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.

Paul Stastny Jersey Card

There was much chatter when Paul Stastny left the Colorado Avalanche - the organization that used to be located in his city of birth, Québec - for the team from the city he actually grew up in, the St. Louis Blues.

In Game 7 against the Dallas Stars, Stastny's line has totally taken over, paving the way to the team's first Conference Finals berth since the 2000-01 season. That's two teams thus far making it when I would have preferred their adversaries win - the Pittsburgh Penguins have also eliminated the Washington Capitals. My last hope for 50% happiness would be seeing the Nashville Predators dispose of the San Jose Sharks tomorrow.

But back to the Blues, whose depth was superiors to Dallas', and whose goaltending was also far better, with oft-underrated All-Star Brian Elliott besting both Kari Lehtonen (who did have one great game) and Antti Niemi.

Captain David Backes and Team USA defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk both seem poised to leave the Blues, and both seem to want to do it by procuring the team its very first Stanley Cup, leaving the Toronto Maple Leafs as the lone team to not have won it since the late 1960s.

This may have been the first regular-issue card to feature Stastny as a member of the Blues, #42 of Upper Deck's 2014-15 Masterpieces collection and Memorabilia (Jersey) sub-set:

The seemingly hand-painted card features a dark blue game-worn jersey swatch, likely from his days with the Avs.

Paul Stastny Jersey Card

Arguably the biggest-impact signing on July 1st, Paul Stastny left the Colorado Avalanche for the St. Louis Blues, another organization his father - Hall Of Famer Peter Stastny, the highest-scoring player of the 1980s not named Wayne Gretzky - played for, and the city where Paul grew up.

There will always be comparisons between Paul and his father, but that's because he can take them. He is a leader (he wore the 'A' on his jersey in Colorado and for Team USA, who he also captained to a bronze medal  at the 2013 World Championships), is a tremendous playmaker who can also score, has a terrific all-around game and is responsible defensively. He is also disciplined and can handle first-unit powerplay and penalty-killing unit tasks, and would be comfortable playing any role on any team, though by default, he'd probably be the #1 center on at least 26 NHL teams, as he will be with the Blues.

With the salary cap just under $70M this season and on the rise for the next three, signing Stastny to a 4-year deal paying him $7M per is a steal, because he automatically becomes the team's best player, paid at a little more than 10% of the cap, then his cap hit percentage diminishes, possibly ending at around 8.5%, which is ideal for your top forward, who would play close to 22 minutes per game while making everyone around him better.

This rises the Blues' stock close to the level of the Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks, in my opinion, provided Brian Elliott and Jake Allen have career years; even if they don't, they are not a downgrade from Ryan Miller at this stage of his career; they can stop 91% of the shots they face, he couldn't. Head coach Ken Hitchcock, for one, believes the intangibles could stack up well for his team. Also, it'll be much easier to find a capable goalie if it doesn't work or in case of injury at the trade deadline, because after the top-three of Jonathan Quick, Henrik Lundqvist and Pekka Rinne, the NHL is comprised of 15 goalies who are approximately at the same level, and 25 to 35 more who are just one notch under those guys; there has never been a more even nor better crop of high-quality goalies in the history of hockey, and there is only room for 30 starters in the league - and just 16 in the playoffs.

I purchased some 2013-14 SP Game-Used Edition boxes from Upper Deck this winter, and oddly enough was very satisfied with my pulls; I could have had them for much cheaper by purchasing them individually on Ebay, it turns out, because it seems like the players I like (except for P.K. Subban) sell for under $5 each; as a matter of fact, this Paul Stastny card, #AF-ST in the set, part of the Authentic Fabrics sub-set, often sells between $1 and $2, but I don't care:

It shows him wearing the Avs' white (away) uniform, which I liked a lot more before Reebok put piping on the chest and removed the blue lines separating the white from the burgundy; hopefully the team can revert back to its former uniforms - as many others have - soon, though I really like their current third. The big swatch on the front of the card matches the jersey on the card, which I like.

Paul Stastny Jersey Card

The new CBA has brought forth innovative provisions, particularly when it comes to Unrestricted Free Agents (UFAs); the past CBA tried a few manoeuvers, namely pushing the free agency date back 6 days (to July 7th), but this time around, they went back to the usual date (July 1st), but with an option where teams can start talking about their interest (and courting players) on June 25th, which was today.

And who is the best forward on the market - or at least the best for potentially the longest time? That would be Paul Stastny, career member of the Colorado Avalanche, and son of Hall Of Famer Peter Stastny, who played for the franchise's previous incarnation, the Québec Nordiques.

I cannot fathom Paul playing for another organization (though he did grow up in St. Louis, a place his father still calls home), unless he ''came back home'' and played for the Montréal Canadiens - sure, they were the Nordiques' fiercest rivals, but they are the last remaining team in the province, and both of Paul's hockey-playing uncles - Anton and Marian - still live in Québec, and he'd be close to his birthplace.

I think for a $1M difference or less per year, he'll choose to remain with the Avs, and continue providing leadership on a team that will only get better. In case he doesn't, though, here is one of the cards I will remember him by with the Avs, from Upper Deck's 2013-14 Series 2 set (card #GJ-ST of the UD Game Jersey sub-set), featuring a burgundy swatch while the card shows him in the Avs' white (away) uniform:

Of course, it comes complete with deceased UD (former) CEO Richard P. McWilliam's certificate of authenticity: