received a TTM answer from his last year, resulting in these three signed cards; I also pulled this jersey card a year or two ago.

I also got this one around the same period, perhaps in 2011, from a pack of Upper Deck's 2009-10 Trilogy set:

It's card #HS-LM in the set (the Honorary Swatches sub-set), and features two decent-sized swatches of ''NHL game-used memorabilia'', one blue and one white, obviously from his days with the Toronto Maple Leafs, despite picturing him with the Calgary Flames on the card. And since it was released the same year as the Champs card I mentioned earlier, it's probably from the exact same jersey.

I don't mind that UD would use the same jersey to stock cards from different sets, but I really don't like their habit of not associating the player with that team on their card. It makes you doubt the validity of their white swatches at all... say they purchase a white Atlanta Thrashers jersey of Chris Chelios, likely at a bargain price, but insert pieces of it in cards of his with teams in which he mattered, like the Montréal Canadiens (Stanley Cup, Norris, co-captain, first American-born captain), Chicago Blackhawks (captain, Norris, hometown hero) or Detroit Red Wings (multiple Stanley Cups), wouldn't it alter the intrinsic value of the cards themselves? Doesn't the guarantee of being ''game-worn'' lose a tad of its credibility, since it wasn't worn with the team labeled on the card? How far do they have to stretch the truth before it becomes a lie?

I really didn't want to use a Lanny McDonald card to make this point, because I respect him so much, as one of the two Flames I identify as their all-time best captains (along with Jarome Iginla, of course). But I've been siting on this card for so long because of that exact point, so I figured I might as well get it off my chest.

Miikka Kiprusoff Jersey Card

Sure, Martin Brodeur is playing the Canadiens tonight, chances are he'll get another shutout, further surpassing Terry Sawchuk, leading the league once again, heading into the Olympics where his team will be favoured to win gold. And chances are he'll add another Vezina trophy to his filing cabinet, and further cement his (undeserved) reputation as ''the best goalie of all time''. Yawn.

The problem with that is that for the past 5 years, Miikka Kiprusoff has been the best goalie in the NHL. He's deserved at least 3 Vezina trophies in that span (Tim Thomas and Evgeni Nabokov could/should have had the others, and maybe one for Roberto Luongo), but Brodeur has practically won them all in what is nothing short of highway robbery.

History will remember Brodeur as the winningest goalie in NHL history, the one with the most shutouts, and the guy who has won most Vezinas in the 2000s, while Dominik Hasek has won the most in the 1990s. Both those facts erase and tarnish the fact that Patrick Roy was the better goalie for most of those two decades (he's even beaten Brodeur in their only Stanley Cup confrontation that went all the way to 7 games, no less), and that, following Roy's retirement, Kiprusoff backstopped a team that wasn't loaded with talent to a Cup Final and several decent regular seasons.

History might also forget that when Brodeur missed half a season to injuries, his replacement, Scott Clemmenson, who had never before played in more than 12 NHL games in a season, played 40, going 25-13-1, a 2.39 GAA (2 shutouts) and a .917 save %; a career backup with stats that rival Brodeur's. Don't tell me it isn't about the system they're playing in. In comparison, when Kipper isn't playing, the Flames usually resort to putting Curtis McElhinney in nets, who has never posted a better-then-.500 record and lets over 3 goals a game in. Kiprusoff, meanwhile, holds the modern-day record for lowest goals-against average in a season, with 1.69...

He has also backstopped Finland to three surprising (considering the country lacks the depth of Canada, Russia, Sweden and Team USA) silver medals: at the 1999 and 2001 World Championships, as well as the 2004 World Cup.

Not bad for a guy who was the Sharks' third-string goalie when the Calgary Flames took a chance on him for a second-round pick.

He is also notable for giving $10 for every save he makes during a season to children's charities - and with the amount of rubber he turns away, that's a hefty sum.

This particular card, from Upper Deck's 2007-08 Trilogy series (Honorary Swatches sub-set, card # HS-MK) shows Kipper in his white Flames jersey moving from right to left to, presumably, make a great pad save before sprawling for the rebound in spectacular fashion for a highlight-reel moment.

For my money, the best goalie of the past 5 years, followed closely by Luongo and Nabokov, with Thomas not too far behind and Cristobal Huet rounding out the Top 5.

Mike Ribeiro Jersey Card

As I briefly touched upon when first dealing with a Mike Ribeiro card, this one was issued as he was entering his final year playing for his hometown Montréal Canadiens, as part of Upper Deck's 2005-06 Trilogy series (card is #HS-RI, part of the Honorary Swatches sub-set). What sets this card apart from others is the fact that it contains 2 different colours - red and blue - and, thus, was taken on the jersey's waistline.

Ribeiro entered the 2005-06 season as the team's reigning scoring leader, as well as having spent (part of) the lock-out season with the Espoo Blues of the SM-Liga, where he collected 17 points in 17 games.

There are knocks on 'Mickey Ribs', such as his frequent soccer-inspired dives and pretend injuries and his lack of speed, but his savant passing and deft playmaking abilities are enough to counter such negatives; he has become quite the shootout specialist, often deking goalies out of their underwear with nifty moves that spell poetry on ice.

Ironically, the Habs made him a 45th-overall draft pick - the same spot as another slow-footed former local-boy Canadiens, Guillaume Latendresse, now of the Minnesota Wild. Ribeiro now plays for the Dallas Stars, who used to be based... in Minnesota. Let's hope that's where the comparisons end, because if Latendresse ever becomes an All Star the way Ribeiro has, heads are going to roll, starting with General Manager Bob Gainey's, who traded away Ribeiro, essentially, for washed-up defenseman Janne Niinimaa, who only played 41 games with the Canadiens, registering 3 points (all assists) and clocking in at minus-13 before spending the last 3 seasons in Europe, while Ribeiro led his new team in scoring - twice.

Another thing to note on this card is the spectator watching Ribeiro play - her face has white spots instead of eyes. Scary!

Two Patrice Bergeron Jersey Cards

Sometimes you're lucky, most times you aren't. This time, I was.

Here are two different-coloured jersey cards from Upper Deck's 2006-07 Trilogy Honorary Swatches (card HS-PB) line of Patrice Bergeron, a Boston Bruins player I actually like. One of them is white, likely from the all-white jersey, and the other one's yellow, likely from a shoulder of wrist or bottom of either the home or away jersey. All I'd need to be really happy with these would be a black one, to complete all three official Bruins colours.

Bergeron was on his merry way to become a star player in the NHL: an All Star Game appearance, invitations to represent Canada in three straight World Championships (two gold medals), a long-term contract with the Bruins as their first-line center (before the arrival of Marc Savard) collecting nearly a point per game and being named Associate Captain to Zdeno Chara.

Unfortunately, a cheap hit by Randy Jones of the Philadelphia Flyers on October 27th, 2007 has cost him a full season and slowed his progress a bit, but he has shown flashes of recovery last year, totalling 39 points in 64 games.

It's good enough that he will not suffer permanent damage because of the cheap shot, now here's hoping he returns to form as one of the most promising players under the age of 30.