Jordan Eberle Jersey Card

The New York Islanders made a superb deal when they signed Jordan Eberle to a five-year extension that brings him to the end of his prime years (and perhaps a couple of years beyond that point); of note, it carries a lower cap hit ($5.5M instead of $6M) than his previous deal, which got him traded by the Edmonton Oilers - a move Oil fans regret to this day.

He's had his ups and downs throughout his career, dropping from a 30-goal player to 25 then 20 in Edmonton, and reviving his career with 25 goals two winters ago on Long Island, to falling to just 19 (and only 37 points) this past season, although he made up for it with his finest playoff performance to date, with 9 points in 8 postseason games as the Isles made it to the second round.

I just thought I'd mention it while I fell upon a double of this card I'd already featured on here:

It's card #AF-JE from Upper Deck's 2013-14 SP Game-Used Edition set and Authentic Fabrics sub-set, showing him wearing the Oilers' iconic blue-and-orange uniform and sporting the alternate captain's "A", with a nice, big, dark blue swatch encrusted in it.

Jordan Eberle & Devan Dubnyk Jersey Card

Here is a card that features two players who are no longer playing with the team they are featured in on the card, the Edmonton Oilers, Jordan Eberle and Devan Dubnyk:

It's #U-DE from Fleer's 2013-14 Showcase set and Uniformity sub-set by Upper Deck, with blue game-worn jersey swatches from each player. It's the same set as this previously-featured card of Eberle's.

Indeed, Eberle was sent to the New York Islanders for prospect Ryan Strome, in what seems to be both a reaction to Eberle failing to produce in the playoffs and a move to clear up cap space for Connor McDavid's next contract, which will definitely not be a bridge deal and should make him the league's highest-paid player.

For the record, in my opinion, McDavid should be offered a two-year deal paying somewhere in the $7-9M range (per) before surpassing the likes of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin on his next one, if only so he can have another Art Ross- and Hart-winning season to prove he is now the best forward in the league; it's not like $7-9M is bad money, either...

Eberle could very well have a 40-goal season playing alongside Isles captain John Tavares, so this move is an excellent one for GM Garth Snow, who clearly got the best player in the deal, although Strome could make Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli happy by producing alongside either McDavid or Leon Draisaitl. This move ensures Snow qualifies as one of the five best GMs in the NHL in the past five years with how he's improved his team, alongside Steve Yzerman (amazing signings thanks to Florida's tax laws, and shrewd trades), Stan Bowman (the best in the league in managing the salary cap, replacing high-paid players with fine prospects and signing returning veteran free agents to cap-friendly/low-paying deals, though I think he got hosed in the Artemi Panarin trade), Jim Rutherford (sure, he was dealt a great hand by inheriting a contender with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but his cap management and the team's development program combine to take the Pens' dynasty from a "could-have-been" to a "longer-than-it-should-have"), and Dale Tallon (who, after building the 2010 Chicago Blackhawks championship team, built a division winner with the Florida Panthers, only to have it be taken apart by his successor in a single summer, now tasked with building another one a year later).

Dubnyk leaving Edmonton has to do with the team's previous administration's inability to draft or build a defense in a decade of rebuilding, leaving half a dozen goalies helpless in trying to stop odd-man rushes and looking awful in the process, so bad that Dubnyk even spent time with the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs when the Montréal Canadiens acquired his rights from the Nashville Predators in an eventful 2013-14 campaign that saw him play for three separate organizations before signing on with a fourth one as a free agent - the Phoenix Coyotes - in the off-season.

Then, at the 2014-15 trade deadline, the Coyotes traded Dubnyk - their best goalie that year - to the Minnesota Wild, enabling them to make the playoffs and immediately turning them into a division-lead contender. In two of the last three seasons, Dubnyk was the second-best goalie in the league, which made him a finalist for the Vezina once (should have been twice, as Carey Price should not have been a finalist this year), finished fourth in Hart voting, and won the Bill Masterton Trophy.

Two award-winning Team Canada alumni that the Oilers had to get rid of to be the playoff team they are today - and the Cup contenders they hope to be for the next decade.

Jordan Eberle Jersey Card

It was a pretty big possibility that the Edmonton Oilers would have yet another disappointing season last year, which can mostly be attributed to a weak blue line and defensive system. One thing I had not envisioned, however, was that Jordan Eberle would have his lowest goals total in a full season since his rookie year, with 24.

He'd reached 34 in 2011-12 and got close to that rate again with 16 in 48 games in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, but followed that one up with 28 before sliding again this past year.

In his defense, the team was a mess under initial coach Dallas Eakins, the ship was kind of steered right by Todd Nelson, but scoring was spread out more evenly - good news for Nail Yakupov, who reverted back to form while playing with Derek Roy, but a small dip for Eberle.

You might recall Eberle was my choice for captain of the team back in 2013, though they ultimately went with free agent signing and Stanley Cup winner hometown hero Andrew Ference (a fine choice at the time) and instead gave Eberle and Taylor Hall the alternates' ''A'', and now that Connor McDavid is in town, he might be next in line in two or three years, provided he lives up to at least 85% of the hype gone his way.

I'm not yet sold on having Cam Talbot - he of 53 career NHL games - being anointed the starting goalie to lead the franchise out of the depths of the NHL's standings, so perhaps there will be more Eberle trade rumours further down the line, though if I were GM, I'd be more inclined to move Hall of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (who will soon be expendable as a center with McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in the pipeline) to shore up the blue line with a true #1 or #2 defenseman, perhaps even as a conversation starter in Shea Weber talks.

Keep in mind, with Jordan Eberle, you're eyeing this guy:

And so, in all his splendor, here he is sporting the Oilers' retro-current blue uniform, from Upper Deck's 2013-14 Fleer Showcase set (card #S-JE of the Stitches insert sub-set):

It includes a game-worn jersey swatch, albeit from their god-awful dark blue Reebok Edge lockout-era monstrosities.

Jordan Eberle Jersey Card

I loved the Edmonton Oilers growing up, and when I stopped following regular-season hockey for a few years in the 1990s, they and the Colorado Avalanche were the only teams I followed closely come playoff time. So my love for the Oilers goes from the Wayne Gretzky/Kevin Lowe era, to the Ryan Smyth/Shawn Horcoff era, to today's generation.

And my favourite player among this crop is without a doubt Jordan Eberle. Clutch beyond comprehension, he is already a point-per-game player in the NHL in just his fourth season, at only 23 years of age, on a team that could very well finish last overall. He played in his first All-Star Game in only his second NHL season (and there hasn't been another one since).

He holds the Team Canada record at the World Juniors with a 12-game point streak, and his overall international stats read as follows:

Juniors, 23 games, 18 goals, 18 assists, 36 points
Senior team, 27 games, 9 goals, 12 assists, 21 points

During the lock-out last season, he played with the Oilers' AHL affiliate Oklahoma City Barons, leading the league in points at the time that NHL play resumed with 25 gals and 51 points in 34 games.

Already nominated for the Lady Byng Trophy once, he will likely win it a few times, seeing as his career-high in penalty minutes is 22, in his rookie season. He understands that he serves his team better on the ice than in the penalty box...

And so, I was more than happy to pull this card from a pack of Upper Deck's 2013-14 SP Game-Used (it's card #AF-JE, part of the Authentic Fabrics sub-set) last week, showing him wearing the Oilers' iconic blue-and-orange uniform and sporting the alternate captain's 'A', with a nice, big, dark blue swatch:

Jordan Eberle Autograph Redemption Card

Year in and year out, regardless of their position in the standings, the Edmonton Oilers offer their fans exciting, speedy, creative teams that rarely take the night off. This season's crop is no different, apart from the fact that it could very well finish in last place overall.

One of the kids leading this brigade is Jordan Eberle, who scored the first beautiful goal of the 2010-11 season, on one of the league's 5 best goalies, no less:

Despite his status as a rookie, he already sports the alternate captain's A on some occasions; and while many will make a case for Taylor Hall, his young teammate on the Oilers who was the last draft's first-overall pick, it is Eberle who holds the record as Canada's all-time highest scorer at the World Juniors, despite only appearing in two championships, winning gold in 2009 and silver in 2010.

As a junior player, he was named the CHL's Player Of The Year in 2010, to go with his 2008 scolastic player of the year award and two first-team all star nominations. That's pretty much the definition of ''blue chip prospect'' right there.

This card's history dates back to October, when I purchased two boxes' worth of Panini's 2010-11 Score hockey cards. I was happy with what I pulled, except for this blank card that said it was for 'redemption'; while I'd heard of these cards, it was the first time I ever got one myself. The process was simple enough: go on Panini's website, claim the serial number of the card, get told it's of Eberle and... wait.

Well, I got it today. Eberle in the Oilers' white pajama-like jersey, Hot Rookies sub-set (card #556), with a sticker on top of it with Eberle's autograph in blue sharpie. Note that he's wearing #78 on the picture but signed as #14, the number he's currently wearing with the Oilers now that he's made the team for good.