Vincent Damphousse Jersey Card

Eric Lindros entering the Hockey Hall of Fame definitely put the final coffin on how dominant a player must be and cemented its reputation as the Hall of Very Good Players. The institution, already a bit of a joke for not being located within the walls of the old Montréal Forum, now has to include everyone who's played in All-Star Games, won just one piece of hardware, and/or had two or three terrific seasons - especially those who "might have been even better" had they not gotten injured.

That means Jose Theodore - he of a Vezina and a Hart - is a shoe-in when it should've been a five-year debate; that means Chris Osgood gets a realistic shot, what with his three Stanley Cup wins; that means 1000-point players (of which Lindros was not) now must be included, notably Pierre Turgeon and Vincent Damphousse.

I mean, hey: Damphousse got to 1205 regular-season points (46th all-time), 432 of them goals (68th) and 773 assists (37th), despite never reaching the 100-point single-season mark, though he surpassed 90 four times. He's won a Stanley Cup and captained the most decorated team in hockey - the Montréal Canadiens.

He has 41 playoff goals and 104 playoff points.

Not only was he selected to play in four All-Star Games, he was its MVP in 1991 on the strength of an NHL-record 4 goals.

I wasn't a big fan; I particularly didn't like how he would hit opponents' wrists with his stick when defending against and trailing them, despite the fact that it earned him a fourth-place finish in Selke voting while playing for my hometown Habs. The fact that he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and San Jose Sharks was also too dark a mark to be evened out by playing for the Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers.

Speaking of the Sharks, here is, wearing their teal (then-away) end-of-the-90s uniform, on card #91 from Private Stock's 2000-01 Titanium Draft Day set (the Authentic Game-Worn Jerseys sub-set), manufactured by Pacific:

It features a red game-worn jersey swatch from his days in Montréal; the back of the card specifies that it's from a home jersey (which was white at the time), which would make this either part of the shoulders, wrists or waist parts of the jersey.

Michal Rozsival Jersey Card

Michal Rozsival won two Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks, but it's the team that initially drafted him - the Pittsburgh Penguins, 105th overall in 1996 - who are still in the running this year.

He'll be an unrestricted free agent for the third time in his four seasons with the Hawks, but they probably need him back, as his 16-17 minutes of ice time are pretty much the only thing stopping Duncan Keith from averaging over 30 himself, as he did when Rozsival broke his leg in last year's playoffs; sure, it enabled Keith to star in one of the most impressive performances in NHL playoff history, but it's not something one can replicate every year.

The Czech defender has lost a step, however, but can be counted on for steady defensive play with a good partner and 10-15 points in 45-55 games on a second pairing, probably for one more year, before becoming a third pairing player for his last season or two, health permitting.

Here he is wearing the Pens' turn-of-the-millennium black (then-away) uniform, from Pacific's 2001-02 Private Stock set (card #83 of the Authentic Game-Worn Jersey / Game-Used Gear sub-sets):

It features a white game-worn jersey swatch.

Sean Burke Jersey Card

Sean Burke had been quoted as saying he was interested in becoming an NHL General Manager this summer, but the vacant spots have mostly been filled - apart from the three-headed monster over at Toronto Maple Leafs headquarters, which I'm sure he wanted no part in, having to be the lame duck while Kyle Dubas, Brendan Shanahan and Mike Babcock made the actual personnel calls.

Instead, I have a hunch that he may take over for his current boss when Arizona Coyotes GM Don Maloney inevitably gets canned; sure, Maloney has another assistant who has actual GM experience, but that man is Darcy Regier, who turned the Buffalo Sabres into a joke and cut corners in their scouting and drafting departments large enough that years of futility are still years away from bearing any fruit.

The ideal job for him would have been with the Edmonton Oilers, in my opinion. He knows the Western Conference extremely well, having been with the Coyotes in either a coaching or managerial role since 2008. He's also the goaltending coach who ''made'' #1s out of Ilya Bryzgalov, Mike Smith and Devan Dubnyk, and made Chad Johnson (1.21 GAA, .954 save percentage, undefeated in 4 games with 1 shutout), Jason LaBarbera (2.64 GAA and .918 save percentage over 4 seasons), Curtis McElhinney (1.64 GAA and .944 save percentage), Matt Climie (1.88 and .938), and Al Montoya (2.08 and .925) look the part - and the Oilers kind of need an eye for goaltending, and someone who can provide valuable tips.

In today's NHL, Burke is that guy, ahead of even Patrick Roy.

So I guess it's fitting that I feature him as a member of the Phoenix Coyotes, with this card from Pacific's 2000-01 Private Stock Titanium Draft Day set (card #75 of the Authentic Game-Worn Jersey sub-set, mentioning he was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the second round in 1985):

I'm particularly fond of the back, which specifies that the jersey swatch is from a Coyotes game in 1999-2000; it's also numbered 134/1010.

I've mentioned it before, but Burke was one of my favourite goalies growing up. Roy was the unattainable God, and Burke was the best underdog. Roy may have his (record) three Conn Smythes, and his Vezinas (while Burke has one nomination and three top-10 finishes), but Burke has an Olympic medal (silver, 1992) with Team Canada.

Andrew Cassels: Jersey Card

Andrew Cassels spent three seasons with the Vancouver Canucks, and I think this jersey card from Pacific's 2001-02 Private Stock (Game-Used Gear card #98) is all I have to remind me of those days:

What's cool is they specify which season the (white) jersey swatch is from - and it's of note that it was 2 seasons prior to that edition. Lucky for them he was still with the Canucks for that year...

I successfully received 6 autographed cards from him last June, mostly of his days with the Hartford Whalers.

Erik Cole Jersey Card

Inevitably, the Montréal Canadiens lost two games against the Carolina Hurricanes this past week, and managed to get 0 points out of a possible 6 against weak teams. Now, not even going into overtime against a non-playoff team when all you need is a single point to clinch a playoff spot yourself seems bizarre, historically, the Hurricanes have always given us trouble, even back when they were the Hartford Whalers.

And the one guy who has done the most damage has been Erik Cole - the Ultimate Habs Killer. If this guy played half his games against Montréal, he'd be a contender for the lead in league scoring, despite being frequently injured these past few years. Funny thing, he also has success against former Habs: in December of 2009, he scored a hat trick against the Washington Capitals; in nets was none other than José Theodore. He now has six of those, four of which have a direct Montréal connection.

He has played with Team USA twice: first at the 2006 Olympics in Torino, then at the 2007 World Championships. He is a man of firsts: he is the first NHL player ever to hail from Oswego, New York - a ''city'' of roughly 18,000 people on Lake Ontario - and the first player ever to be awarded two penalty shots in the same game. He also holds the unofficial record for fastest lap around the ice in 13.117 seconds; it is unofficial because NHL representatives weren't there to witness or measure the time themselves, as it was a team event, not a league event like, say, the All Star Skills Competition.

The card itself (card #151, limited edition numbered #324/450) is an insert from Pacific's 2003-04 Private Stock Reserve set, and features a white patch of jersey; look closely, you'll see some red in there... is that the glue to hold the piece of cloth, or is that blood?

Roberto Luongo Jersey Card

Today, a change of the guard occurs: Martin Brodeur will watch from the bench while Team Canada relies on Roberto Luongo to lead them to an Olympic medal.

Despite appearances (like, say, unmerited Vezina trophies for career achievements when it should be awarded to the season's best), Luongo has been the best Canadian goalie for the past 5 years. We're talking about a guy who was on possibly the worst team in the league yet managed to lead it in save percentage, breaking records for most shots against and most saves made in a single season.

He was made to carry teams; from his junior years, where he led two different teams to the Memorial Cup, two World Junior Championships (no medal as Mathieu Garon's back-up, silver as a starter), to appearing in 3 World Championships two gold medals, one silver), to being the highest-drafted goalie at the time (4th overall, since surpassed by both Rick DiPietro and fellow Canadian netminder Marc-André Fleury).

He still has a lot of playing left to do, both in these Olympic Games and in the NHL, so I'll leave it at that for now.

This card (#52) is from Pacific's 2000-01 Private Stock set and Authentic Game-Used Gear sub-set, and includes a swatch of a game-worn white jersey from his New York Islanders jersey, although the card lists him as a member of the Florida Panthers - he was traded on draft day by 'Crazy' Mike Milbury right after announcing their picking DiPietro; Luongo was sent to the Panthers along with the team's eventual captain Olli Jokinen in exchange for second-rate sniper Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha.

Luongo was quoted as saying:

"I didn't expect it at all. One day they're telling me I'm the goalie of the future, and the next day I'm gone. I didn't really appreciate that. The good side is that [the Panthers] wanted me."

(Another) Jarome Iginla Jersey Card

Sure, I already talked about Jarome Iginla - in a jersey card no less - here, but after today's blockbuster trade, I had to mention someone from the Calgary Flames - and I couldn't find a Dion Phaneuf card (other than his usual rookies), nor have the Sutters returned the cards I sent by mail. So I went back to the fool-proof plan: The Captain.

Mind you, this 2001-02 Private Stock 'Authentic Game-Used Jersey' card from Pacific depicts Iginla when he was but a mere alternate captain (just like in the first card). The patch is red, and neither the home nor the away jerseys had much red in them, only near the waist and wrists, so it's from a relatively small piece of real estate. Pacific has taken a bit of a dive, but this is still worth at least $25 on the open market.

It takes a special man to lead by example the way Iginla does, maybe the type of man who marries his eighth-grade high school sweetheart. No matter how tough he can get on the ice, you expect him to be righteous at all times, and he has been so far. He's an example for kids, helps in the community, has won Olympic Gold... he just needs a Stanley Cup to make it all worthwhile. And should the Sutters find the right mix of players to do so, this could be his year.

At the beginning of the season, I ranked the Flames 4th in their Conference, but also Stanley Cup finalists - against the Philadelphia Flyers, whom I also placed fourth. It would make for a fantastic finale, and, really, honestly, I wouldn't know who to root for - Ray Emery, Daniel Brière, Simon Gagné, Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell on one side, Iginla, Miikka Kiprusoff, Jay Bouwmeester, Robyn Regehr and the Sutters on the other; just the most intense hockey to end the season with.