Michael Ryder Autographed Card

How to go from ''hero'' to ''despised'' in Montréal in two easy steps:
1. stop giving it your all
2. leave as a free agent and sign with a bitter rival

This is the third time I've featured Ryder, now of the Boston Bruins, here; I'd previously done it once in a solo jersey card, and once on a dual card (with Phil Kessel). This card is from Upper Deck's 2005-06 Victory set, the Game Breakers insert sub-set (card #GB24).

When Ryder's dad was in town, they'd always eat breakfast together at the same restaurant. If you left them alone during the meal, he'd gladly sign for you afterwards as he was leaving the premises. This blue sharpie Aztec-like signature happened on one of those mornings. He added his jersey number, 73, at the tail end of the unique signature.

I have to admit he looked great in the Montréal Canadiens' bleu-blanc-rouge, though.

Michael Ryder Jersey Card

I have written about another Michael Ryder card here, and about other cards in this series here, but I never actually went further in talking about Ryder.

He is a player who, twice, has reached the 30-goal plateau, both times with the Montréal Canadiens. He has also scored 25 (with Montréal) and 27 with the Boston Bruins last year. He also has a terrible 14-goal season with the Habs.

So he can score. His wrist shot is actually what keeps him at the NHL level, because despite his size, he doesn't hit so much, isn't all that quick, and isn't the most reliable defensively. Additionally, he tends to score in streaks.

Knowing all this is why coach Guy Carbonneau didn't give him his usual playing time in 2007-08 (his 14-goal season), because he was, basically, on a season-long no-goal streak. He was a healthy scratch for 12 games, most of them at the tail end of the season, and he only played 4 of the team's 13 playoff games, registering no goals and no assits, instead keeping busy in the press box by eating popcorn and throwing paper airplanes at the crowd.

I'm sure you can tell he wasn't one of my favourite players (I prefer my snipers to be gritty), but you had to respect the fact that he was the only Newfie in the NHL for most of his career so far. All in all, I'm not sad that he's gone, but I'm not happy about it either. Over time, he has left me with a general impression of ''meh''. I just hate that he went to our historic rivals the Bruins just so he could haunt us six times per regular season, plus the playoffs.

So I still keep this one in my collection, but for the right price - think $5 - this 2006-07 SP Game-Used Edition card (#AF-RY) by Upper Deck could end up in your hands. It's from when Upper Deck could actually certify that the jersey in the card had actually been used in an official game by the player on the card - a territory they don't dare to venture in anymore.

Michael Ryder And Phil Kessel - Jersey Card

Oh, serendipity! Here's a jersey card that features Michael Ryder in a red Montréal Canadiens jersey, and Phil Kessel of the Boston Bruins, with a black jersey piece (it is unclear whether it's the black shoulder on the white jersey or a piece of the darker one). Each has had a 30-goal season in those uniforms.

But Ryder is now a Bruin, and he's scored 27 goals in his only season there so far. Ironically, his salary of $4M per year for three more years is what put the Bruins over the cap and forced to trade Kessel (who had scored 36) to the Leafs a couple of weeks ago... so neither of these players are still with the team they're pictured in.

This is from Upper Deck's SPX Hockey series, for the 2008-09 season, which also happens to be the only one these two players have played together as teammates. It isn't serial-numbered, but bears the card nuber #WC-RK.