Mikko Koivu: Two Autographed Cards

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

Last night, the Minnesota Wild became the fastest-ever team to reach 1000 wins, in their 1,995th game; for those who are wondering if every other NHL team played for less than .500 in their first 20 or so seasons, that is not the case, it's just that before the 2005-06 season, games could still end up tied in the NHL. That is why it took the Montréal Canadiens, for example, 2,156 games to win their 1000th, with a 1000-679-385 record, obtaining points in over 64% of games, with a .596 winning percentage record.

The Wild are probably icing their best team ever at the moment, led by superstar winger Kirill Kaprizov (16 goals, 14 assists and 30 points in 18 games), the second-best defenseman in the game Quinn Hughes (6-19-25 in 18 games) and three more top-tier players in left winger Matt Boldy (7-10-17 in 18), defenseman Brock Faber (injured to start the year) and young goalie Jesper Wallstedt (11-2-3 in 16 games, 1.99 goals-against average and .922 save percentage).

Kaprizov's 475 points in 397 career games is already second-most in team history, behind Mikko Koivu's 709 (in 1028 games, 2005-20); barring serious injury, Kaprizov should surpass Koivu by 2030 and eventually reach the 1000-point milestone. He's already first in career goals (230), ahead of Marian Gaborik's 219 (2000-09). Koivu holds the career assists mark (504), but three current Wild players are on pace to be within range: defenseman Jared Spurgeon (315, second), Kaprizov (245, fifth) and defenseman Jonas Brodin (216, ninth).

In terms of goaltending, Niklas Bäckström leads the way with 409 games played and 194 wins, he has shared the Jennings Trophy with Manny Fernandez and joins Dwayne Roloson as recipient of the Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award (Roloson in 2003-04, Bäckström in 2006-07); he is probably the top dog for now, although Devan Dubnyk is the one with a Second All-Star Team nod (2014–15). Two Wild goalies have won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey: Josh Harding (2012-13) and Dubnyk (2014-15).

Which brings us back to Koivu, the team's longest-serving captain and current holder of most games played. Here he is wearing the Wild's white (away) uniform from 2000-13, on card #SW7 from Upper Deck's 2009-10 Series 1 set and All World Team (Finland) sub-set:

And here he is wearing the green wordmark jersey from 2009-17, on card #221 from Panini's 2010-11 collection:

He signed them in blue sharpie when in Montréal for a commemoration for his brother Saku. Internationally, they played for Team Finland and won tons of medals, with Mikko winning gold (2000 U-18 World Championships and 2011 World Championships), silver (2001 World Juniors, 2006 Olympics and 2007 and 2016 Worlds) and bronze (2001 U-18s, 2002 World Juniors, 2006 and 2008 Worlds, and 2010 Olympics) multiple times each.

Theo Fleury: Two Autographed Cards

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

This weekend is the Hockey Hall Of Fame's annual induction celebration, which as usual sparks a bit of controversy as to who gets in and when, and also who doesn't. This year, for example, Carey Price gets in on his second attempt, while fellow Vezina winner Pekka Rinne gets in on his first ballot. Who deserved it first/most, if at all? And whose place are they taking? Didn't Jose Theodore also win the Vezina and Hart trophies in the same season? Aren't Jaroslav Halak's statistics pretty much exactly the same as Price's? Price, regular season and playoffs (from HockeyDB):

Halak, regular season and playoffs (from HockeyDB):

And what about Keith Tkachuk? Two 50-goal seasons at the beginning of the Dead Puck Era, a 40-goal season prior, and another 40-goal season right in the midst of it. But no 100-point seasons, not a point-per-game average, no individual hardware, no Stanley Cups; he was, however, the first American to lead the NHL in goals (with 52, in 1996-97). So... U.S. Hall Of Fame? Certainly. Hockey HOF? Where do you set the bar?

Tkachuk was a physical force who scored goals at a time where there were a handful of others like him: Eric Lindros, John LeClair, Todd Bertuzzi; he posted 1065 points (538 goals, 527 assists) with 2219 penalty minutes in 1201 regular-season games, as well as 56 points (28 goals, 28 assists) in 89 playoff games. He was also part of the Team USA squad that won the 1996 World Cup. Lindros was inducted in the Hall with just 865 points (372 goals, 493 assists, with 1398 penalty minutes) in 760 regular-season games, but also 57 points (24 goals, 33 assists) in 53 playoff games, with a Cup Final; LeClair has three 50-goal seasons and a Stanley Cup (not in), and Bertuzzi topped at 46 goals (not in either).

Theoren Fleury was a feisty 5'6" winger who scored 51 goals in 1990-91, and hit the 40-goal mark three other times, the 100-point mark twice and 90 points twice as well; he has 1088 total points (455 goals, 633 assists) in 1084 games (with 1840 penalty minutes) as well as 79 points (34 goals, 45 assists, with 116 penalty minutes) in 77 playoff games, winning the Cup in 1988-89. He also won gold with Team Canada at the 1988 World Juniors and 2002 Olympics, the Canada Cup in 1991, and a silver medal at the 1991 World Championships. All of this while battling depression and alcoholism due to having been sexually assaulted by coach Graham James in Juniors, as had fellow NHLer Sheldon Kennedy.

But regardless of the obstacles he overcame to perform (and win) at such a high level, shouldn't Fleury's numbers by themselves be appreciated and wouldn't they stand alone as comparables to at least Lindros and Tkachuk? Star goaltender Marc-André Fleury (Vezina winner, three-time Cup winner and two more Cup Finals, no relation to Theo) will be eligible to enter the Hall in November 2028; wouldn't it be a great time to also induct his homonym, who finished top-five in Hart voting twice and top-five for the Selke as well? Consider this my resounding "yes".

While he represented both the Colorado Avalanche and New York Rangers in the All-Star Game, he did it five times with the Calgary Flames, which is why this is the way I remember him most, in their red (away) uniform, as seen on card #386 from O-Pee-Chee's flagship 1990-91 O-Pee-Chee set:

And a close-up, from card #282 of OPC's 1991-92 O-Pee-Chee set:

He signed both in black sharpie at a 2010 book signing for his autobiography, Playing With Fire, a must-read.

I couldn't be prouder to have him represent #14 in My Flames Numbers Project.

My Flames Numbers Project

I have hinted at it before, but after my Montréal Expos Numbers Project and all my hockey ones (my Habs Numbers Project, my Oilers Numbers Project my Sens Numbers Project, my Canucks Numbers Project, and my Nordiques Numbers Project), now's the time to do the same for the Calgary Flames.

The Flames won the Stanley Cup in 1989, the only visiting team to ever win it on Montréal Canadiens home ice. They have been in Calgary since 1980, but the franchise started out as the Atlanta Flames in 1972. For my project, I think I'll focus on the Calgary era only. It may evolve over time but for now, that'll be my goal.

Speaking of goals, the point of this project is to feature memorabilia from players who represent each uniform number ever worn in team history; ideally, for the purposes of displaying it upon completion, it'd be nice to have those all be signed cards; however, because I'm far from rich, sometimes these may be other types of signed items, or even jersey cards.

So far, I have featured the following 46* players for 39 numbers:

1: Tyler Moss: check!
3: Ladislav Smid: check!
5: Mark Giordano: check!
6: Bob Boughner: check!
7:  T.J. Brodie (also wore #66) and Steve Bégin (also wore 26): check!
8: Joël Bouchard: check!
9: Lanny McDonald: check!
10: Roman Cervenka: check!
11: Gary Leeman and Mikael Backlund: check!
12: Jarome Iginla (twice): check!
13: Michael Cammalleri: jersey card check!
14: Theo Fleury: check!
16: Cory Stillman and Shean Donovan: check!
18: Matt Stajan: check!
20: Gary Suter: check!
22: Ron Stern and Craig Conroy: check!
23: Sean Monahan: check!
25: Willie Plett and Joe Nieuwendyk: check!
26: Steve Bégin: check!
27: Ed Beers: check!
28: Robyn Regehr and Émile Poirier: check!
29: Joel Otto and Akim Aliu: check!
31: Réjean Lemelin, Rick Wamsley, Ken Wregget and Curtis McElhinney: check!
34: Miikka Kiprusoff: check!
35: Henrik Karlsson: check!
37: Trevor Kidd and Leland Irving: check!
38: Ben Street: check!
40: Fred Brathwaite and Alex Tanguay: check!
41: Dustin Boyd (also wore #16): check!
42: Mark Cundari: check!
44: Chris Butler: check!
47: Sven Baertschi: check!
48: Greg Nemisz: check!
53: Derek Morris: check!
57: Émile Poirier: check!
59: Maxwell Reinhart: check!
60: Markus Granlund: check!
61: Oleg Saprykin (also wore #19): check!
66: T.J. Brodie (also wore #7): check!
67: Michael Frolik: check!
93: Sam Bennett: check!

captains: McDonald, Nieuwendyk, Conroy, Iginla and Giordano.
*some players appear twice, and therefore count as two.

Erik Brannstrom Autographed Card

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

Erik Brannstrom was drafted 15th overall by the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017, but as they are wont to do with first-rounders, they soon traded him to the Ottawa Senators, with Oscar Lindberg and a second-round pick in the 2020 draft that became Egor Sokolov, for Mark Stone and Tobias Lindberg. During this time, it was believed that Brannstrom's skating ability, accurate passes and slightly-above average shot would enable him to man the point on an NHL powerplay, possibly on the top unit; if he were to add muscle to his small 5'10", 185-pound frame and round out his defensive game, he could have been top-4 material.

Things started off well enough for him, appearing in the 2019 AHL All-Star Game for the Golden Knight'S affiliate Chicago Wolves in his first pro season in North America, on his way to a 28-point (7 goals, 21 assists) season in 41 games in Chocago, followed by 4 assists in 9 games with the Belleville Senators to close off the season. He would spend four seasons alternating between the AHL and NHL before finding a permanent spot on the main Sens roster, albeit as a depth player behind Thomas Chabot, Jakob Chychrun and eventually Jake Sanderson. He would once again be a "tweener", moving from the Vancouver Canucks to the Abbotsford Canucks in 2024-25, before spending the entire 2025-26 season in the AHL, split between the Hartford Wolf Pack and Rochester Americans. He opted to go back to Europe last season, signing with Lausanne HC of the Swiss League.

Here he is wearing the Sens' third jersey from 2018-20, on card #544 from Upper Deck's 2019-20 O-Pee-Chee set and Marquee Rookies / Recrues De Renom sub-set, signed in blue sharpie:

It's too bad that he never got to stick in the NHL, because his AHL stats were terrific (via HockeyDB):

Brent Ashton Autographed Card

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

When I was a kid, say grades 3 to 6, I lived near downtown Montréal and the mythic Montréal Forum, where the Montréal Canadiens played. Of course, the entire school rooted for the Habs, and Patrick Roy was my boyhood idol, but the rebel in me needed to go against the grain, so I started rooting for the Québec Nordiques. We're talking 1986-1990, so the Nordiques were on their way to a very bad place, and there were many reasons why players didn't want to play there, from the team bottoming out to many American products not being available in the smallish town to the fact that at the time, Québec was a majority-French city where even the team's contracts were drafted in French first.

One player who was rumoured to be part of that mindset at the time was Brent Ashton, but not only is it very difficult to find any corroborating evidence of that today, but he denied it himself when he signed this card (in black sharpie) at a trade show roughly 15-20 years ago (and initially re-signed with the team for four seasons):

It's card #181 from Topps' 1986-87 Topps flagship collection, showing him wearing the best uniform in sports, the Nordiques' blue away uniform.

Do you know who didn't want to play in Québec, though? John Ogrodnick, the guy Ashton was traded to the Detroit Red Wings for.

My Nordiques Numbers Project

You're probably used to it by now, what with my Habs Numbers Project, my Oilers Numbers Project, my Sens Numbers Project, and my Canucks Numbers Project, but I decided long ago that I would also have one for my favourite team growing up, the Québec Nordiques.

As a reminder, the goal is to have an autographed card of a player representing each jersey number worn/used by the franchise. If I can't find an autographed card, autographed pictures, postcards or jersey cards can count.

Originally founded as a WHA team in in 1972, they joined the NHL with the New England/Hartford Whalers, the Oilers and the Winnipeg Jets when the WHA folded with the agreement that four teams would merge with the NHL, pending a transfer fee and the loss of their superstars whose rights belonged to existing NHL teams.

Because the franchised relocated to Denver to become the Colorado Avalanche in 1995, it's a tad harder to complete this set than my previous ones, because it gives me a limited number of years to access and fewer players having the chance to wear certain jersey numbers.

I'm starting this project with the mindset of limiting myself to the 1972-1995 time period, ignoring the Avs part of the team's history - and also skipping over former teams based in the same city, such as the Stanley Cup-winning Québec Bulldogs.

Here's the list of those I have featured here thus far:

1. Ron Tugnutt and Richard Sévigny: check!
2. Sylvain Lefebvre: check!
4. Paul Baxter: check!
5. Réjean Houle and Brent Severyn: check!
6: Craig Wolanin: check!
7: Robbie Ftorek and Lane Lambert: check!
9: Réal Cloutier and Brent Ashton: check!
10. Guy Lafleur: check!
12. Chris Simon: check!
16. Michel Goulet once: (and twice) check!
18: Marian Stastny and Mike Hough: check!
19. Michel Dion (also wore 30): check!
21: Randy Moller: check!
22. Ron Sutter: check!
28: Tony Hrkac (also wore #40): check!
30. Michel Dion (also wore 19): check!
31. Stéphane Fiset: check!
32. Dale Hunter: check!
33. Mario Gosselin: check!
36: Adam Deadmarsh: check!
40: Tony Hrkac (also wore #28): check!
41: Doug Smail: check!
44: Mario Marois: check!
48. Scott Young: check!
49: Kip Miller: check!
51: Andrei Kovalenko: check!
55: René Corbet: check!
59: Dave Karpa: check!

That's 27 numbers. Some will be harder than others to acquire (Peter Stastny's 26 and Joe Sakic's/Owen Nolan's 88), but I'm actually fairly confident with this one. This and the Habs one, fittingly, should near completion before I get bored with having these projects!

My Habs Numbers Project: An Introduction

So many hockey collectors have ''special projects'' they pursue to make their hobby even more fun, from trying to gather specific cards from every single Vancouver Canucks goalie to having an autographed card of every player who has reached the 1000-point mark.

I decided to start a project myself: to gather a special piece (jersey cards could work, but ideally an autographed card) from a player from every number worn by a member of the Montréal Canadiens.

Here's a look at the task that's ahead of me, starting with those I have:

Head Coach: Scotty Bowman: check!
1: Brian Hayward, Roland Melanson and Rick Wamsley: check!
2: Gaston Gingras (also wore #29): check!
3: Sylvain Lefebvre once (then twice), and Brian Engblom: check!
4: the one and only Jean Béliveau: check!
5: Stéphane Quintal and Guy Lapointe: check!
6: Ralph Backstrom: check!
8: Brandon Prust: check!
10: Guy Lafleur: check!
11: Claude Larose and Ryan Walter: check!
12: Yvan Cournoyer and Mike Keane: check! (also: Darcy Tucker)
13: Alex Tanguay: check!
14: Mario Tremblay: check! (also, Tomas Plekanec, who also wore #35)
15: Réjean Houle once, (then twice), and Bobby Smith: check! (also: George Parros)
16: Henri Richard: check!
17: Georges Laraque and Benoît Brunet: check!
18: Valeri Bure: check!, and Serge Savard: signed lithograph check!
19: Larry Robinson: jersey card check!
20: Phil Goyette and Nicolas Deslauriers: check!
21: Brian Gionta: once, then twice, and Christopher Higgins: check!
22: Steve Shutt, Steve Bégin and Gilbert Dionne: check!
23: Turner Stevenson: check! (twice)
24: Andreas Dackell: postcard check!
25: Vincent Damphousse: check!
26: Josh Gorges: check!
27: Alex Kovalev: jersey card check!
28: Kyle Chipchura and Éric Desjardins: check!
29: Gaston Gingras (also wore #2) and Brett Clark: check! 
30: Mathieu Garon: postcard check, Peter Budaj, and David Aebischer: check!
31: Carey Price: check! (also Jeff Hackett)
32: Travis Moen: check!
34: Peter Popovic: check!
35: Alex Auld: check! (also, Tomas Plekanec, who wore #14 as well)
36: Marcel Hossa (also wore 81) and Matt D'Agostini: check!
37: Steve Penney and André Racicot: check!
38: Nikita Scherbak: check!
39: Cristobal Huet: check!
40: Maxim Lapierre: check! (also, this Éric Chouinard postcard)
41: Jaroslav Halak: check!
42: Alexander Perezhogin: check!
43: Patrice Brisebois and Andrew Cassels: check!
44: Stéphane Richer: check!
45: Gilbert Dionne: check!
46: Andrei Kostitsyn: 8x10 check!
47: Brendon Nash and Stéphan Lebeau (also wore #50): check!
48: Jean-Jacques Daigneault, and James Wyman: check!
49: Brian Savage: check!
50: Stéphan Lebeau (also wore #47): check!
51: David Desharnais: check! (also wore #58)
52: Craig Rivet: postcard check!
54: Patrick Traverse: postcard check!
55: Francis Bouillon (also wore #51): check!
57: Blake Geoffrion: check!
58: David Desharnais: check! (also wore #51)
59: Brock Trotter: check!
60: José Theodore: check and check again!
61: Raphael Diaz: check!
62: Artturi Lehkonen: check!
63: Craig Darby: check!
64: Greg Pateryn: check!
65: Robert Mayer and Andrew Shaw: check!
67: Max Pacioretty: check!
68: Yannick Weber: check!
70: Zachary Fucale: 4x6 picture check!
71: Louis Leblanc and Mike Ribeiro: check!
72: Mathieu Carle: check!
73: Michael Ryder: check!
74: Alexei Emelin: check!
75: Yann Danis: check!
76: P.K. Subban: jersey card check!
77: Pierre Turgeon: check!
79: Andrei Markov: check!
80: Ben Maxwell: check!
81: Lars Eller: check!
84: Guillaume Latendresse: check!
91: Scott Gomez: check!
94: Yanic Perreault and Tom Pyatt: check!
95: Olivier Michaud: check!
Captains: Béliveau, Gionta, Turgeon


Which means I'm looking to fill these:

7: This will be the hardest, seeing as Howie Morenz died in 1937 and the number was soon retired...
9: There are signature cards of Maurice 'The Rocket' Richard, but I don't think I'll ever be able to afford one!
33: Of course, my boyhood idol is Patrick Roy. Richard Sévigny would also be fine.
53: Rory Fitzpatrick and Ryan White have worn this number the longest
56: David Wilkie, Alain Nasreddine, Scott Fraser and Stéphane Robidas are the only ones to have worn this number in Montréal
66: Has only been worn in pre-season games
69: another pre-season number
78: I probably have some Éric Landry stuff somewhere...
82: It'd be nice to have Donald Audette's signature on a Canadiens' product
83: I don't even remember Éric Bertrand, but I'll gladly take the refresher course
85: never been worn, huh
86: Jonathan Ferland
87: never been worn
88: Chris Higgins wore it for a short while, as did Xavier Delisle
89: never been worn
90: I have lots of Joé Juneau cards, none of them signed
92: never been worn
93: the one and only Doug Gilmour
96, 97, 98, 99: have never been worn

My Sens Numbers Project

Has it really come to this, a gimmick worth repeating many times over, after my initial Habs Numbers Project and my Oilers Numbers Project?

Actually, it's more that I realized I had a lot of this one down already: so far, I have featured 48/73 numbers used in previous posts:

1: Damian Rhodes: check!
2: Lance Pitlick, Jared Cowen and Dylan DeMelo: check!
3: Zdeno Chara: jersey card check!
4: Chris Phillips: check (and once more)!
5: Christoph Schubert and Cody Ceci: check!
6: Wade Redden: check!
7: Randy Cunneyworth: check!
9: Milan Michalek and Bobby Ryan: check!
10: Brandon Bochenski: check!
11: Daniel Alfredsson: check!
12: Mike Fisher: check (and once more)!
14: Andrej Meszaros and Colin Greening: check!
15: Shawn McEachern: check!
16: Laurie Boschman, Brian McGrattan, Bobby Butler, Clarke MacArthur, and Mark Stone: check!
17: Jody Hull: check!
18: Ryan Dzingel: check!
19: Jason Spezza: check! (also wore #44 and #39)
21: Dennis Vial: check!
22: Shaun Van Allen: check!
24: Stéphane Da Costa: check!
25: Bruce Gardiner: check!
26: Bob Kudelski and Erik Brannstrom: check!
27: Janne Laukkanen: check!
30: Brian Elliott: check!
31: Peter Sidorkiewicz: check! (also Alex Auld)
33: Jakob Silfverberg and Pascal Leclaire: check!
38: Erik Condra: check! (also wore #22)
39: Matt Carkner: check!
40: Robin Lehner: check! (also Jeff Glass and Patrick Lalime)
41: Craig Anderson: check!
43: Roman Wick and Peter Regin: check!
44: Jason Spezza: check! (also wore #19) (also, Jean-Gabriel Pageau)
46: Patrick Wiercioch: check!
47: André Benoit: check!
53: Ilya Zubov: check!
57: Derek Grant: check!
58: Maxime Lajoie: check!
59: David Dziurzynski: check!
61: Mark Stone (twice): check!
62: Eric Gryba: check!
65: Erik Karlsson: jersey card check!
68: Mike Hoffman: check!
71: Nick Foligno: check!
72: Thomas Chabot: check!
74: Mark Borowiecki and Steve Larouche: check!
78: Filip Chlapik: check!
79: Drake Batherson: check!
83: Christian Jaros: check!
86: Christian Wolanin: check!
89: Cory Conacher: check!
93: Mika Zibanejad: check!

Captains: Boschman, Cunneyworth, Alfredsson.

I'll reiterate that I'm looking for collectibles - ideally signed cards, but also signed pictures or, at the very least, jersey cards of players from every possible Sens jersey number that has been worn.

Here are examples of things I'll be featuring soon - or am looking to add to the list:

13: Peter Regin, Vinny Prospal or Ted Drury I remember
20: Antoine Vermette and Marek Svatos are players I followed
23: Kaspars Daugavins' number
28: neither Zenon Konopka nor Matt Kassian replied to my TTMs
29: I could totally go for Martin Gerber and his black mask here
32: only Rob Ray and Daniel Berthiaume have ever worn this number
34: only Darren Rumble and Shane Hnidy have worn this one
35: only 5 goalies have worn this one, including Auld, Tom Barrasso and Mike Bales
36: only Josh Hennessy wore it for more than a few games
37: only Dean McAmmond wore it for more than one calendar year
42: Julien Vauclair would be cool for a goalie nerd like myself
45: only worn by Denis Hamel or Alexandre Picard
48: Jared Cowen wore it briefly
49: Michel Picard or Francis Lessard
51: Derek Smith
52: Colin Greening had it for a short spell
55: Sergei Gonchar never replied to my TTM, but Brian Lee also works
56: Lance Pitlick
60: Mark Stone (who also wore 61)
73: Guillaume Latendresse or Jarkko Ruutu
76: Radek Bonk
77: Joe Corvo
82: Martin Straka
90: Alex Chiasson
91: Alexandre Daigle
94: Stan Neckar
97: Matt Gilroy

Maple Leafs Preview: Vincent Damphousse Autographed Card

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: Unlike in the distant past where I would post different texts on this collectibles blog and my personal one, I've been using a new format for the past couple of years, where I'll copy the same text on each one. As a father of two young kids, I just do not have enough time to write two separate posts per day on each blog. This year again, the entire scope of the analysis will take place first and the featured player will have a direct or perhaps indirect connection to what's written, below.

Caveats: At this point, despite the season just starting, several players haven't found a team yet, (at least) two star players have active trade requests, and a few clubs are tight at the top of the salary cap, which means there is much left to do.

Key exits: Joseph Woll (G), Matthew Knies (LW), Steven Lorentz (C), Dennis Hildeby (G), Nick Robertson (LW), Brandon Carlo (D), Simon Benoît (D), Matias Maccelli (LW), Henry Thrun (D), Emil Andrae (D)

Key Arrivals: Darren Raddysh (D), Kirill Marchenko (RW), Jack Roslovic (C), Sergei Bobrovsky (C), Nick Paul (LW),Zack MacEwen (RW), Brandon Duhaime (LW), Teddy Blueger (C), Colton Sissons (C),Miles Wood (LW),Elvis Merzlikins (G)

Top prospects: Gavin McKenna (RW, 18), Miroslav Holinka (C, 20), Ben Danford (D, 20),Jacob Quillan (C, 24), Noah Chadwick (D, 21), Alexander Bilecki (D, 18), Artur Aktyamov (C, 24), Ethan MacKenzie (D, 20)

I thought the Toronto Maple Leafs would make the playoffs last season despite losing Mitch Marner, but McKenna should provide some of the offense that was lost a year ago, though the leadership angle will have to wait a little bit - I don't see him taking over a locker room that already includes captain Auston Matthews and former captain John Tavares.

What makes their odds look good:
He's been away from the game for a while, but GM John Chayka still co-owned Stathletes with sister Meghan Chayka and Neil Lane, so he still kept tabs on NHL players and kept digging on the analytics front. Expect smart bets on young players coming out of their entry-level deals like he did with the Arizona Coyotes, and savvy veteran additions.

Question marks:
Is signing Bobrovsky for three years a savvy decision, though? Is Jim Hiller an NHL-caliber head coach despite what we saw him do with the Los Angeles Kings for the past two and a half years??

Outlook:
William Nylander is probably good for 90 points, Matthews should get back in the 30-to-35-goal range, Oliver Ekman-Larsson continues to defy age and Marchenko probably enjoys a year-long honeymoon in Toronto, who are very improved from last year. Enough to make the playoffs? Enough to make it interesting until the final week of the season.

Prediction:
5th in the Atlantic Division.

I tend to think of Vincent Damphousse as an important player for the San Jose Sharks and the Leafs, not as much for the Montréal Canadiens or Edmonton Oilers - but the truth is that, statistically, his highest totals have come in Montréal and his lowest were in San Jose. I'll say this though: Damphousse made the Sharks a serious team whose move to replace him as a centre after his retirement was to acquire Art Ross winner Joe Thornton in-season. To get back to the Leafs, however, they were the first team with which he broke the 30-goal and 90-point marks for the first time, going 33-61-94 in 80 games in 1989-90. Here he is wearing their classic 1980s blue (away) uniform on card #34 from In The Game's 2003-04 Original 6 - Toronto Maple Leafs set:

He signed it in-person in fading black sharpie at the Bell Centre 10-15 years ago, definitely after his ugly divorce.

Senators Preview: Thomas Chabot Autographed Card

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: Unlike in the distant past where I would post different texts on this collectibles blog and my personal one, I've been using a new format for the past couple of years, where I'll copy the same text on each one. As a father of two young kids, I just do not have enough time to write two separate posts per day on each blog. This year again, the entire scope of the analysis will take place first and the featured player will have a direct or perhaps indirect connection to what's written, below.

Caveats: At this point, despite the regular season being set to start today, several players haven't found a team yet, (at least) two star players have active trade requests, and a few clubs are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much work left to do.

Key exits: Brady Tkachuk (RW), Lars Eller (C), James Reimer (G), Nick Jensen (D), Dennis Gilbert (D), Lassi Thomson (D), Olle Lycksell (F), Mads Sogaard (G), Arthur Kaliyev (RW), Jan Jenik (D)

Key arrivals: William Eklund (RW), Samuel Ersson (G), André Burakovsky (LW), Samuel Blais (LW), Philip Tomasino (RW)

Top prospects: Carter Yakemchuk (D, 20), Logan Hensler (D, 19), Jonas Lagerberg Hoen (RW, 18), Blake Montgomery (LW, 21), Jorian Donovan (D, 22), Leevi Meriläinen (G, 24), Jaxon Cover (LW, 18), Xavier Bourgault (RW, 23)

The Ottawa Senators did some fine house cleaning in the offseason, clearing/cleansing the air in the (neighbouring) nation's capital.

What makes their odds look good:
Tim Stützle is a legitimate #1 centre, Jake Sanderson is an all-world defenseman, Thomas Chabot has been to an All-Star Game, Linus Ullmark is a Vezina winner, Artem Zub is a world-class defensive defenseman, Drake Batherson is a true top-six sniper, Claude Giroux still has gas left in the tank, Dylan Cozens is a good secondary centerman, Warren Foegle brings the lower-tier power forward element, Ridly Greig is a terrific wish-you-were-on-my-team pest (while Nick Cousins is the league's most-despised one), and Eklund still has untapped potential to break out as a first-liner.

Question marks:
Head coach Travis Green took a giant leap forward last season - does he have another step ahead in him? Is the Tkachuk addition-by-subtraction with the actual addition of Eklund enough to remain a wild-card team while the Florida Panthers get healthy again and the Toronto Maple Leafs have improved?

Outlook:
This is a good team with plenty of youth who can improve. They'd make the playoffs in any other division, but it's going to be a dogfight in this one.

Prediction:
6th in the Atlantic Division.

The Sens did the right thing today and righted a wrong from five years ago by naming Chabot the team captain. He had previously been a long-serving alternate captain for the team; internationally, he has worn both the "A" (2017 World Juniors, where he was tournament MVP) and "C" (2022 World Championships) in leading Team Canada to gold medals, a feat he also achieved at the 2019 Worlds.

Here he is wearing Ottawa's magnificent white (away) uniform on card # 127 from Upper Deck's 2021-22 Series 1 set, which he signed in blue sharpie around 2023:

Blue Jackets Preview: Kirill Marchenko Jersey Card

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: Unlike in the distant past where I would post different texts on this collectibles blog and my personal one, I've been using a new format for the past couple of years, where I'll copy the same text on each one. As a father of two young kids, I just do not have enough time to write two separate posts per day on each blog. This year again, the entire scope of the analysis will take place first and the featured player will have a direct or perhaps indirect connection to what's written, below.

Caveats: At this point, despite the regular season being set to start in a matter of days, several players haven't found a team yet, (at least) two more star players have active trade requests, and a few clubs are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much work left to do.

Key exits: Kirill Marchenko (RW), Miles Wood (LW), Elvis Merzlikins (G), Boone Jenner (C), Mason Marchment (LW), Danton Heinen (LW), Egor Zamula (D), Brendan Smith (D), Zach Aston-Reese (LW/RW), Brendan Gaunce (C), Ivan Fedotov (G), Dysin Mayo (D), Hunter McKown (C)

Key arrivals: Matthew Knies (LW), Steven Lorentz (C), Emil Andrae (D), Valeri Nichushkin (RW), Ryan Lomberg (LW), Colton White (D), Phoenix Copley (G), Luke Tuch (RW)

Top prospects: Jackson Smith (D, 19), Cayden Lindstrom (C, 20), Pyotr Andreyanov (G, 19), Jordan Dumais (RW, 22), Sergei Ivanov (G, 22), Oscar Hemming (LW, 18)

I was waiting for the Marchenko shoe to drop before posting my Columbus Blue Jackets review and, as expected, it turned out to be a blockbuster.

What makes their odds look good:
They still have the reigning Norris Trophy winner in Zach Werenski, who nixed a trade to the Dallas Stars this summer to remain in Columbus. Knies is a 23-year-old top-6 forward with untapped offensive potential. Jet Greaves looks solid in net. Adam Fantilli extended well into his prime as training camp came to a close.

Question marks:
As the Werenski and Marchenko sagas proved, players are impatient to win, and not everyone sees the Blue Jackets as a team who can be a Stanley Cup contender in a relatively short window; they are on most no-trade lists and thus must draft, develop and nurture talent to get there.

Outlook:
General Manager Don Wadell has experience assembling and running teams that aren't exactly a destination, having previously served in the same position with the Atlanta Thrashers (1998-2010) and Carolina Hurricanes (2018-2024), the latter winning the Cup with his former assistant Eric Tulsky tweaking the lineup just a few months ago. He got enough good pieces back in the Marchenko trade that he doesn't need to pivot to (another) rebuild, he just needs to make sure he has the right coaching and development staff so that as many prospects as possible reach the NHL and have an impact. For now, they are a bubble playoff team with the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins all fighting for a wild-card spot.

Prediction:
5th in the Metropolitan Division.

Marchenko is a tall, heavy player (6'3", over 200 pounds) with great hands who can protect the puck, deke multiple opponents on the same play and shoot accurately. He led the Jackets in goals in the last three seasons, posting nearly a point per game in 2024-25; on a team like the Toronto Maple Leafs, he has a shot at 40-goal and 85-to-90-point seasons. Here he is on the "Red Jersey" variant of card #18 from Upper Deck's 2024-25 SP Game-Used Edition set:

It shows him wearing the Jackets' blue (away) uniform, and carries a matching game-worn jersey swatch.

Islanders Preview: Ryan Pulock Jersey Card

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: Unlike in the distant past where I would post different texts on this collectibles blog and my personal one, I've been using a new format for the past couple of years, where I'll copy the same text on each one. As a father of two young kids, I just do not have enough time to write two separate posts per day on each blog. This year again, the entire scope of the analysis will take place first and the featured player will have a direct or perhaps indirect connection to what's written, below.

Caveats: At this point, despite training camp being set to start in a few days, several players haven't found a team yet, (at least) three star players have active trade requests, and a few clubs are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much left to do.

Key exits: Anders Lee (LW), David Rittich (G), Carson Soucy (D), Adam Boqvist (D), Maxim Shabanov (RW), Marc Gatcomb (C), Travis Mitchell (D), Cole McWard (D)

Key Arrivals: Matias Maccelli (LW), Vitek Vanacek (G), Matthew Kessel (D),Mitchell Chaffee (LW), Logan Stanley (D)

Top prospects: Malte Gustafsson (D, 20), Victor Eklund (LW/RW, 19), Kashawn Aitcheson (D, 20),Cole Eiserman (LW, 20), Dmitri Gamzin (G, 23), Danny Nelson (C, 21)

Losing captain Lee and a roster's worth of depth defensemen with none of them being replaced by new arrivals (save for Stanley earlier today) means the prospect pool (ranked 9th in the NHL by The Athletic) will be asked to jump in and play important roles. Head coach Peter DeBoer will have to balance teaching, accepting mistakes and winning enough to be in the mix for the playoffs.

What makes their odds look good:
A fine prospect pool, an elite goaltending tandem (Ilya Sorokin and a returning Semyon Varlamov from a two-year injury rehab), a smart GM in Mathieu Darche, and a superstar in the making in Matthew Schaeffer are a good starting point.

Question marks:
xxx

Outlook:
Hopefully, Bo Horvat and Brayden Schenn can combine to replace Lee's leadership, but this isn't the team that will end DeBoer's streak of not winning Stanley Cups despite being the most-hyped coach on the market.

Prediction:
6th in the Metropolitan Division.

Now in his 12th NHL season, Ryan Pulock is still dependable, although no longer among the best defensive defensemen in the league who got Norris votes in 2020-21; he remains an effective pair with Adam Pelech, but they are now a second pairing playing fewer minutes against elites, while Schaeffer gets the most ice time. Here he is from a set a decade ago:

That's card #RM-RP from Upper Deck's 2016-17 Series 2 set and Rookie Materials sub-set, and features a silver swatch of a jersey worn in a rookie photoshoot.