Pierre Turgeon Swatch Card

As the Montréal Canadiens beat the Dallas Stars last night, we were reminded of the Bell Centre's 20th anniversary nearly to the day, marking the closing of the mythical old Forum and the passing of the torch to the new building, in somewhat literal terms:

That final honorary face-off between then-current captain Pierre Turgeon and the last one to have won a Stanley Cup wearing the "C" in Montréal, Guy Carbonneau, still sends shivers down my spine, as does the seemingly never-ending standing ovation for all Habs legends of the past, with the longest one going to Maurice Richard:

It wasn't just so-called "regular" fans cheering, but past and current players, as well as freaking Canadian Prime Ministers.

The Habs won that one, too.

Pierre Turgeon didn't last too long in Montréal, a weird sacrifice from GM Réjean Houle, who thought having three gifted offensive centers (Turgeon, Vincent Damphousse and a young Saku Koivu) on the same team was somehow problematic, sending #77 to the St. Louis Blues for, essentially, Shayne Corson. After sending Roy and former captain Mike Keane to the Colorado Avalanche for Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky and Andrei Kovalenko; and prior to trading Mark Recchi to the Philadelphia Flyers for Dainius Zubrus; and Damphousse, the following captain, to the San Jose Sharks for a second-rounder and a fifth round pick... Oh, Réjean!

Since last season, there has been much debate about letting Eric Lindros in the Hall Of Fame, particularly after admitting Mats Sundin and Peter Forsberg in recent years. Here's how they stack up:

Lindros: 372 goals, 493 assists, 865 points in 760 games. A Hart Trophy and a Canada Cup win (1991). Important part of 1992 silver medal Team Canada Olympic team, bit piece in 2002 Olympic gold team.

Sundin: 564 goals, 785 assists, 1349 points in 1346 games. Captain of the gold medal 2006 Swedish Olympic team and on the 2002 Olympic All-Star Team. Seven World Championship medals, including three gold.

Forsberg: 249 goals, 636 assists, 885 points in 705 games. Two Stanley Cups. Another 225 points in 214 Swedish League games. Two Olympic gold medals, including the 1994 game-winning goal. Five World Championship medals, including two gold. Art Ross, Hart and Calder trophies.

Lindros is clearly a step down from both these players.

Now, consider Pierre Turgeon: 515 goals, 812 assists, 1327 points in 1294 games. That's right - over 500 goals, over 1300 points, more than a point-per-game average - and he's not even in the conversation...

I don't know. I'd at least put him ahead of Lindros.

Which brings me to card # from Panini's 2013-14 Totally Certified set:

It features a matching red game-worn jersey swatch.

Pierre Turgeon Jersey Card

515 goals. 812 assists. 1327 points in 1294 games, plus 97 more in 104 playoff games. Five All-Star Games, one Lady Byng trophy, two 100-point seasons (with a high of 132 in 1992-93), three 38-goal seasons, a 40-goal season and a 58-goal season.

Hall Of Fame numbers? Perhaps, but so far, Pierre Turgeon isn't a Hall Of Famer. I understand the reasoning: no Stanley Cups, no scoring titles, no MVP trophies (though he finished in fifth place in Hart voting once), just often - by far - the best player on lousy teams.

The former first-overall pick in 1987 was the Montréal Canadiens' captain in 1995-96, and had been a replacement captain for both the Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders prior to that. He was a very skilled top-line center who should not be forgotten.

Here he is wearing the Colorado Avalanche's original burgundy (away) uniform, from Upper Deck's 2005-06 Series 2 set (card #J2-PT of the Game Jersey sub-set), featuring a matching game-worn jersey swatch:

He retired after two seasons with the Avs, the last one mostly lost to injury.

Pierre Turgeon Autograph Card

And now... the captain... of YOUR... Montréal No-Names... Pierre Turgeon!

Yes, another one from the worst card series of all time... Upper Deck's 1995-96 Be A Player set.

This time, it's the now-centennial Montréal Canadiens who have the honour of not having their team name nor logo appear anywhere on the card - they even airbrushed it off of Turgeon's chest. I'm glad they kept the captain's ''C'', though, as well as his number and the brand name on his gloves.

Turgeon holds a particular place in the Habs' history. He was the last to have been near producing a 100-point season for the team since Mats Naslund in the 1980s (he got 96 in 1995-96), had actually achieved that goal before (106 in 1989-90 for the Buffalo Sabres and 132 in 1992-93 with the New York Islanders), and was only named captain because he was the most talented (read: skillful) player on the team that year, not because he was the most vocal or hardest-working player in the locker room. He was also a member of the team for a mere 106 games spread over three seasons (the end of one, a full one, then was traded at the beginning of the third year), so his reign as captain turned out to be uneventful.

It's fun to note that on his way here, he cost the team Kirk Muller (captain) and Mathieu Schneider but on his way out, he was only worth Shayne Corson; mind you, the guy who traded him away, Réjean Houle, is also the guy who gave away the best goalie of all time (Patrick Roy) and his team's captain (Mike Keane) for an overhyped skinny #2 goalie (Jocelyn Thibault) and two somewhat talented enigmatic lazy forwards (Andrei Kovalenko and Martin Rucinsky). Trades like that are the reason why the team went from perennial contender to bottom-feeder in two years (and for almost a decade) - and why they have remained near the ''last available playoff position'' spot for the better part of the last 6 years as well.

Oh well.

Needless to say, this local superstar's card, possibly the only one I own of him wearing the local team's colours (but not crest...) ranks and sits... in the middle of every pile I end up stacking it in. It's card #S152, for those keeping count.