Anthony Peluso Autograph Card

Anthony Peluso was a sixth-round pick of the St. Louis Blues (160th overall) in 2007. At the time, the Blues were an overachieving regular-season team that consistently failed in the playoffs when play gets tighter and more rugged, so it was thought the 6'3", 225-pound tough guy North York, Ontario would help the Blues' more talented players feel more "protected" if he were in the lineup.

However, in three full seasons with the St. Louis organization, he never suited up once for the team, instead spending the bulk of his time with the AHL's Peoria Rivermen. He was then signed by the Winnipeg Jets, with whom he was a regular on-ice contributor, mostly via fisticuffs, as his 4 goals, 10 assists and 14 points in 142 games in the 'Peg pale in comparison to his 209 penalty minutes. His presence helped alleviate, to some extent, the emotional and physical workload of players like Dustin Byfuglien, Mark Stuart and Chris Thorburn.

Prior to last season, he signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Washington Capitals, although he only played in four NHL games (and 38 more for the AHL's Hershey Bears).

While he did not participate in the Caps' Stanley Cup victory, he may have a chance to do so this year with the Calgary Flames, who signed him to a similar deal last summer., because sometimes lightning does strike twice.

Here he is sporting the Jets' white (away) uniform, on the signed insert version of card #254 from Panini's 2013-14 Select set(and Dual Rookie Class sub-set):

The mostly-silver foil (but also with some gold) card features a blue-sharpied on-sticker autograph.

He will be entered as #14 in my Jets Numbers Project.

Shawn Lalonde Autograph Card

The Chicago Blackhawks should have read my playoff predictions so as to not be disappointed at the outcome of their playoff series against the Nashville Predators, who swept the three-time champions in what many are calling an upset.

What better time to feature Cologne Sharks defenseman Shawn Lalonde, the Hawks' 2008 third-round pick (68th overall), showing him wearing the team's white (away) uniform:

It's the Black version of the signed insert variant of card #336 from Panini's 2013-14 Prizm collection (and Dual Rookie Class sub-set), which also serves as his rookie card in the series.

He's in the mold of Mark Streit and Yannick Weber - and, to a lesser extent, Dustin Byfuglien and Brent Burns - as an offensive defenseman his NHL coach had no idea how to utilize, even spending some time as a forward. In Germany, while manning the blue line, he still gets to finish in his team's top-3 for both points and penalty minutes.

Mikhail Grigorenko: Two Autographed Cards

Mikhail Grigorenko signed a one-year "show-me" contract with the Colorado Avalanche yesterday, after a season that Buffalo Sabres fans will call disappointing ("27 points in 74 games, unfit for a 12th overall pick, what a bust! Glad we got Ryan O'Reilly!"), whereas Avs fans, while unsure at the beginning of the season with the healthy scratches, under 10 minutes of ice time and looking out of shape, are happy with how he progressed throughout the year and looked worthy of a top-6 role on a very skilled team offensively.

What happened was the Sabres stalled his development, first by keeping him in the NHL but sitting him in half the games in 2012-13, then by sending him to Juniors midway through his sophomore season whist burning a year on his entry-level deal, and finally by demoting the disgruntled forward to the AHL and never really giving him a shot at showing what he can do.

This is, after all, a guy who had 70 goals and 139 points in 92 regular-season games with the LHJMQ's Québec Remparts (plus another 24 points in 22 post-season games) before even being drafted. And that time the Sabres sent him back against his will? He still put up 15 goals and 39 points in 23 games, plus 9 more in 5 playoff games.

The game that brought him to life last year - the first time he played over 15 minutes in a game in 2015-16 - was at the Bell Centre, against the Montréal Canadiens, in November, where he had a goal and two assists, which also sparked the Habs' downfall.

It was after that game that he signed these two cards in blue sharpie, first the one showing him with the Remparts, on card #100 from In The Game's 2011-12 Heroes And Prospects card (and CHL Rookie sub-set):

And a card from the dark days of the Sabres not knowing what to do with him, on card #213 from Panini's 2013-14 Prizm set and Dual Rookie Class sub-set (the regular silver version):

His second half was terrific; it was where he posted 15 of his 27 points and became a fixture on the ice, more often than not hitting the 15-minute mark, including seven games at or near the 20-minute mark.

Essentially, he should be getting second-line minutes and second-unit powerplay time next season, which should at worst get him in line to sign a long-term deal (five or six years) at $4-5M per; at best, he could become the team's second-line center if Matt Duchene becomes expendable and gets traded for a good defenseman, which the team sorely lacks behind Tyson Barrie and Erik Johnson.

Tanner Pearson Autograph Card

Tanner Pearson scored the overtime winner for the Los Angeles Kings last night against the San Jose Sharks. It created a bit of controversy, as some may have thought he was off-side (he wasn't) and Sharks fans thought Dustin Brown's hit that led to the puck being free may have been illegal (it wasn't, it was a textbook example of a great check).

It's hard to realize Pearson's barely 23 and in his third NHL season, because he and Tyler Toffoli had an immediate impact on the Kings, with the rookies playing on the team's most talked-about line (dubbed That 70s Line because both rookies and center Jeff Carter have uniform numbers in the 70s) as they won the Stanley Cup.

Pearson had 12 points in 24 games in the Cup run, and has shown to be able to produce at a half-point per game clip in the regular season since, yet he amped it up in this year's playoffs again, currently standing at 3 points in 3 games despite his team trailing 2-1 in the series.

Further proof that the Kings' scouting staff know exactly what to look for in a player, he was passed over completely the first two times he was eligible to be drafted, yet the Kings selected him in the first round (30h overall) after winning their first Cup in 2012; usually, players who get passed over at ages 17-19 fall to (at least) the third round as "projects", but the Kings knew what they needed to focus on with him and ten months later, he was suiting up in his first NHL playoff game, against the Sharks.

Here he is wearing L.A.'s black (home) uniform on the black variant autographed insert version of card #355 from Panini's 2013-14 Prizm set (part of the Dual Rookie Class sub-set, thus acting as his Rookie card):

It's a mostly-foil card that features a blue-sharpied on-sticker autograph.

David Desharnais Autographed Card

So I was lucky enough to witness a rare feat last night: a Montréal Canadiens win in the 2015-16 season:

There were moments when it was boring (the shots were still 1-1 seven minutes in), but all told, there was enough action to make the evening worthwhile. The Habs were up 2-0 after one, the Detroit Red Wings had made it 3-2 in their favour by the second intermission, Montréal had a goal disallowed for a phantom goalie interference call after a coach's challenge, and yet still rallied to win 4-3 in regulation, preventing the Wings from obtaining a single point as they battle the Philadelphia Flyers for the last wild card spot with two weeks remaining in the regular season.

The three stars were Max Pacioretty, Sven Andrighetto and Pavel Datsyuk, but if I had had a say, Paul Byron would have gotten the first star, as he was everywhere on the ice, finishing with a goal and an assist while Pacioretty may have scored two, but he was softer than a pillow for the first half of the game, often hovering at the red line instead of helping his teammates out in the defensive one, as he has been prone to do since December.

Goaltender Mike Condon also had a pretty good game, stopping 39 of 42 shots with a few impressive glove saves thrown in for good measure. Andrei Markov (an assist, +2 and nearly 30 minutes of play), Tomas Plekanec (an assist while keeping Henrik Zetterberg pointless), and Alex Galchenyuk (two assists, +3 rating) also had a fine game.

David Desharnais didn't factor in so much, but he was the home team's only center who won more faceoffs than he lost, with a success rate of 80%. That was enough for me to decide to feature him today, with card #45 from Panini's 2013-14 Prizm set (the Silver variant), which he signed in black sharpie with his jersey number (51) tagged at the end:

DD has a year left on his 4-year deal, which carries a reasonable cap hit of $3.5M. Unfortunately, with Galchenyuk seemingly ready to take on the #1 center role, Plekanec solidly in place at #2 and a wealth of others who can play the position in the organization (Michael McCarron, Charles Hudon, Michaël Bournival and Gabriel Dumont in the prospect pool, Lars Eller, Torrey Mitchell, Bryan Flynn, Phillip Danault, Byron and Jacob De La Rose on the current squad), he could be on the outside looking in at this point and might have to move to Europe to close out his career afterwards.

Allen York Autograph Card

Watching the New York Islanders' poor goaltending against the Montréal Canadiens over five periods in back-to-back games so far, I decided it was the right time to feature Allen York, the goalie the Columbus Blue Jackets chose with the 158th pick in 2007.

Don't get me wrong, I was a goalie myself, and just getting drafted is a much bigger accomplishment than I will ever have between the pipes, let alone playing 11 NHL games and having a positive record at 5-3-2 and a .920 save percentage with the Jackets in 2011-12.

But since last year, his star has fallen off a bit, his save percentage sitting below .900 in both the AHL and ECHL; his goals-against average of 4.00 with the Syracuse Crunch (AHL) and 5.60 with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits (ECHL) are disastrous this season.

In 2013-14, he not only played for six different teams, but four (Syracuse, Texas Stars, Charlotte Checkers and Rockford IceHogs) in the AHL alone. All told, since 2010-11, he has played for 12 teams in 4 leagues, in addition to Team Canada at the 2013-14 Spengler Cup (with a 3.57 GAA and .867 save % in 3 games).

But, hey, the Crunch re-signed him this summer, and (Syracuse GM and Tampa Bay Lightning assistant-GM) Julien BriseBois and (Bolts GM) Steve Yzerman probably know what they're doing, seeing as the parent club probably has the best goaltending depth in the world with Vezina candidate Ben Bishop, promising incumbent Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Latvian wunderkind Kristers Gudlevskis.

And sometimes it's those long shots that fare the best against strong offenses.

So here he is, wearing Columbus' beautiful alternate uniform, from Panini's 2013-14 Prizm set (card #A-AY of the silver variant), featuring a blue-sharpied on-sticker autograph:

The scan really doesn't do this card justice; it's a really impressive piece of foil and cardboard.

Christian Thomas Autograph Card

When Marc Bergevin signed Alexander Semin to a one-year, $1.1M contract earlier this summer, it signaled a bit of a lack of confidence in the Montréal Canadiens' youngsters who are vying for a roster spot on the right wing for a chance to play on one of the bottom-three lines (Brendan Gallagher is pretty much set on the top unit, though he'd probably be more at home on a second trio).

Among them, Sven Andrighetto and Christian Thomas, two high-scoring right wingers in Juniors and decent producers in the AHL who have yet to contribute anywhere close to the same level in the NHL (though Thomas was used the most, albeit usually in fourth-line situations, while Andrighetto, a victim of his size, has impressed when called upon but has not gotten that call often enough).

All of Thomas' games have involved the Habs, from his initial game with the New York Rangers against Montréal to the other 20 with the bleu-blanc-rouge; he has one goal to show for it, which he scored last February against the Edmonton Oilers.

Here's a card combining both, showing him in the Rangers' classic white (now-away) uniform while listing him as a member of the Canadiens after a mid-summer trade:

It's card #A-CT from Panini's 2013-14 Prizm set, featuring a blue-sharpie sticker autograph; it's the silver variant of the signed insert version of his Dual Rookie Class rookie card.

Eric Gryba Autograph Card

At the draft, the Edmonton Oilers made a few moves to bolster their line-up immediately, from drafting Connor McDavid first overall to acquiring Cam Talbot from the New York Rangers to trading for the Ottawa Senators' Eric Gryba.

The 6'4'', 220-pound hard-hitting defenseman is probably best remembered for knocking out Lars Eller from the Montréal Canadiens in a playoff game in 2013, as Eller was caught looking at a Raphael Diaz pass rather than his environment; Gryba was suspended for two games for the blindside hit.

The trade now has the Oilers with the following defensemen:
Andrej Sekera - Nikita Nikitin
Justin Schultz - Andrew Ference
Griffin Reinhart - Eric Gryba
Mark Fayne - Oscar Klefbom

It is a bit of an improvement from last season, that's for sure, and Gryba's physical presence was definitely needed.

I'm not sold on coach Todd McLellan, nor a trio of Talbot, Ben Scrivens and Anders Nilsson fighting for net time instead of a true, proven #1 goalie. But I'm willing to watch the show happen.

Here's the silver version of card #A-EG from Panini's 2013-14 Prizm set, showing Gryba in the Sens' white (away) uniform, from the Dual Rookie Class sub-set, obviously from a game in Philadelphia (from the fans sitting behind him):

I'd sent him 4 custom cards, care of the Sens, in August of 2014 and never heard anything back from him, so I guess I'll start showcasing my insert cards. This one is thus the one that will count for my Sens Numbers Project.

Calvin Pickard Autograph Card

This is probably the year where a ''goalie controversy'' emerges with the Colorado Avalanche, leading the team to shop Calvin Pickard next summer, when the market won't be as saturated as this year (I envision Dustin Tokarski to also be available and one of the Tampa Bay Lightning's goalies, while this year Cam Talbot, Eddie Lack, Robin Lehner, Jhonas Enroth, Michal Neuvirth, Anders Lindback, and Martin Jones were available via trade and Antti Niemi and Devan Dubnyk were set to become free agents).

For my money, Pickard's already better than some #1 goalies out there (San Jose Sharks, Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames), so the Avs were smart not to attempt to trade him in a buyer's market and instead wait until they've got the upper hand.

The third goalie chosen at the 2010 draft, he's already surpassed Jack Campbell and Mark Visentin in his draft class, as well as the Avs' official backup Reto Berra last season, head coach Patrick Roy preferring to send in freshly-recalled Pickard instead of his official backup whenever Semyon Varlamov was feeling under the weather. he's also surpassed his older brother Chet Pickard, a former Nashville Predators first round pick now playing in Denmark.

The Avs will hold on to Varlamov for the next decade, seeing as he's a proven commodity - an Olympian and Vezina nominee - but if I had a billion dollars to buy an NHL team, I would be very comfortable selecting Pickard and Tokarski as my goalies.

I met Pickard last year when he played in his first NHL start in Montréal, so look for another post whenever he makes the news again. For now, though, here's a 2013-14 Prizm card (#A-2P of the Dual Rookie Class sub-set, the silver version) by Panini, showing him in his awesome cat-like stance, wearing the Avs' burgundy (home) uniform:

It's signed on a sticker, in thin blue sharpie.

Mark Barberio Autograph Card

It looks like Montrealer Mark Barberio will draw out of the lineup for the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight against the New York Rangers, as Matt Carle is expected to return to action.

Barberio, despite finishing with a -1 and having made a mistake on a Rick Nash goal (which makes him the 387th to do so, considering Nash's regular-season and playoff totals), was by no means responsible for that goal (Cédric Paquette was in position to repair the error), and certainly not for the Bolts losing that game, which the Rangers won 5-1.

An offensive defenseman in the same vein as Nathan Beaulieu, Barberio dominated in the LHJMQ with the Moncton Wildcats, and did the same at the AHL level, winning the Eddie Shore Award as the league's best defenseman one year, making the end-of-season Second All-Star Team the next, both times reaching the Calder Cup Finals (and winning it the first time).

Like Beaulieu, he just needs to translate that play to the NHL, which is hard to do without top-4 minutes. He's done everything that was asked of him, and I'd say he's improved his defensive play by at least 200% in the past two years, and in that regard he might benefit from the teachings of a Victor Hedman.

Even the analytics ''support'' his case:

Just 5.90% of Tampa Bay's shots at 5v5 became goals when Barberio was on the ice, even though the team shot over 9% on the year, an enormous difference. Barberio's presence on the ice didn't come with a significant dip in scoring chances, either; the team had 30.45 chances per 60 minutes with Barberio on, about the same amount as with both Steven Stamkos and (Hedman). So Barberio helped move things in the right direction, helped get the team in position to score, and yet, for some reason, score they did not.

Couple that fact with below average goaltending behind him (Tampa Bay goalies stopped 91.74% of 5v5 shots with Barberio on compared to 91.98% overall) and you have a recipe for Mark Barberio's season; quietly effective but seemingly invisible due to lack of scoring, and scapegoated at times due to the play in net behind him. Every guy on Tampa Bay's blue line makes mistakes with the puck; Barberio's just ended up in the net more often than not through no fault of his own.

Although, honestly, a lot of that is a crock of bull. If you're going as far as to analyze how many shots per second occur when one player's on the ice, ''puck luck'' should not factor in, and numbers like ''Tampa has a worse shooting percentage when he's on the ice'' should be looked into more closely to see if that's because the rest of the players are fourth-liners or if he really does factor in the number.

He should be developed as if he were a first-unit defender, to at least be shaped into a second-unit defenseman (and, let's be honest, Hedman's on the left side of Tampa's defense for another decade as the #1 guy). But second-unit time requires he play with first- or second-liners in front of him, not checkers and ''role players'' who can't finish his plays.

He's proven all he needed to at the AHL level, and he's good enough to be on any team's regular six-man unit, save perhaps the Rangers'. The question is just whether it'll be on Tampa's.

And so, here he is rocking the Lightning's blue (home) jersey, from Panini's 2013-14 Rookie Update set, and Prizm sub-set:

It's card #389, with a blue-sharpied on-sticker autograph, part of the Dual Rookie Class and of the ''Cracked Ice'' variety that Panini inserted in Rookie Update boxes that encompassed the ''missing'' cards from all of its other lower-end and mid-range products (Prizm being particularly devoid of rookies), in addition to a stand-alone base set. Boxes of 50 cards sold (and still sell) for roughly $75, which is a decent deal.

Greg Pateryn Autograph Card

I mentioned (twice) last week that Greg Pateryn was in the mix for the Montréal Canadiens' 6th and 7th defenseman spots... well the Habs sent him to their AHL affiliate Hamilton Bulldogs yesterday. Whereas last year, the team lacked right-handed shots on defense, it's the polar opposite this season, what with P.K. Subban, Tom Gilbert and Mike Weaver nearly guaranteed spots on the right side to begin the year.

With his steady play in both the AHL the past few years and every time he was called up, as well as in this current pre-season, Pateryn has all but been assured he will be the first blue-liner to get a call back up should the need arise.

I intended to write him last year but didn't; surely I will this season. He barely turned 24, he should be able to stick in the NHL for a decade or so of good, quiet, steady play. At 6'3'' and 220 pounds, he's strong and physical, and positions himself well. On an off night, though, because he plays a low-key game and stays on the back end, he can look pretty bad - luckily those don't occur very often.

And so, the former Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick (128th overall in 2008) and University Of Michigan Wolverines alternate captain takes his rightful place, wearing #64 in my Habs Numbers Project, with this 2013-14 Prizm card, #359 of the set by Panini, his Rookie Card (part of last year's Dual Rookie Class):

It's a beautiful, black-foil card, with a blue-sharpied on-sticker autograph; the picture is overly photoshopped, but the silver lining on the contours and the seams of the jersey look terrific.

Taylor Fedun Autograph Card

I was a tad disappointed when the Edmonton Oilers didn't tend Taylor Fedun a qualifying offer this summer, sending him off to free agency, as I'm a fan of players playing for their hometown teams - they help the team's staff instill what the franchise is about to newcomers from a fan's perspective, and generally hate not making the playoffs and having to face questions as to why all summer long.

Ultimately, Fedun didn't last long on the market, as the San Jose Sharks signed him on the second day of free agency.

He had impressed the Oilers enough to invite him to their rookie camp as an undrafted prospect in 2011, and he played his way onto an entry-level contract in pre-season games. However, he was tripped by the Minnesota Wild's Eric Nystrom as both were racing for an icing and broke his femur, leading directly to the rule change still effective today, but made him miss the entirety of the 2011-12 season.

He then spent most of the next two seasons with the Oilers' AHL affiliate Oklahoma City Barons, with seasons of 27 and 37 points from the point. He did play 4 games with Edmonton, scoring two goals; he scored his first one in his first game, on home ice.

I didn't see him play in the AHL, so I don't know if his injury impeded his movements, slowed him down, or if he's healed; however, you'd think the Sharks, who just got rid of Dan Boyle and Brad Stuart, were confident he could step up to at least a #4-6 roster spot to sign him that early on.

I don't know what number Fedun will wear in San Jose, but this card of him wearing #91 fits really well in my Oilers Numbers Project; it's from Panini's beautiful-once-you-get-used-to-it 2013-14 Prizm set, and is card #347 in the collection, part of its Dual Rookie Class:

Yes, it's completely made up of crazy foil, and I love the effect of the signature/sticker area, giving it a stained glass effect. In person, the blue-sharpied autograph is much darker, and the stained glass effect less obvious.