Gaston Gingras: 8 Autographed Items

And score another TWO for my Habs Numbers Project!

That's right, Gaston Gingras can account for both #2 and #29 in the project, so I don't have to look for expensive Doug Harvey (2) or Ken Dryden (29) cards or memorabilia.

Gingras was drafted in the second round (27th overall) by the Montréal Canadiens in 1979, after a successful Juniors career with the Kitchener Rangers and a fine WHA season with the Birmingham Bulls in 1978-79 (13 goals and 34 points in 60 games).

A smooth skater with a hard slap shot, but not quite a Hall Of Famer, he had a hard time establishing himself on a stacked Habs team at first, and was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs after parts of four seasons in which he still managed to score a point in every two games; after 109 games in two and a half seasons with the Leafs in which he was on the score sheet 57 times, he was dealt back to the Canadiens, who sent him to their AHL farm team, the Sherbrooke Canadiens. The team comprised of youngsters Patrick Roy, Claude Lemieux, Brian Skrudland and Stéphane Richer won the Calder Cup in 1984-85, and they all graduated to the main club the following season, helping the Habs to their 23rd Stanley Cup in 1986.

He would play another year in Montréal before getting traded to the St. Louis Blues two games into the 1987-88 season, and would also play with them the following year, before setting his sights on Europe as a player-coach, first in Switzerland, then Italy, before coming back and doing the same in North America, with the AHL's Fredericton Canadiens first, then the ECHL's Chesapeake Icebreakers.

He remains a teacher at heart to this day, hosting weekly hockey clinics in the Western part of Montréal (Louis Leblanc is an alum), in addition to his regular participation in NHL and Canadiens alumni games.

And so I wanted to pay tribute to all aspects of his career with the Canadiens when I made these custom Hell's Kitchen 2013-14 Series 2 cards, first with the B (checking the Chicago Blackhawks' Grant Mulvey hard into the boards in a fight while wearing the #2 sweater) variant of card #35 in the series on the left, then the A ''regular'' version, wearing #29 in an alumni pre-game skate, both with the Habs' classic red (then-away) uniform:

I also made a C variant, a frame-style card with an action photo of him in the Habs' white (then-home) uniform, with the same jersey juxtaposed in front of it, both of him wearing #2, so from his first stint with the team:

Those were sent to him (care of the Canadiens Alumni) with a fan letter on April 9th, 2014, with the following ''official'' card, from O-Pee-Chee's 1980-81 O-Pee-Chee set (card #322 in the set), from a lot of old cards I bought at a flea market as a kid:

I received those four back 175 days later - on October 1st, 2014 - signed in black sharpie, with the following two team-issued cards of him wearing the white uniform, but deliberately associating him with the not-yet-retired #29:

On the left, with the blue border, is a card from the 1999 Molson Export Habs set of past players, while the one on the right, with the red border, is from the Centennial-related 2008 Molson Export Montréal Canadiens Alumni collection.

He also signed the two index cards I'd included to protect the cards:

Phil Goyette Autographed Card

Phil Goyette resides in the same Montréal burrough where he was born almost 80 years ago - Lachine, Québec. He had a glorious NHL career, nearly half spent with his hometown Montréal Canadiens, nearly half with the New York Rangers, a year with the St. Louis Blues and parts of two seasons with the Buffalo Sabres.

He won 4 straight Stanley ups with the Habs (1957 to 1960), a Lady Byng trophy in 1970, some IHL hardware (the MVP and the leading-scorer trophies in 1954-55), and is ranked 59th of all-time in the book 100 Ranger Greats. All said, he scored 207 goals (for 674 points) in 941 regular-season games to go with 17 goals (and 46 points) in 94 playoff games.

I met him at the Habs' Centennial during a team event, and he signed this team-issued 2008 Molson Export Montréal Canadiens Alumni card (#20) in black sharpie.

He stood pretty tall (5'11'', maybe) for a guy who retired in 1972.

Patrice Brisebois: 7 Autographed Items (Part 2)

(continued from the previous post)

After 14 seasons with the Habs, the last 4 increasingly difficult due to fans' discontent, Breezer signed with the Colorado Avalanche as a free agent. He had a career-high 38 points (and second-highest goal total with 10, five less than his 2000-01 best) in his first season, while injuries limited him to 33 games the following season (11 points). He was playing behind Rob Blake and John-Michael Liles at this point in his career.

This card is from Upper Deck's 2005-06 Series 2 set (card #296).

After two seasons away, Brisebois made it back to the Canadiens on back-to-back one-year contracts where he retained his Avalanche jersey number (71), perhaps a way to cut ties with the past and start anew. He played his 1000th NHL game in a Habs uniform, serving as mentor for the team's young defensemen.

The two items I have of this era are both team-issued cards he included in the mailing without my asking. First, a team-issued postcard, which he personalized (transated, it means ''Kindly, Sébastian''):

And this 2008 Molson Export Montréal Canadiens Alumni card (#71), with the team's Centennial shoulder patches:

All in all, a tremendous return (7/5 !!) from a unique homegrown player who is now the team's Player Development Coach, a position in which he'll concentrate on the organization's defensive prospects. It is of note that when I sent him these cards along with a fan letter on March 22nd, he had not yet been named to the position.

Steve Penney: 3 Autographed Cards

I started following hockey a bit during the 1984-85 season and more seriously in 1985-86, when the Montréal Canadiens won an unexpected Stanley Cup on the strength of a miracle performance by rookie goaltender Patrick Roy.

Before Roy, the Habs' net belonged to youngster Steve Penney, who also hails from Ste-Foy, a suburb of Québec City; Penney tended the nets for 54 games in 1984-85, a rare feat at the time, especially for a rookie.

Speaking of his rookie year, the card below is from Topps' 1984-85 O-Pee-Chee set (card #269), Penney's rookie card:

OPC was good for taking most of their pictures for their cards between plays or during pre-game warm-ups, and in the case of goalies, many without a helmet, sporting a towel around their necks as was customary for back-ups at the time.

The card above is from Topps' 1985-86 O-Pee-Chee set (card #4), the season where Penney got a Stanley Cup, serving as Roy's back-up, although the league forgot to engrave his name on the trophy. Still, the Habs gave him a ring and put him in the team's picture.

Penney was kind enough to include the above card as a bonus, one in which he appears in the team's home (white) uniform, which was almost impossible to get from 80s OPC cards. This card is from the 2008 Molson Export Montréal Canadiens Alumni set, created as a complement to the 1999 set in time for the team's centennial.

Ironically, superstar blogger Sal had the same three cards signed at the beginning of the season.

I sent Penney the two O-Pee-Chee cards and a fan letter explaining that his years with the Habs (and Roy's, of course) were what inspired me to be a goalie as a kid on February 13th, 2012. He added the Molson card, signed all three in blue sharpie with his number (37) tagged at the end, and I received them back on February 22nd. Barely more than a week later! What a guy!

Réjean Houle: 6 Autographed Items

Réjean Houle is a very affable man. If Jean Béliveau defines class, Houle defines generosity. Whether it was as a player, a team ambassador, even when he was the Montréal Canadiens' general manager, he was always available to meet and greet fans at games and charity events - the complete opposite of current GM Pierre Gauthier.

I had met Houle in person and written about it (and his career) in 2010, but I've come into possession of a few of his Habs' cards of late and decided to write him on February 13th, 2012, sending him a fan letter praising his work in creating the Habs' Alumni Association from scratch (another very generous move) with three cards, and he sent back not just the 3 cards, but threw in the Molson Export one and signed the two index cards I use as protection - and I received them on the 21st - barely a week later! Short of delivering them to me in person, I don't know what else he could have done.

He signed everything in black sharpie, adding his playing number (15) on the index cards as well.

Here's a look at the cards:

These two cards are identical - except for the state they're in. They're from Topps' 1981-82 O-Pee-Chee set (card #183). It doesn't show too much in the scan, but they carry a typical OPC flaw: they weren't cut evenly - the one on the left has less white space on top, more at the bottom than the one on the left.

This card is my favourtie Houle card - yes, even more than his Québec Nordiques one from the previous post. It's from the 1978-79 O-Pee-Chee collection from Topps (card #227, my third autographed card from that set), and shows Houle sporting a black eye. He wasn't a fighter, but he never backed away from anything either.

And finally a 1999 Molson Export Habs card like the one he'd signed for me in person - except he added his number to it that first time.

Great stuff!

Henri 'Pocket Rocket' Richard: The Man, The Legend: 3 Cards And One Postcard - All Autographed

Who knew my greatest success would come with the best player ever to be featured on here, the record holder for most Stanley Cups won as a player (11), a 4-year captain of the most storied franchise in hockey, the Montréal Canadiens. To put just that feat in perspective, two facts: only one other North American athlete has won 11 team championships in the highest professional league of his sport, and that's Bill Russell, of the NBA's Boston Celtics; also, by the time he had retired, the inimitable Henri Richard had had more championship rings than birthdays - he was born on February 29th, in a leap year.

He has also led the NHL in assists twice - a feat never matched by his older brother, Maurice 'The Rocket' Richard. Can you imagine being the younger brother of a team's biggest legend, playing for the same team years later, making a name for yourself (and a nickname, 'Pocket Rocket', because at 5'7'', he was three inches shorter than his brother), making the Hall Of Fame (1979) and getting your own jersey retired? It definitely takes a special man to pull it off, an incredible athlete.

But Henri Richard is much more than an overly talented athlete, he is also a Man with a capital 'M'; he has been serving as a Habs' ambassador for decades now, and it's easy to understand why: he attends most games at the Bell Centre and greets everyone who comes his way, one at a time, and thanks each one for coming when we should all be thanking him for the amazing memories he has created for us, but also for helping make this team of what should have been underdogs into the greatest one of its sport.

And he takes it outside the arena as well: I sent him a fan letter and two cards on September 22nd and got this in the mail on October 22nd - a month to the day, an awesome return: the one top-right, wearing the white uniform from Ultimate Trading Card Company's (no idea who they are!) 1992-93 All Ultimate Team set (card #81) and the one at the bottom, with the brown contour that's supposed to look like an old-time TV set, from the 1966-67 Topps set, for which Topps didn't identify itself anywhere, seeing as they were the only brand manufacturing cards that year. Not only did he sign both in blue sharpie and added his jersey number (#16) at the end, but he also added (and signed!) a 1999 Molson Export card (like the Réjean Houle one I talked about earlier this year) in which he is photographed with the Cup - as well as a Molson Export postcard with the same picture blown up. Molson, as team owners, spared no expense praising the team's heritage, even in their ads.

So not only was Mr. Richard generous enough to take the time to sign and send my cards back - he added two himself. My grandfather had told me a lot about not only Henri Richard's prowess on the ice, but also of how affable a gentleman he was off the playing surface. He'd even bought me a vinyl record when I was a kid, ''Tous Mes Secrets De Hockey'', in which Mr. Richard relates what he feels are the secrets that led him to the NHL - taking the time to learn to skate well, determination, how to pass and shoot - never once mentioning his God-given talent, thus letting kids believe they, too, could someday reach the big league despite not having the obvious generous genetics he was born with.

Before high school, say ages 6-11, when there were games on weekdays, I was usually only allowed to watch the first period on TV before going to bed. I'd then sneak my Habs radio (shaped like a stick and a puck donned by the Canadiens' logo) beneath my pillow and fall asleep listening to the game. On nights with no games, I'd go to bed listening to Mr. Richard's record, holding my plush E.T. doll under my arm and dreaming of one day playing in the NHL. As a goalie. I never actually made it, but it was close enough to my satisfaction - and the dreams I had in the meantime were more than worth my while.

Thank you, Mr. Richard.

Réjean Houle: 2 Autographed Cards

Oh, Réjean.

By the time he retired from hockey and was given a job as an executive at Molson Breweries - who owned the Montréal Canadiens and therefore gave jobs to most players who retired from the team - he had gathered 257 points in 214 WHA games for the Québec Nordiques, and 408 points in 635 NHL games with the Habs, including 5 Stanley Cups. He defected to the WHA in time to start the 1973-74 season, but returned to the Canadiens in June 1976.

He was chosen first overall at the 1969 NHL draft, which is odd to us nowadays considering he was never a huge scoring threat in the NHL, his most productive season being a 30-goal campaign in 1977-78 - but he did score 40 and 51 for the Nordiques.

However, most parody shows (including but not limited to a terrific sketch by Rock Et Belles Oreilles in the late 80s) claim he hit the post as many as four times more often than he scored, and that he did so even more when a game was on the line.

But what Réjean Houle will now be known for, mostly, is tearing up a Canadiens team that had won the Cup by trading all of its stars for players that didn't make the team - or were, at best, fourth liners - as well as drafting a flurry of first-rounders who never even made it to the NHL. It's like he went out of his way to draft and trade for... himself, basically.

He is pretty much single-handedly responsible for making a team that was a perennial contender for the Cup into a team that struggles to make the playoffs, even a decade after he's left; that's pretty much what you get when your very first transaction involves trading the best goalie of all time and the captain of the team in exchange for an over-rated skinny goalie with less than 50 games of NHL experience and two streaky Eastern Europeans who barely make their national teams in time for the World Championships.

But he's also impossible to hate: he has such a nice, gentle demeanour, is willing to talk for hours to anyone who will stop and approach him, and really, deeply cares for the team he tried his best to represent - probably even more so than any fan who would come up to him.

The top card, showing him with the WHA Nordiques white home uniform, complete with red patches on the shoulders (which didn't make the transition to the NHL with the team) is from the 1974-75 O-Pee-Chee WHA set by Topps. I love that uniform, and it's the only card I have of it. It also has a fac-simile autograph on the front of the card, and he tried to not interfere with it when he signed it with a blue sharpie. Oh, and awesome hair, too.

The card where he appears as a Hab is from the 1999 Molson Export series that the Molson brewery put out during the team's worst years, pretending the team wasn't for sale and trying to revive fans' attention, as for the first time in over 80 years, the games were no longer selling out and the waiting list for season tickets was running short. Two years later, the brewery sold the team to George Gillett, who sold it back to the Molson family in 2009, cashing in with a $400M profit. Yep, that's a lot of money. This card was signed in black sharpie, because Houle was afraid the blue one wouldn't look as good, what with the card's dark colours and the blue border on the left.

Houle still serves as one of the team's ambassadors, and it was at a team function that I met him and had him sign these. He is a very affable man, and if he hadn't set my team back 15 years, he'd be the type of man I'd like to have as a casual friend and invite over for dinner once in a while.