Sabres Preview: Travis Turnbull Autograph 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: I liked doing last year's format, so I'll be doing it the same way this seaosn, partly because of that but also because as a father of a toddler and a baby, I just do not have enough time to write two separate posts per day on each blog. I'll copy these on each one instead. Like last year, the entire scope of the analysis will take place here and the player will have some sort of direct connection to what's written.

Caveats: at this point, despite training camp being set to start in less than two weeks, several players haven't found a team yet, most RFAs haven't signed with their respective teams yet, and a few teams are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much maneuvering left to do.

Key exits: Sam Reinhart (C), Linus Ullmark (G), Rasmus Ristolainen (D), Jake McCabe (D), Will Borgen (D), Matt Irwin (D), Tobias Reider (RW), Riley Sheahan (C), Taylor Hall (F, at last year's deadline)

Key Arrivals: Aaron Dell (G), Craig Anderson (G), Devon Levi (G), Robert Hagg (D), Mark Pysyk (D), John Hayden (C), Vinnie Hinostroza (RW), Will Butcher (D)

Top prospects: Owen Power (D), Jack Quinn (RW), Arttu Ruotsalainen (C), John-Jason Peterka (LW), Isak Rosen (F), Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (G)

The Buffalo Sabres are a complete trainwreck, and have been for the better part of the last two decades. They have not made the playoffs since the 2010-11 season and haven't won a round since 2005-06. Even before then, they were acting as if they were in the middle of a pandemic, making drastic cuts to their drafting budget, letting go three-quarters of their staff and having the ones that remain work mostly from video footage instead of actually traveling to see the young players perform live. They failed to extend captain (Daniel Brière) after captain (Chris Drury) after captain (Jason Pominville) after captain (Thomas Vanek), they wasted elite goaltending (Dominik Hasek, Ryan Miller), and even getting rid of a locker room cancer with a habit of drunkenly crashing his cars into coffee shops such as Ryan O'Reilly did nothing for them but allowed ROR to win a Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues.

They are on their fourth GM (Kevyn Adams, following in the footsteps of Jason Botterill, Tim Murray and Darcy Regier), who themselves have overseen head coaches Lindy Ruff, Ron Rolston, Ted Nolan, Dan Bylsma, Phil Housley, Ralph Krueger, and now Don Granato; job security or stability do not have a home here.

What makes their odds look good:
Only a die-hard fan or gambler in need of a long-shot win would put their money on Buffalo. They'll perhaps be better than last year in team play, but the talent level just isn't there apart from a few pieces - and Granato as a coach is not Barry Trotz, so this isn't the next New York Islanders, either.

Question marks: When does disgruntled captain Jack Eichel get traded, and what will the return be? Is Aaron Dell really going to be their starting goalie, or will Devan Dubnyk agree to sign with the one team left that still has an opening for top spot in net?

Outlook:
There are building blocks here: Casey Mittelstadt is looking like a centre who can play on one of the top two lines, Victor Olofsson can score on the powerplay and would ideally be slotted in the middle-six on a good team but will see top-line ice time here, and Dylan Cozens shows promise up front as well, with Jack Quinn and J.J. Peterka possibly coming in in a few years, but re-signing Jeff Skinner was always going to be dead money, and Anders Bjork, Tage Thompson and Cody Eakin only seem to be placeholders at this point, either to play out their contracts while the team tanks or (particularly in Eakin's case) until a trade deadline deal to a contender makes enough sense. There are more defensive sure bets per capita, with Rasmus Dahlin seeming like he's regained form under Granato, Owen Power graduating from College eventually and Robert Hagg as a rescue project from the Philadelphia Flyers. I can't say I'm as optimistic about former New Jersey Devils prospect Will Butcher, though. But you don't lose your two best centres, you legitimate #1 goalie and your two most consistent defensemen without replacing any of them and purport to leave the bottom of the standings.

Prediction:
8th in the Atlantic Division.

Which brings me to Travis Turnbull, whose father Perry was a useful NHL journeyman who finished his career playing in Italy and Germany. Undrafted, the Sabres signed Travis as a free agent following a four-year career with the Michigan Wolverines in the NCAA; after four seasons in the Sabres' system, consistently improving from one season to the next, he was allowed to suit up in three games with the parent club in 2012-13, scoring a goal. Unfortunately, the 2012-13 lockout happened, and he set his sights for Germany, putting up 46 points and 88 penalty minutes for Düsseldorfer EG, so he may have preferred being a star player overseas than a grinder in North America. His point production regressed starting in 2016-17, but what he brought to the game was still appreciated nonetheless. He was captain of the Schwenninger Wild Wings last season (11 points in 32 games), and I suspect he will be this year as well. This is leadership the Sabres could have brought back at just about any moment in the last decade, but instead chose ROR to lead the room, then handed the reigns to his heir apparent without ever earning it or showing him what he should keep from O'Reilly's teachings and what to throw away. Since Ruff's firing, the Sabres have seemigly always hired the wrong leader at every crucial position, strating with management down to the coaching staff all the way down to the players on the ice. They will need to admit it to their fans before embarking on another rebuilding phase.

Here is Turnbull wearing the team's retro white (away) uniform, on card #SI-TR from Panini's 2013-14 Select collection and Select Signatures sub-set:

It features a blue-sharpied on-sticker autograph.

Caps Preview: Alex Ovechkin Swatch 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: I liked doing last year's format, so I'll be doing it the same way this season as well, partly because of that but also because as a father of a toddler and a baby, I just do not have enough time to write two separate posts per day on each blog. I'll copy these on each one instead. Like last year, the entire scope of the analysis will take place here and the player will have some sort of direct connection to what's written.

Caveats: At this point, despite training camp being set to start, several players haven't found a team yet, many RFAs haven't signed with their respective teams, and a few clubs are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much maneuvering left to do.

Key exits: Brenden Dillon (D), Craig Anderson (G), Michael Raffl (LW), Zdeno Chara (D)

Key Arrivals: Matt Irwin (D), xxx (LW), xxx (C/LW), xxx (C), xxx (LW), xxx (D), xxx (D), xxx (G)

Top prospects: Connor McMichael (C), Hendrix Lapierre (C), Martin Fehervary (D), Alexander Alexeyev (D), Vincent Iorio (D), Damien Riat (LW), Aliaksei Protas (C), Brent Johnson (D), Brett Leason (RW), Kody Clark (RW), Lucas Johansen (D)

Sure, the Washington Capitals' stars are all in their 30s, they have few top-tier prospects that have Toronto-based pundits salivating and have exited the playoffs early every year since their 2018 Stanley Cup win, but this nucleus remains rock-solid with the likes of Nicklas Backstrom, Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Anthony Mantha, Tom Wilson, T.J. Oshie, John Carlson and Dmitry Orlov. The goaltending position is also in good hands with Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek.

What makes their odds look good:
They can outscore the opposition like few teams can and have better goaltending than the Toronto Maple Leafs. If someone in the Atlantic can eliminate the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team from the Metropolitan Division could make it to the Cup Final.

Question marks: A lot of their firepower is tied into a handful of players, who account for a lot of the team's cap space. There are depth issues, and any injury troubles would mean a huge drop in the standings for the Caps.

Outlook:
This team hired Peter Laviolette as head coach because it is still hungry for a Cup. Regular-season seeding doesn't have to matter much, the postseason is how this team will be judged, now and forever.

Prediction:
Third in the Metropolitan Division.

Fresh off a five-year deal that will realistically lead him to breaking Wayne Gretzky's career goals record, Ovechkin is a man on (another) mission. And while the chase for Gretzky's goals record is huge in itself, Ovie is also chasing Sidney Crosby's two undeserved Conn Smythes, a gimme from a handful of Toronto-based journalists who didn't want to give Phil Kessel his due. Should Ovechkin get a second one, it might even force the Hall Of Fame to waive its three-year waiting period to get him in.

Here he is wearing the team's dreadful red (home) Reebok Edge uniform from a few years back, on the swatch version of card #73 from Panini's 2010-11 Luxury Suite collection:

It features a white game-worn jersey swatch. I got this one on Ebay for just over five bucks; its usual book value is closer to $40-50.

Corey Perry Swatch Card

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

Let me preface this by saying that Corey Perry's production this season with the Montréal Canadiens has exceeded expectations for a banged-up 35-year-old, for a player signed to $750K for a single season and for a player who had to go through waivers to be put on the taxi squad to start the season, as a healthy scratch for the opening game. Just like Michael Frolik.

He's had games where he's been a game-breaker, but he's also had games where he's been largely invisible, tired.

After stepping in to help a struggling powerplay under former head coach Claude Julien, Perry pretty much just stayed on despite the team middling in 21st position in that regard, an accepted fact like Daylight Savings Time. What should have happened before the Habs blew their allocated post-trade deadline call-up limits was alternating him and Frolik so whoever slotted in would give it their all knowing they didn't have to keep any energy for the next game.

Interim head coach Dominique Ducharme is on a tight leash: he doesn't have a contract for next season, but he also doesn't owe his veterans anything. He should have the leeway to make bold moves and think outside the box, unlike Julien, who has historically preferred benching and punishing his rookies and sophomores for every minor mistake they made while giving older guys the benefit of the doubt, usually with disappointing results.

And yet there are Perry, Jonathan Drouin, Shea Weber, Carey Price, Eric Staal et al., getting their regular shifts in despite younger players outperforming them, in the hopes that they'll turn their season around at some point.

Considering the team was the last one invited to last season's post-season play-in and had missed out on the playoffs the previous three seasons, it's a trend you would have hoped would have been bucked with a new coach, a fresh face, a new message. So either Ducharme's been told directly by GM Marc Bergevin to toe the company line or he feels it's his best bet for an extension; either way, it's short-sighted, and he's not showcasing anything special for any of the other 30 (soon to be 31) teams to keep him in mind for their future vacant coaching jobs.

And I mean all of that specifically out of respect for the former Hart and Rocket Richard Trophy winner, as attested from this card commemorating his heyday:

That's card #1 from the Banner Season sub-set of Panini's 2011-12 Limited collection, featuring a two-colour stitch from a game-worn jersey swatch.

Perry has won a Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks, played in a Final with the Dallas Stars last season, and has two Olympic gold medals with Team Canada (2010 and 2014), World Championship gold (2016, as captain), a Canada Cup (2016), World Juniors gold (2005) and a Memorial Cup (2004-05).

Tanner Pearson Autograph Card

(team links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages, The Athletic requires a subscription, my 30-day trial invite may still be valid by the time you read this)

Maybe there's a lesson to be learned from Tyler Toffoli's climb atop the goal-scoring charts after signing as a free agent with the Montréal Canadiens, and perhaps the Vancouver Canucks should think twice about the option of trading the former member of the Stanley Cup-winning That 70s Line (Los Angeles Kings, 2014) right away and instead sign him to a reasonable, mid-term deal.

Further complicating things is the fact that he's set to miss four weeks of play due to a lower-body injury and that he's at nearly half the best of last season's career best goals-per-game (0.30) and points-per-game (0.63) averages as the Canucks have struggled mightily against the Habs putting them in danger of missing the playoffs.

I believe he has three more years of second-line hockey in him and at least the same number of quality third-line time before he has to think about exiting the game, which would lead him to age 35.

Here he is wearing the King's black (home) uniform on the signed insert version of card #TR-TP from Panini's 2013-14 Totally Certified set:

It features a blue-sharpied, on-sticker autograph and serves as his rookie card (from the Rookie Class sub-set) in the set's.

Sharks Preview: Dalton Prout Autographed Card

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: 2020 is a different beast and requires adaptability; in my case, it means the joint posts with my "main/personal" blog will not be in the "player here/analysis there" format but rather the entire scope of the analysis will take place here and the player will have some sort of direct connection to what's written. Caveats: at this point, despite the season being set to start in Mid-January, several impact players haven't found a team yet and quite a few teams are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much maneuvering left to do.

One team that could use a little maneuvering is the San Jose Sharks (team links may earn me referral money if you buy from Amazon, player links lead to other posts on my blog): they are $4M under the salary cap with a near-empty prospect pool; their captain Logan Couture is 31, a Donald Trump fan, and signed for six years after this one at $8M per; star winger and scandal magnet Evander Kane is 29, signed until 2025 at $7M per year and just filed for bakruptcy; oft-injured defenseman Erik Karlsson, 30, will make $11.5M per season with a no-movement clause until 2027; 35-year-old Brent Burns will still carry a $9.8M cap hit for four more seasons after this one; Marc-Édouard Vlasic, 33, has a no-move as well and will pocket $7M until 2026; somehow, the team has nearly $8M between the pipes, just over $2M of Devan Dubnyk's final year and Martin Jones at $5.75M per, for three more years after the upcoming season. Most teams have one or two headaches, the Sharks seem intent on obtaining the most shots at a #1 draft pick for the next half-decade.

What makes their odds look good:
If Karlsson ever hits his peak level again, he's a definite game-changer, one of the best defensemen in the NHL and one of the best skaters in the world.

Question marks:
What was the point in Patrick Marleau returning? Can Dubnyk regain the form that should have gotten him a Hart or a Vezina Trophy in 2015? How low can they go?

Outlook:
There's a case to be made for nearly every NHL team that either the present can be hopeful or the future looks bright to some extent... I can't say that about San Jose, but I can remain optimistic becasue I just do not know them as well. I really haven't seen many of their games and their prospect pool is loaded with players I have never heard of, but upon a bit of research have been among the best at what they do, from John Leonard (22, LW, 37 points in 33 games at U-Mass) to Ryan Merkley (20, D, second-straight 70-point season in the OHL) to Brinson Pasichnuk (23, D, second-straight point-per-game season as Arizona State's captain). Still, that's just stuff I read, I don't recall seeing any of them play.

Prediction:
Eighth in the West Division.

You know who didn't deserve to get shelled by the Sharks after the 2019-20 season? Dalton Prout, who was concussed for most of the season after sacrificing himself for the team, like in this fight against Nicolas Deslauriers: Here he is as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets, on card #530 from Panini's 2012-13 Score collection and Hot Rookies sub-set:

Not only does he also have a terrific "hockey name" in English (his native language), but it's also one of the best names in the league to French-speaking NHL fans, as the Daltons are a very famous fictitious criminal gang (very loosely based on historical characters) in the legendary Lucky Luke series of graphic novels and films, and "prout" is a funny word that can mean just about any "fun sound" from a car engine (struggling or not) to a honk to passing loud gas.

He sigend the card in blue sharpie in 2014-15 or 2015-16.

Sabres Preview: Corey Tropp Autograph Card

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: 2020 is a different beast and requires adaptability; in my case, it means the joint posts with my "main/personal" blog will not be in the "player here/analysis there" format but rather the entire scope of the analysis will take place here and the player will have some sort of direct connection to what's written. Caveats: at this point, despite the season being set to start in Mid-January, several impact players haven't found a team yet and quite a few teams are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much maneuvering left to do.

There's something about the Buffalo Sabres that makes me unable to ever take them seriously, part of it based on 42 years of watching them implode and then watching them try to turn things around with absurd decisions, like that time in the mid-2000s when they fired almost their entire scouting staff and resorted to video instead of in-person scouting, resulting in a handful of first-round picks never suiting up for even an entire NHL season's owrth of games in their entire careers, the top picks of 2005 (Marek Zagrapan, 13th overall) and 2006 (Dennis Persson, 24th) never suiting up in an NHL game at all and no one in the 2011 crop ever playing in Buffalo. Signing Jack Eichel to an overpay three years too soon, extending Jeff Skinner to be paid more than Sidney Crosby and going at it without a true #1 goalie are all desperation moves that keep a team at the bottom of the standings, at least once the season's 15 games old, when the "real" teams get their legs going. Kevyn Adams is now in the ejectable GM's seat, probably because former captain Chris Drury is happier taking a back seat with the New York Rangers and awaiting an opening that doesn't seem like total career suicide.

What makes their odds look good:
Look, I'll say it now: Eichel is no Connor McDavid, not even close. He's no Nathan MacKinnon, no Leon Draisaitl, no Crosby. But he's a very good young player who may one day hit the 50-goal and 100-point marks - perhaps the century points plateau a handful of times - and who might grow into the captain's role, but he's not there yet. As a matter of fact, for all the rumours we've been hearing and that were semi-confirmed by both the star player and management over the past three years, it seems like he's learned how to lead from Ryan O'Reilly, who skipped town when Eichel took his job. One does not lead with negativity and threats. Well, ROR does and wins Selkes, Conn Smythes and Stanley Cups that way, but he also crashes into restaurants with his car. Rasmus Dahlin has also shown nice glimpses of a #1 defenseman, but he's still a few years away from his prime. While I do not believe in the Sabres' ability to grow so much as to make the playoffs and become serious contenders yet, they do have promising pieces. And I like Ralph Krueger as a coach, I just don't feel like he'll be the person they trust when the kids are ready; I think Buffalo might be the first team to hire a woman as head coach when they are, so that she gets a path to and true opportunity for success.

Question marks:
Is Eichel ready to take a team on his shoulders, Jarome Iginla-style? Will the Taylor Hall gamble pay off for anyone other than Taylor Hall (because so far in his career, it never has)? How much does Eric Staal have left in the tank? Are the Sabres - as currently constructed - better than at least four of the following teams: Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers?

Outlook:
There are some nice key pieces seemingly in the right spots on this roster, yet so many who just aren't. And others are in the right one technically (Cody Eakin in a #3C role, for instance) but who do not seem to fit with the team. I'll be honest, I don't know much about projected second-lone winger Dylan Cozens, but if he's as good as I've read, he'll surpass a lot of prospects in the organization that just haven't shown to be where they should be at this stage of their development; the Sabres should be either at the same level of evolution as the Edmonton Oilers (challenging for a division title) or Toronto Maple Leafs (due for a retool after failing for a few seasons as an actual serious contender).

Prediction:
Seventh in the Metrpolitan/East Division.

Which brings me to Corey Tropp, the team's late third-round pick (89th overall) in 2007, ahead of Alec Martinez (4th, 95th), Art Ross winner and Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn (5th, 129th, but everyone slept on Benn), Jake Muzzin (5th, 141st), two-time Stanley Cup winner Patrick Maroon (6th, 161st), Carl Hagelin (6th, 168th), Nick Bonino (6th, 173rd), Paul Byron (6th, 179th), and Carl Gunnarsson (7th, 194th).

At 31 years of age, he may not get another crack at the NHL and his statistics in 149 games over four seasons with three teams (6 goals, 21 assists, 27 points, 133 penalty minutes and an average of 9:08 minutes payed per game) show him as a fourth-line talent, but he was nearly a point-per-game player in the AHL from 2011-12 (22 points in 29 games) until 2018-19 (40 points in 55 games), meaning he had real talent that may read well on video and in highlights reels, but perhaps an in-person check might have shown something in his temper that could have lead to the 2009 NCAA incident with Steve Kampfer and his perpetual 100-PIM seasons in the AHL.

Here he is donning #78 in the Sabres' dark blue 2010s home uniform, on card #CS-TROP from Panini's 2012-13 Certified collection and Certified Signatures sub-set:

It features a blue-sharpied, on-sticker autograph.

Colin Wilson Jersey + Autograph Card

It was poignant, but it was an odd way of announcing his retirement.

I'm referring to this morning's post by Colin Wilson on The Players' Tribune, where he comes out about how OCD pretty much nearly ruined his life.

The son of former Calgary Flames star Carey Wilson and grandson of Jerry Wilson, who suited up for the Montréal Canadiens in the 1950s, Colin had the DNA of a pro hockey player, and a storied career with the Boston University Terriers led to a first round selection (7th overall) by the Nashville Predators in 2008, ahead of the likes of journeymen players and early retirees Cody Hodgson (10th), Kyle Beach (11th), Colten Teubert (13th), Zach Boychuk (14th), Joe Colborne (16th), Chet Pickard (18th), Anton Gustafsson (20th), Tyler Cuma (23rd), Greg Nemisz (25th), Daultan Leveille (29th) and Tom McCollum (30th), but also stars Josh Bailey (9th), Erik Karlsson (15th), Jordan Eberle (22nd), and John Carlson (27th).

Far from beig a bust, Wilson was essentially a 35-to-40-point player on a very defensive-minded Nashville team whose leading scorers barely reached 60, and he scored 20 goals in 2014-15, although he doesn't remember how he did it, as he was struggling with a prescription drug addiction at the time. Preds GM David Poile had tried to warn him about his condition during his rookie season, but Wilson wouldn't hear any of it at the time. He suffered in silence, as many do.

The main reason why he fears this may be the end for him at just 31 years of age is the fact that his last NHL game was over a year ago and he went through two hip surgeries since, neither of which completely fixed his physical issue, while the mental one will remain a struggle forever.

Here he is when things were looking up, on card #CW from Panini's 2010-11 Crown Royale collection and Heirs To The Throne sub-set, wearing the Predators' blue (then-home) jersey:

It's an "all-dressed" card, featuring a game-worn silver jersey swatch as well as an on-sticker autograph with his jersey number (33) tagged at the end. It is numbered 31/50.

I wish him the best in his future endeavours.

Paul Stastny Swatch Card

So. Many. Questions.

Despite today marking the beginning of free agency between NHL seasons, the biggest move of the day was not a signing but a trade, one that ahd the Vegas Golden Knights sending Paul Stastny to the Winnipeg Jets for Swedish defenceman Carl Dahlstrom and a fourth-round pick in 2022. Dahlstrom is a 25-year-old who has spent the past five years in North America, first splitting time between the NHL and AHL in the Chicago Blackhawks organization and spending all of 2019-20 with the Jets, totalling 64 NHL appearances in the process; Stastny is a 35-year-old who pretty much just had his worst statistical year ever but still delivers top-six possession numbers worthy of his $6.5M cap hit (and definitely his $5.5M actual salary), which is expiring after next season.

The Jets know Stastny, he was their second-line centre prior to signing with Vegas when they made a serious run at the Stanley Cup after the trade deadline in the 2017-18 season. He was slotted with Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers, who are still around - for now, as there were many rumours of Laine being shopped around for... a second-line centre of Stastny's caliber - and it's a safe assumption that's where he'd be headed next season as well, although his experience in Vegas last year switching lines every other game will come in handy should he get shuffled around the lineup again this season. It is good to note that he drove play anywhere between 56% (with Alex Tuch and Cody Glass), 60% (with Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith) and 62% (on his regular line with Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty), so there is little risk in having him play anywhere despite his 2019-20 offensive output looking disappointing at first glance.

So it's clear I see this as as win for the Jets.

But I do not like the deal for the Golden Knights, the team I had been rooting for since the expansion draft. I agree with Brian Burke when he says moves like this, coupled with the abrupt firing of Coach Of The Year Gerard Gallant to replace him with a person he dislikes, to the way they treated Marc-André Fleury - the face of the franchise since it started - when acquiring Robin Lehner (pretending he would be the backup then just handing him the net instead of letting Fleury lose it himself), to the additional trades that will be required to make room under the cap for a possible Alex Pietrangelo signing when they already have a Norris-level player in his exact place in Shea Theodore, it really does feel like the human factor seems negligible there and they're very excited with their "shiny new toys" until they see another one and just jump on it and totally discard the old one that is doing just fine in its exact spot. Unless they win a Cup in the next year or two, the lack of loyalty, stability and security will become a huge factor in failing to attract free agents to Sin City. That, or if anyone of Pacioretty, Stone, Marchessault or Smith get the same treatment as Stastny, Theodore and Fleury.

There's a world of difference between how the Knights are handling their business and how the 2010 Blackhawks had to let go seven players on expensive contracts kicking in or even how the Tampa Bay Lightning will likely have to remove one current middle-six forward before next season so they can re-sign two of their RFAs; Vegas is acting like a teenager playing NHL21 on their XBox, with complete disregard to what actually consititutes a team.

In simpler times, Stastny played for the Colorado Avalanche, the franchise for whom his Hall Of Fame father Peter Stastny and uncles Marian and Anton starred before it moved to Denver - back then known as the Québec Nordiques - and he looked pretty good in the dark blue of their alternate uniform:

That's card #32 from Panini's 2011-12 Titanium set and Game-Worn Gear sub-set, featuring a matching game-worn swatch.

Jamie Benn Swatch Card

I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge the fact that while he isn't scoring as much as he used to and that Joe Pavelski has also assumed a large part of the Dallas Stars' leadership up-front, captain Jamie Benn is once again looking like a leader in these playoffs.

His last two regular seasons had been a disappointment to say the least - 27 goals, 26 assists and 53 points in 78 games in 2018-19 and 19 goals, 20 assists and 30 points in 69 games in 2019-20 - but he elevated his gaem in both postseasons, and this year in particular, with two three-game goal streaks this season, against noteworthy adversaries like the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights, in key games, no less.

I'm not sure GM Jim Nill sees it as "worth the $9.5M cap hit" per se, but he's probably extremely happy to have him around, that's for sure. Here is the power forward in simpler times, wearing the Stars' black/dark green football-style uniform with the wordmark chest piece and number on the front of the jersey, on the swatch insert version of card #14 from Panini's 2010-11 Certified set and Certified Potential sub-set:

It features a matching game-worn jersey swatch and is numbered #88/99.

Ilya Bryzgalov Swatch Card

As the Montréal Canadiens kept answering every Philadelphia Flyers' comeback attempt earlier tonight, goaltender Carter Hart showed that one can have a world of talent, it also takes experience or at least a fierce competitive edge to have the poise to take over and shut the door in an elimination game. And he just needed to look at the other end of the ice to see that it doesn't always come, either.

It's even harder to do in Philadelphia, where the netminding heroes of the past who are remembered fondly - Bernard Parent and Pelle Lindbergh - each had their careers cut short, Parent by an eye injury, and Lindbergh of course died in a car crash. We tend to forget that Parent had two sub-par seasons in the three years following his two Stanley Cup-winning years.

And history also now sheds a more favourable light on Ron Hextall, who came into the league by winning the Vezina and Conn Smythe trophies but followed that with two sub-par playoff performances, and he was essentially run out of town, which was only delayed by a few serious injuries. He was exiled for two seasons (playing for the Québec Nordiques and New York Islanders) and came back to Philly and only had one Vezina-caliber season in his final five seasons in the City of Brotherly Love - the second, his age 31 season, the rest of the time most hockey pundits saying the Flyers still needed an upgrade at the position.

And they've been saying it ever since. As a matter of fact, since the Flyers last reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2010, 16 goalies have stood up in their crease - including an NHL-record eight in 2018-19 alone - and every single one of them was slammed by local press: Brian Boucher (two stints), Michael Leighton (two stints), Sergei Bobrovsky, Ilya Bryzgalov, Steve Mason, Ray Emery, Cal Heeter, Rob Zepp, Michal Neuvirth, Anthony Stolarz, Brian Elliott, Petr Mrazek, Cam Talbot, Mike McKenna, Calvin Pickard, and Hart; counting back to Hextall's Final, that's 42.

The only Vezina winner - Bob, of course, the only active two-time recipient of the award for best goaltending - was even run out of town before reaching his peak, replaced by Spaceman Bryz, a ne-tim finalist for the award who never again played like a #1 goalie after signing in Philly.

Tonight, as Hart twice let in goals minutes after his team would tie the game, I was reminded of the picture on this card, showing Bryzgalov looking behind himself at a puck that either went in the net or missed it:

That's card #29 from Panini's 2011-12 Crown Royale set and All The King's Men sub-set, a beautiful piece of cardboard that shows the goalie wearing the Flyers' retro/current home orange uniform, with a white game-worn "material" swatch in the crest.

Hopefully Hart's career in Philadelphia resembles more that of Parent than Bryz.

Cameron Gaunce Autograph Card

Cameron Gaunce knew he was a depth piece on defense when the Tampa Bay Lightning re-signed him to a one-year, two-way deal at league minimum ($700K), and they knew what they were getting: a 29-year-old veteran who had very little to prove as a role/defensive player but was starting to find his offensive game in the professional ranks as well, having come off a 46-point, 65-penalty minute season in 59 games with their AHL affiliate Syracuse Crunch; he'd also chipped in with a +3 rating and 7 penalty minutes at the NHL level.

This season, he's been called upon to provide more than hits and has delivered, posting 4 points in 3 games wit the Bolts so far (+2, 4 penalty minutes) to go with a 30-point output (36 PIMs, +10) in 49 games wit the Crunch.

We are starting to see the two-time OHL All-Star emerge, after he'd been drafted 50th overall by the Colorado Avalanche in 2008. He'd also spent time with the Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets organizations, for a total of 37 NHL games so far with the Avs (11), Stars (9), Pens (12) and Bolts (5).

He seems to have a knack for signing with one team and one of their main rivals (Dallas/Colorado; Pittsburgh/Columbus; Florida/Tampa); he's going to have to find two more teams next or try the Minnesota Wild (Colorado and Dallas rivals), Philadelphia Flyers (Pittsburgh) or Montréal Canadiens (the Florida teams) to keep with the theme.

One thing's for sure, though: he's playing on a legitimate Stanley Cup contender and earning his playing time, so his next deal might be of the $1M cap hit variety.

Here he is wearing the Avalanche's RBK Edge piping-heavy burgundy (home) jersey on a card that mentions he's now with the Stars, #SI-CG from Panini's 2013-14 Select set and Select Signatures sub-set:

It's a silver foil card and the sides are green - even if the scan shows it all black. Over his head reads "DALLAS STARS" in yellow and top-right, over his left shoulder, a note says he was traded to the Stars on "4/2/13". The card features a blue-sharpied on-sticker autograph that just has his initials, a typical pet peeve among autograph collectors.

His brother Brendan also plays professionally, in the Boston Bruins organization.

Marcus Foligno Autograph Card

Marcus Foligno is quietly having his most productive season in the NHL so far, one point behind the career-high 23 points he put up in three straight seasons from 2015 until 2018, with over 20 games left in the regular season calendar.

He's only made the playoffs once - in 2017-18 in his first season with the Minnesota Wild, with one goal in five games played and no less than 16 penalty minutes. The 6'3", 225-pound former fourth-round pick (104th overall in 2009) is usually good for three to five fights per year, standing up for his teammates at every opportunity.

He's cemented his position as a shut-down checking forward, finishing in the pluses (+5 as we speak) every year despite playing on poor teams. Relative to his teammates, he's actually a more positive force out there than more expensive options and his $2.85M cap hit is good for another year after this one.

Glad to see he's building his own path without being in the shadow of his father Mike (a former Buffalo Sabres star)  and brother Nick, captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Here he is wearing the Sabres' 2010-12 "Wordmark" blue (third) jersey on card #CS-MF from Panini's 2012-13 Certified set and Certified Signatures sub-set:

It features a blue-sharpied, on-stick autograph. It's actually a very nice silver foil card, but my scanner refused to acknowledge it as such.

Jamie Tardif Autograph And Swatch Card

Despite being just 34 years old, Jamie Tardif is already nearly two years removed from his last professional hockey game, which isn't to say he didn't get opportunities or that he wasn't successful: the rugged right winger played himself into a point-per-game role in five seasons with the OHL's Peterborough Petes circa 2001-06, becoming a Calgary Flames draft pick - fourth round, 112th overall in 2003 - and signing with three NHL teams (Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres) while never getting traded in the following seven years.

Sure, he mostly played AHL for nost of that time, save for a couple of games with the Bruins, but he made his mark with six 30-point seasons (with a high of 54 in 77 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2010-11), all while usually attaining the 80-PIM mark.

He them moved to Germany, spending three seasons with the Mannheim Eagles from 2014-15 until 2016-17, then accepting a player/assistant-coach position with the ECHL's Quad City Mallards in 2017-18.

He's made the definitive move to coaching since, having been an assistant-coach with the OHL's Sault-Ste-Marie Greyhounds since the summer of 2018.

Here he is wearing the Bruins' white (away) uniform on the "all-dressed" insert version of card #201 from Panini's 2013-14 Select set:

It features a black "event-worn" jersey swatch and on-sticker blue-sharpied autograph. At the time of his call-up in the 2012-13 season, he was second in the AHL with 20 goals. He finished the season with a round 30, for 45 points, in 62 games.

Max Reinhart Autograph And Swatch Card

Former NHL Paul Reinhart's three sons played in the NHL: Sam was a Buffalo Sabres first-round pick and still plays centre for the team; Griffin was a New York Islanders first-round pick who now patrols the blue line with the KHL's Chinese team, the Kunlun Red Star, after passing through the Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights organizations; and Maxwell retired at age 25 after spending the 2017-18 season with the AHL's Belleville Senators, essentially used as their fourth-line centre.

I was under the impression that he would make a fine 'tweener, playing shut-down AHL minutes and the occasional fourth-line call-up in the NHL, but a coach told me he didn't feel like his defensive play was good enough to trust at that position.

From what I remember, though, Max had good two-way instincts and was above-average speed-wise - two of the most in-demand traits in the NHL these days; he also had a decent vision and passing skills in Juniors and at the AHL level, but maybe he lacked that split-second to keep at it in the NHL.

He holds the AHL's Abbotsford Heat record for points in a single season on the strength of 63 in 66 games.

Here he is wearing the Calgary Flames' red (now-home) uniform, on the "all-dressed" insert version of card #164 from Panini's 2013-14 Totally Certified set and Dual Rookie Class sub-set:

It features a white "event-worn" jersey swatch and blue-sharpied on-sticker autograph.

Jeff Zatkoff Autograph Card

How many Pittsburgh Penguins goalies can I feature in a single month? After Eric Hartzell and Johan Hedberg, it's time to look at Jeff Zatkoff again and see what he's been up to for the past couple of years.

He last played in the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings in 2016-17, but his .900 save percentage and the fact that the Kings acquired Peter Budaj and Ben Bishop during the season made him more than expendable, so he was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets, only seeing time in 17 games with the AHL's Cleveland Monsters in 2017-18 before moving to Germany to play for the Straubing Tigers, where he's been the clear #1 ever since.

His save percentage was better last year (.910) than it is now (.900), so I'm not certain we'll be seeing the 32-year-old in the NHL again any time soon.

One thing no one can take away from him is his name on the Stanley Cup as a member of the 2016 Penguins - the year Phil Kessel should have won the Conn Smythe - appearing in 14 regular-season games and 2 post-season games, sharing in goaltending duties with Matt Murray and Marc-André Fleury.

Here he is wearing the Pens' Reebok-era black (home) uniform, on the signed insert version of card #118 from Panini's 2013-14 Dominion set and Dual Rookie Class sub-set:

It features an on-card blue-sharpied autograph and is numbered 202/299. Of note, he actually wore #37 for both the Penguins and Kings, but this was from a training camp before he was given that number, so he's wearing #36 instead.

Zach Bogosian Swatch Card

I honestly didn't think I'd be writing about Zach Bogosian this soon, but he has reportedly asked for a trade from the Buffalo Sabres, as a pending unrestricted free agent, because being a healthy scratch on a middling team can sometimes be worse on a player's value than asking out of an unfavourable situation.

He's not doing too bad, with three assists in 10 games with an average ice time under of 19 minutes per game - more than two minutes short of his career average, but with the team's surplus of right-handed defensemen - Rasmus Ristolainen, Brandon Montour, Colin Miller, and Henri Jokiharju play the same position, and there's room for three of them per game - it becomes a numbers game that he is in almost no position to win: Ristolainen was dangled as trade bait all summer and there were no takers, while Montour, Miller and Jokirarju are all "new toys" the team wants to play with, having all been acquired via trade in this calendar year.

Not only has Bogosian been playing for the Sabres for six years, but he's been injured often enough that the idiom "out of sight, out of mind" may apply. But trading him won't be easy if they keep scratching him, particularly considering his cap hit that is north of $5M.The only potential destination I see at the moment would be the Winnipeg Jets - the team that signed him to his current deal in the first place - and I don't see them parting with anything more than a fifth- or sixth-rounder for his services, maybe a fourth-rounder if the Sabres agree to keep a good portion of his salary on their cap.

We're a long waya away from the day when the Atlanta Thrashers made him the third-overall pick of the 2008 draft, behind Steven Stamkos and Drew Doughty, and ahead of Alex Pietrangelo (4th), Erik Karlsson (15th), Jake Gardiner (17th), John Carlson (27th), Slava Voynov (32nd), Roman Josi (38th), Travis Hamonic (53rd), Marco Scandella (55th), and T.J. Brodie (114th).

Speaking of which, here he is wearing the Thrashers' alternate uniform from 2008-11 - one of the ugliest jerseys in NHL history, with football-style jersey numbers on the front - on card #15 from Panini's 2010-11 Pinnacle set and City Lights sub-set:

It features a matching red swatch and the following tidbit of information on the back of the card:

First-time Atlanta visitors may get lost at first, making constant turns from one Peachtree street to another and another. In all, there are enarly 60 streets in Atlanta with the word "Peachtree" in their names. A map is a definite must for anyone venturing into this Peachtree orchard.

Kind of explains why that first season of The Walking Dead is so vague in its depecition of the cityscape. Personally, I may have gone with the city's artistic achievements, what with it being the city Outkast, Tyler Perry, Arrested Development (the music act, not the TV show), Ludacris, Akon, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes and the rest of TLC, Goodie Mob, Jermaine Dupri, and Bubba Sparxxx called home at the time, a list to which we can add the likes of Donald Glover/Childish Gambino, Kelly Rowland, Ying Yang Twins, Migos, Gucci Mane and 2 Chainz nowadays, not to mention Martin Luther King Jr., Hank Aaron, Ted Turner, Toni Braxton, David Cross, Jane Fonda, Jeff Foxworthy, Oliver Hardy, Ed Helms, Holly Hunter, Robert Patrick, Ryan Seacrest, Keenan Thompson, Chris Tucker, and Steven Soderbergh.

Yeah, I know Spike Lee was born there as well, but he's so New York that I couldn't fathom associating him with the city.

Ben Holmstrom Autograph Card

Ben Holmstrom was one of those undrafted College kids that sign with a professional team when they reach maturity, which is usually seen as less of a risk to the pro team, seeing as the player is already an adult, has been training at school and had more practices than games to learn to play a two-way game. Another risk associated with drafting American College kids is they can refuse to sign with the team that drafted them for four straight years and become free agents, resulting in a wasted pick.

A three-year captain - out of a four-year tenure - of the UMass Lowell River Hawks, Holmstrom signed with the Philadelphia Flyers, appearing in 7 games over five seasons, captaining their AHL affiliate Adirondack Phantoms for the last three.

He then moved onto the Charlotte Checkers for one season, and then the New York Islanders organization, where he captained their AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, for four years.

After an injury-plagued season, he signed with the ECHL's Norfolk Admirals last summer, the only team in the league to not have an NHL affiliation; his 4 goals, 5 assists and 9 points in 21 games are rather unimpressive, which leaves me thinking the team signed him to please their leading scorer Josh Holmstrom (18 points in 30 games), his brother.

That being said, Ben is the only one with NHL experience. Here he is as a member of the Flyers on card #SI-HM from Panini's 2013-14 Select set and Signatures sub-set:

The card features a blue-sharpied on-sticker autograph. He looks good in Flyer orange.

This year marks the fourth team with which the Homstrom brothers are teammates; they also played together at UMass-Lowell, in Bridgeport and for the USHL's Sioux Falls Stampede before going to  College.

Mark Borowiecki: Two Autographed Cards

They call him "Borocop" and the nickname proved to be truer than ever today, as Mark Borowiecki of the Ottawa Senators thwarted a theft in Vancouver ahead of tonight's game against the Vancouver Canucks.

Essentially, a man stole something from the back of a vehicle, tried to flee with it on a bike, BoroCop ran after him, clothes-lined him, wrested him, retrieved the bag and called the police. And this being Vancouver, the police have a word of warning:

As this did happen on Dec. 1, it’s the start of the holiday season, we are going to see more and more parcels in the back of vehicles and the front of vehicles. We’re asking people: keep your property in your car safe, keep it secure and out of sight.

I hate that we're there, in this day and age, that someone's stuff is only theirs until someone else takes it away and where folks are being spied on by the State and the police are militarized yet no one ever seems to catch petty criminals.

At least there are god people like Borowiecki, who we can watch 82 times a year perform his craft of defending his own zone and looking like a superhero on a card like #347 from Panini's 2011-12 Pinnacle set:

It's a dark, silver foil in the same vein as Upper Deck's Black Diamond series.

Here he is on the more classic card #486 from Upper Deck's 2016-17 Compendium Series 2 (Blue parallel, which one gets for redeeming 10 "regular" base cards on E-Pack) set:

Both feature him wearing the Sens' white (now-away) uniform; he signed them during the 2017-18 season in blue sharpie.

Eric Hartzell Autograph Card

Most Hobey Baker Award winners don't have a huge NHL career, and the finalists are oftentimes career minor-leaguers. Such is the case with Eric Hartzell, who starred and had tremendous numbers for the Quinnipiac University Bobcats, leading the Pittsburgh Penguins to sign him to a one-year entry-level contract.

He only appeared as a backup once with the main team but had an excellent season with the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2013-14, sharing the "Hap" Holmes Award as the league's best goalie, but it was mostly an ECHL and European thing after that magical season.

His final stint in the ECHL, with the Quad City Mallards, ended when the team folded at the end of the 2017-18 season. He never found work between the pipes after that, retiring at age 28, but I hear he may be a teacher at a hockey school in the summer.

And that's the difference between an undrafted player and one where the team feels forced to keep giving some guys chances despite pedestrian numbers on the long term - think Scott Darling, James Reimer and Carey Price - often rewarded with untradeable contracts to boot.

Here he is stopping pucks during warm-ups on the signed version of card #260 from Panini's 2013-14 Select set and Dual Rookie Class sub-set:

It features a blue-sharpied, on-sticker autograph and shows him wearing the Pens' then-white (away) uniform. I'd like to get some ECHL and European cards of him signed one day.

Jaroslav Halak Swatch Card

The Montréal Canadiens - and particularly their head coach Claude Julien and star goalie Carey Price (3.56 GAA, .886 save percentage) - are mired in a month-long funk that is seemingly without end, so facing former star goalie Jaroslav Halak - he of the near-perfect record against the Habs, especially in Montréal - was likely going to prove problematic, especially since he's in town with the rest of the Atlantic Division-leading Boston Bruins in search of their fourth-straight win after a sub-par outing in Ottawa last week.

Wouldn't you know it, Price let in 5 goals on 11 shots while Halak stopped 36 of 37 en route to an 8-1 routing of the home team. This after Price, Julien and the Canadiens blew a 4-0 lead to lose 6-5 at the hands of the New York Rangers on home ice on Saturday.

This was Montréal's fifth-straight loss, and the masses are already speculating on who could take over behind the Canadiens' bench, the smart money betting safe on Associate-Coach Kirk Muller, Mike Babcock, Guy Boucher and current assistant Dominic Ducharme.

I believe the team will stay idle, but there are plenty of bench bosses I prefer to Julien, including Patrick Roy, Guy Carbonneau, Manitoba Moose bench boss Pascal Vincent, Syracuse Crunch head coach Benoît Groulx and - why not? - Ducharme, Boucher and Muller, in that order.

Not Babcock - he needs to sort his public image out, repent, and attempt to grow and change his ways a bit before he's given a second (fourth) chance. Furthermore, he seems like he's taking his former partners down with him - today it was Bill Peters' turn for alleged (and seemingly now-corroborated) racist behaviour, perhaps tomorrow it will be Boucher, a fellow McGill alumnus and another coach who uses mind games to motivate his players.

But back to the hero of the evening, Halak, who made news last week for his use of practice pads. He is on the last of a two-year deal with Boston that pays him $2.75M annually to play roughly the same amount of regular-season games as starter Tuukka Rask - who makes $7M - so that Rask can be rested come playoff time, a strategy that worked well enough to lead the Bruins to the Stanley Cup Final last season. It's a thankless job, but he's shining in it, with a 2.39 GAA (7th in the NHL), a 5-1-3 record, a .930 save percentage (4th) and a shutout (tied for 7th). Other goalies aren't faring as well:

The Bruins are among the favourites to earn the William Jennings Trophy for fewest goals given as a team, which would mark Halak's second such win. The first time, of course, was as a member of the St. Louis Blues, as can be seen on card #FOG-HAL from Panini's 2012-13 Certified set and Fabric Of The Game sub-set:

It is numbered 101/150 and is of the "Red / Mirror" variant; the swatch lies underneath a die-cut stencil of the word "Blues", fittingly, and features a prominent blue game-worn jersey swatch.

I got it on Ebay just last week for use at a much later date, but it was (physically) the closest piece of memorabilia to feature when I opted for Halak as my subject of the day.