Grayson Boucher Autograph Card

Grayson "The Professor" Boucher is a "streetball" (street basketball, i.e. looser rules, more spectacular, less attention to defensive positioning) athlete who played conventional basketball in community college but wasn't even a standout star there, explaining why he never got a call from the NBA. That, plus the fact that he's 5'10".

Here he is pissing off a 6'8" Chinese player with tactics that don't go over in "regular" basketball:

He was an extra playing on two separate teams in the 2008 Will Ferrell vehicle Semi-Pro; I'll have to watch it again to see if I recognize him in there. Honestly, any excuse to watch Ferrell as Jackie Moon perform Love Me Sexy is good enough for me...

Here he is on card #27 from Panini's 2011 Americana set and Private Signings sub-set:

It shows him wearing normal street clothes and features a blue-sharpied on-sticker autograph. It's numbered 205/799.

Jordan Schroeder Autograph Card

How dickish are the Minnesota Wild? Well, they spent all of last season praising Jordan Schroeder's talent, versatility, patience, and team spirit and, just as he's about to get his arbitration hearing in the hopes of securing a one-way contract, have placed him on waivers.

The Vancouver Canucks would be wise to pick him up the same way the Wild stole him from them in the first place...

I could also see the Arizona Coyotes - who are in harsh negotiations with Tobias Reider themselves - making a play for the former first-rounder.

Here he is as a Canuck, wearing their blue (home) uniform, from Panini's 2013-14 Dominion collection and Private Signings sub-set:

It's card #PS-OE (numbered 81/199) in the set and was hard-signed in thin blue sharpie. I really like the gold foil all around the card, it gives it an aura of semi-class.

Brandon Sutter Autograph Card

I last featured Brandon Sutter two years ago when he'd been traded from the Carolina Hurricanes to the Pittsburgh Penguins; today, the Pens sent him to the Vancouver Canucks for center Nick Bonino and Adam Clendening.

Clendening's a decent defensive prospect from the Chicago Blackhawks' system who had very good statistics in the AHL and just needs to translate that into the NHL, while I still think Bonino has the potential to be a consistent 20-goal scorer in the NHL; still, the best player here is Sutter, who actually not only already is a consistent 20-goal man, but did so on the Pens' third line while Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby monopolized all the best wingers for themselves.

You could argue that by signing free agent Eric Fehr on the same day, though, the Pens ended up even, while the Canucks gave more than I would have but may have cemented their 2C spot for years if they can sign Sutter and not lose him as a UFA by the end of the year.

We're talking about a guy who often gets Selke and Lady Byng votes at the end of the year and has won gold with Team Canada at the World Juniors (2008). At age 26, he's still a guy you can add to your nucleus and will add leadership and help steer the kids in the right direction. He's a Sutter, after all, and has even worn the alternate captain's ''A'' as a young guy with the Canes, as can be attested in card #BSU from Panini's 2011-12 Titanium set (part of the Private Signings sub-set):

The gold foil border's a nice touch, as is the Hurricanes' black (third) jersey. It's signed on-card in thin blue sharpie and just generally has a nice vibe to it.

Ironically, today marked the second time in three years Jim Rutherford has traded and praised him, as he was also the one who sent him to Pittsburgh in the first place when he was GM in Carolina.