Maxim Lapierre Autographed Card

As the NHL and NHLPA negotiate a return to play for the 2020-21 season, others like Maxim Lapierre look the other way, as the feisty pest announced his retirement earlier today.

His career was going great in Europe, the sixth-leading scorer on a team that finished third in the DEL (Berlin Polar Bears) after three seasons starring for famed Swiss team Lugano HC as a point-per-game, two-PIM-per-game player who elevated his game in the postseason, strong off a bronze medal win at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics with Team Canada after securing a tryout from a strong showing at the Spengler Cup.

His last taste of NHL action came with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2014-15, and you got the sense that they acquired him only because he was the best in the league at getting under Sidney Crosby's skin, instead of having him line up in the bottom-six to stop the other team from scoring.

He may not have been a first-liner, but he's had a heck of a career; Montréal Canadiens fans will remember him obtaining points in his first four NHL games, getting Selke votes and finishing +9 under Guy Carbonneau during a 15-goal, 28-point career-best 2008-09 season, and scoring the game-winner against the Pens in the series-tying game of the magical 2010 playoff run; Vancouver Canucks fans will remember him starring alongside Alexandre Burrows, Kevin Bieksa, Ryan Kesler and Raffi Torres - a veritable "who's who" of the most referee-triggering NHLers not named Brad Marchand, Zdeno Chara or Brendan Gallagher - on the team that blew a 3-2 Stanley Cup Final win in 2011, with Lapierre scoring the game-winner that brought the Canucks to within one game of their first championship.

When Montréal journalists called Alain Vigneault, his Prince Edward Island Rocket head coach (who would also be the Canucks' head coach a decade later) to inquire about the type of player he was, Vigneault said he would "need to work hard to make it to the NHL", that he was "not a natural scorer", but that he'd "take 20 like him" on his team.

So today I tip my hat to a veteran of 614 regular-season NHL games with five teams (he also suited up briefly with the Anaheim Ducks and St. Louis Blues), scoring 65 goals with 74 assists for 139 points and also making it onto the score sheet with 586 penalty minutes while doing so, with an additional 7 goals, 8 assists, 15 points and 144 PIMs in 80 playoff games. Here he is wearing the Canadiens' white (away) uniform with the team's Centennial shoulder patches on card #223 from Upper Deck's 2010-11 O-Pee-Chee set:

He signed it in blue sharpie while with the Canucks (2011-13) or Blues (2013-15). I'd like him to sign this retro Habs jersey I have of his some day:

He currently co-hosts the weekly La Poche Bleue podcast with fellow retiree Guillaume Latendresse, possibly preparing for a media career in a few years.

Maxim Lapierre Autograph Card

Maxim Lapierre has finally signed a professional contract... except he's headed for famed hockey team Ornskoldsvik Modo of the Swedish league, with an out clause releasing him to the NHL should he sign another deal prior to training camp.

I always thought he'd find a team that would pay him around $1.5M for the year, seeing as he's a decent face-off man, a right-shot center who can play on the penalty kill, and one of the league's biggest pests... although that, and the fact that he's a repeat offender when it comes to embellishment and diving probably played a part in that as well.

He collected 105 hits in 35 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins post-trade last year, which is consistent with the types of statistics he had in his last couple of seasons with the Montréal Canadiens before he was shipped to the Anaheim Ducks. Apart from taking stupid penalties at times, he's the type of player who'll do anything his coaches ask, whether it's shadowing the other team's top centers or chirp at them, or throw his (relatively diminutive) weight around. He can even fill in on the second line for a spell if a coach wants to punish certain players and reward effort.

Here he is wearing the Vancouver Canucks' current/retro blue (home) uniform, from Upper Deck's 2012-13 Fleer Retro set:

It uses the 1996-97 Skybox Autographics design and is card #96-ML in the sub-set, featuring a sticker autograph signed in blue sharpie, with his jersey number (40) tagged at the end, which qualifies him for my Canucks Numbers Project.

Maxim Lapierre Swatch Card

After Steve Shutt and Brendon Nash, here is the final (uncommon) piece of my trade with Brad last week, from Panini's 2010-11 Donruss set (the Boys Of Winter sub-set, card #56):

Maxim Lapierre is one of my favourite grinders in the game. He gets under opponents' skin, wins faceoffs, is responsible defensively, and combines a child's everlasting smile with the rage of an angry pitbull. He is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

In my EA Sports NHL dynasties, I try to always trade for him to center my third (or fourth, depending on depth) line, and my Cup record speaks for itself...

I had a previous Habs jersey card from this set, of Max Pacioretty, and here's how I described the swatch:

Panini doesn't disclose whether it's from a jersey, or a sock, but specifies it's guaranteed to have been game-worn. It's red, round and pretty.

Maxim Lapierre Hot Materials Jersey Card

In the first game of the Montréal Canadiens / Washington Capitals game, the Caps were dominating in the first period, shooting 19 times on Jaroslav Halak, so when coach Jacques Martin needed to turn the tide around, he sent Maxim Lapierre's line out to do some damage - and they did just that.

Within seconds, the Caps were stuck in their own end, unable to withstand the pressure and in need of catching-glove heroics by José Théodore to keep the game close.

Needless to say, not only am I hoping for more of the same tonight, I hope Martin doesn't release the gritty speedster for less than a minute in the first period like he did two nights ago.

This 2005-06 Hot Prospects card (#HM-ML of the Hot Materials insert sub-set) by Fleer (or, technically, by Upper Deck) incorporates a pretty big swatch off the Habs' red (now home, then away) jersey and was taken from a photo shoot. Here's what Fleer had to say about it on the back of the card:

CONGRATULATIONS!

You have received a Maxim  Lapierre Jersey trading card from Fleer LLC. On the front of this card is an authentic piece of a jersey worn by Maxim Lapierre in a photo shoot. We hope you enjoy this piece of hockey history as we at Fleer continue to keep you as close as you can get!

Yes, you read correctly: hockey history. Feels good, doesn't it?

Two Maxim Lapierre Autographed Cards

From one #40 to another... Maxim Lapierre, promising third-line center for the Montréal Canadiens, my choice for the team's next captain, with two cards from the 2007-08 season.

On the left, an In The Game 2007-08 Heroes And Prospects card (#CC-05), from the Calder Cup Champions sub-set describing how valuable he was in the Hamiltom Bulldogs' championship run, participating on both his team's goals in the decisive game after having been reassigned to the AHL for the playoffs.

On the right, a 2007-08 MVP (#60) card from Upper Deck showing Maxim's stats in his rookie season in the NHL, mentioning that he scored in his first three games.

Both were signed at the team's jamboree prior to the 2007-08 season, both are similar, and both sport ''40'' after Lapierre's name, despite the fact that he clearly wears #26 on his Bulldogs card (the beautiful red jersey), showing he did not want to have to go back there, which of course he did just weeks later. But he came back with a vengeance, never to go back down again, a few weeks after being demoted.

I also like that he looks noticeably older in the AHL card than the NHL one, probably because of the beard, but considering players usually go to the AHL before the NHL and both cards being from the same year, it adds a nice touch.

Both cards also have him in just about the same position, with an open mouth, although he seems in possession of the puck on the MVP card and demanding it on the Heroes And Prospects card. Another noteworthy difference is not between the cards themselves but on the Upper Deck card, as the MVP series sported facsimile autographs on the front... and apart from the exact same 'M', the rest of the signature is completely different from the live one to the printed one. And since both live ones are so strikingly similar, you can wonder if UD didn't feel his actual signature was legible enough and asked him to re-do it more clearly...