Ken Linseman Autograph Card

I couldn't make it a month of tough guys, tough teams and pests without including the "top" pest of my lifetime, "The Rat", Ken Linseman.

Linseman spent two seasons of his prime with the Edmonton Oilers (1982-84, winning a Stanley Cup in the process), as well as his penultimate season (1990-91), with a five-and-a-half-year stint with the Boston Bruins tacked in the middle, culminating in another Cup Final appearance (1988).

He also spent significant time with the Philadelphia Flyers (1979-82 and 29 games in 1989-90), with another Cup Final in 1980. He retired after playing two games with the insignificant Toronto Maple Leafs in 1991-92...

Here he is wearing the Oilers' classic blue (then-away) uniform, from Upper Deck's 2013-14 Edmonton Oilers collection (on card #FI-CH of the Franchise Ink sub-set):

It features a blue-sharpied on-sticker autograph of perhaps the most despised players of the 1980s.

Of course, he's the ideal representative of #13 in my Oilers Numbers Project...

Ken Linseman Autograph Card

Nicknamed ''The Rat'' initially because Bobby Clarke said he looked like one, Ken Linseman eventually lived up to that moniker from being one of the dirtiest and peskiest players of the 1980s, mostly with the Boston Bruins, but also the Philadelphia Flyers and Edmonton Oilers.

For a bit of an idea on how he played, picture current Bruins pest Brad Marchand - now picture him as an even better point producer, and a dirtier player. The only thing they don't have in common is that Linseman was neither a diver nor a faker.

Throughout his 15-year NHL career, The Rat had 10 seasons where he hovered around the point-per-game production, scoring as many as 33 goals (with the Oilers in 1982-83) and 92 points (with the Flyers, in 1981-82); he won a Stanley Cup with Edmonton in 1983-84 and reached the Final with Philadelphia (1979-80) and Boston (1987-88).

His career statistics read as follows: 256 goals, 551 assists, 807 points, and 1727 penalty minutes in 860 regular-season games, and another 43 goals, 77 assists, 120 points and 325 penalty minutes in 113 playoff games. He was tremendous under pressure, and his defensive work was recognized by garnering a few Selke votes in 1987-88.

Here he is sporting the Bruins' black (away) uniform of my youth, from Panini's 2012-13 Classic Signatures set (card #162 in the collection):

It's the signed insert version, autographed on-card in blue sharpie.