Seth Jones Jersey Card

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Only weeks after Seth Jones let the Columbus Blue Jackets know that he wouldn't re-sign with them past this next season, the team found a taker for his services in the form of the Chicago Blackhawks, who are making a push for the playoffs for the 2021-22 season. The Hawks have also seemigly re-signed him for $9.5M per season (edit: confirmed, $76M over 8 seasons), hoping they get the Norris Trophy contender from 2019 instead of the sub-par performer from this past season - and I think they did.

Usually, defensemen already have hardware on their mantle before they start earning upwards of $100K per game, but this offseason is special, with the Seattle Kraken expansion draft and most GMs having prepared for it by having little over the minimum number of players to protect under contract and preferring to push their re-signings to between the amateur draft and the start of free agency; those that didn't traded away fairly big names (such as Ryan Ellis), at times for a decent return, but sometimes for literally nothing. I believe the top tier defensemen will all sign around $8-9M, one of them might fall to half that, which is where the good shut-down defenders will also range, and there will be an awful lot of $1M deals with lower-tier guys and veterans aiming for that elusive Stanley Cup betting on themselves on a short contract. That's what a flat-cap world mixed with a lot of buyouts coupled with players not getting qualified will do - it creates a perceived elite class, the middle ground disappears and those who wait too long end up on bad teams or with bad deals out of sheer lack of cap space.

Jones comes in as a household name to replace the departed Duncan Keith, who was 11 years older. The Hawks now have cost certainty for that top spot on D until he turns 35, which is when defensemen start regressing - a perfect time for a contract of this magnitude to end; perhaps the salary cap will even have increased a bit starting in the middle of the deal. Chicago will also be able to build around him, using players that will complement his skills for the duration of his prime, and their cap situation is clear (and healthy) after the Keith trade and Brent Seabrook's cap hit on Long Term Injured Reserve.

Here he is as a rookie, freshly drafted by the Nashville Predators - fourth overall, behind Nathan MacKinnon, Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Drouin - and wearing their terrible white (away) Reebok uniform on card #RM-SJ from Upper Deck's 2013-14 Series 2 collection and Rookie Materials sub-set:

It features a blue jersey swatch from a rookie photo shoot.

Samuel Morin Jersey Card

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Seven and a half years after getting drafted 11th overall by the Philadelphia Flyers (2013), Samuel Morin finally scored his first NHL goal, although to be fair it was in just his 14th NHL game, as his career had been derailed by serious injuries. He had never suited up for more than 17 games in a single season - all levels combined - since appearing in 75 (74 of them with the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms) in 2016-17.

Two consecutive ACL tears in the same knee in a 19-month span and a number of other injuries caused him to be limited to 20 games in 2017-18, 7 in 2018-19 and 4 in 2019-20, and in order to have him dress at the NHL level, Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault even tried Morin at left wing earlier this season, before the team's record and depth injury status had the organization review its plan.

Morin's goal was the game-winner, ending a four-game losing streak.

Here is the 6'6", 200-pound gentle giant wearing the Flyers' current/classic orange uniform, on card #RM-SM from Upper Deck's 2017-18 Series 2 collection and Rookie Materials sub-set:

It features a rather large jersey swatch that probably comes from a photo shoot, with a small black thread at the bottom.

Panthers Preview: Noah Juulsen Jersey Card

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This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: 2020 is a different beast and requires adaptability; in my case, it means the joint posts with my "main/personal" blog will not be in the "player here/analysis there" format but rather the entire scope of the analysis will take place here and the player will have some sort of direct connection to what's written. Caveats: at this point, despite the season being set to start in Mid-January, several impact players haven't found a team yet and quite a few teams are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much maneuvering left to do.

New GM Bill Zito will get a chance to put his stamp on this roster with new Scouting Director Shane Churla, but make no mistake: this roster built by Dale Tallon will the the second one after the 2009-10 Chicago Blackhawks that head coach Joel Quenneville will lead to Stanley Cup contention for another man.

What makes their odds look good:
The lineup that Tallon was able to put together that makes up this core is solid: captain Aleksander Barkov is one of the premier two-way #1 centers in the NHL and his linemate Jonathan Huberdeau is one of the most underrated forwards in the game; both have surpassed the 90-point mark in this scoring-depleted era; Aaron Ekblad is becoming the elite defender Tallon thought he would be; bad season or not (and it was bad), Sergei Bobrovsky remains the only active two-time Vezina winner and now knows what he has in front of him (and has François Allaire and Roberto Luongo to help fix his game); and there is good, young talent on the depth chart in Owen Tippett, Anton Lundell and Grigori Denisenko up-front, and Spencer Knight is one of the most highly-touted goaltending prospects in the world. All of that talent is not just "very good" but "elite".

Question marks:
Was Bob's season a one-off or the start of a decline? How quickly will Keith Yandle's own decline happen and will it force the team to buy out his contract? Who will back Bob up, Chris Driedger or Samuel Montembeault, and is either one ready to play at least once per week in this condensed schedule?

Outlook:
I've been on the Panthers train for years and like a bad gambler, I'm still looking at those pieces and feeling confident they can pull it together, and I like the gambles on young once-promising prospects Gustav Forsling (24, acquired on the waiver wire yesterday) and Noah Juulsen (23, acquired earlier today via waivers).

Prediction:
Fourth in the Central Division.

Yes, fourth, which is as much an indictment of the Nashville Predators' lack of offense and of the Minnesota Wild's unconvincing rebuild as a testament to the Panthers' (slow and) steady march towards respectability.

Which brings me to Juulsen, a late first-round pick (26th overall in 2015) by the Montréal Canadiens, following a near point-per-game season as a defenseman with the WHL's Everett Silvertips.

Juulsen is not the fastest skater by any means, but he gets where he needs to be in respectable time, is rarely out of a play or out of positiion and is willing to take a hit to make a play that he sees possible. He's very cerebral, a skill that tends to gain value for defensemen between the ages of 25 and 33 but that may show him a tenth of a second late in extreme-pressure situations before that - such as manning the point on the power play and keeping the puck in the zone against two opponents at once. His patience with the puck is appreciated, however.

For now, even though he played his first games as a 20-year-old, he's been hampered by vision and concussion issues from two seperate hits to the head (including a puck to the face) in the same game, so while he still holds first-round pedigree and youth, the focus should be in allowing him to feel comfortable enough to play in a highly-competitive environment again, something that would perhaps be better to learn in the AHL - still a development league, after all - than in the NHL, where some mercenaries play mean.

Here he is sporting the Habs' red (home) uniform on card #RM-J from Upper Deck's 2018-19 Series 2 collection and Rookie Materials sub-set:

It features a matching jersey swatch that the back of the card says "has been certified to The Upper Deck Company as having been worn by the featured player". I wonder how many lawyers were required to write and review that sentence.

Internationally, Juulsen has a silver medal with Team Canada from the World Juniors.

Malcolm Subban Jersey Card

He turned 26 years old in December and yet Malcolm Subban - a 2012 first-round pick by the Boston Bruins, 24th overall - is already with his third NHL team after the Vegas Golden Knights traded him, a draft pick and a prospect to the Chicago Blackhawks for Robin Lehner.

Neither Gerard Gallant nor Peter DeBoer have been able to trust him enough to give him games unless Marc-André Fleury fell to injury, and I guess that's what you get when your career save percentage is at .899 and this season's stands at .890, but he was at .910 and still only saw 22 games in 2017-18, when the G-Knights went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season.

The Hawks' situation in net is somewhat puzzling with Corey Crawford's concussion issues these past three seasons and Subban not yet rising up to the challenge, but I'm certain GM Stan Bowman has a plan that's more fleshed out than just hoping P.K.'s younger brother reaches the same level as his draft classmates Connor Hellebuyck (130th overall, Vezina finalist), Andrei Vasilevskiy (19th, Vezina winner), Frederik Andersen (87th, fan favourite in Toronto), Matt Murray (83rd, two-time Cup winner), Joonas Korpisalo (62nd, having a breakout season with the Columbus Blue Jackets) and Linus Ullmark (163rd, doing the same in Buffalo).

Here he is wearing the Bruins' third jersey - with matching swatch from a photo shoot - on card #RM-SU from Upper Deck's 2015-16 Series 2 collection and Rookie Materials sub-set:

Internationally, Malcolm has suited up for Team Canada at the 2014 World Juniors, finishing in fourth place.

Jonny Brodzinski Jersey Card

You may recall this Jonny Brodzinski jersey card from a box break last year:

It's #RM-JB from Upper Deck's 2017-18 Series 2 collection and Rookie Materials sub-set, showing him wearing the Los Angeles Kings' black (home) uniform, with a matching "player-worn memorabilia", without specification if it's at the draft, during practice, a game or a photo shoot. Or just in the press box while watching other Kings players practice.

Upon signing him to a one-year deal with the San Jose Sharks on July 2nd, GM Doug Wilson had this to say:

Brodzinski has an excellent combination of power and scoring skill-set. He had a great collegiate career at St. Cloud State and has continued that success at the professional level. We feel there’s a good opportunity for him to earn playing time and help us offensively this upcoming season.

His father Mike and uncle Steve as well as second-youngest brother Easton are all products of St. Cloud State, while his two middle brothers Michael (a Sharks draft pick) and youngest brother Bryce opted for the University of Minnesota.

I want to disagree with Wilson's rose-coloured glasses assessment of Brodzinski, however, as he was barely a point-per-game forward in College, never actually got there at the AHL level but did get close once with the Ontario Reign and has yet to translate any of that to the NHL level, although to be fair, he was mostly asked to play a fourth-line role with the Kings.

I see his upside as a third-line winger more than a centre, if he can translate some of that offensive skill by playing with more talented players than your average fourth-liner. But let's keep in mind he's a fifth-round pick who is already 26 years old. He needs to grab the bull by the horns if he doesn't want to remain a 'tweener alternating between the NHL and AHL.

I'd love to see all four brothers on the ice at once, though, so perhaps there's a chance with the San Jose Barracuda.

Mikko Rantanen Jersey Card

(As per years past, this is a twin-post with my "regular" blog, where I predicted the Colorado Avalanche would finish second in the Central Division in 2019-20).

Mikko Rantanen has signed a six-year deal worth $9.25M per season to remain with the Colorado Avalanche - and on Nathan McKinnon's wing. With captain Gabriel Landeskog, they are probably the best three-man line in hockey.

Rantanen is entering his age 23 season - a couple of years yet until his "true prime" kicks in - and already has two 80-point seasons under his belt, and having improved on his goals totals every single season he's been in the NHL, going from 20 to 29 to 31.

He may start off a little bit slower for having missed the entire training camp, but by mid-October, he should be off and running again, especially when playing alongside the most valuable player in the league in MacKinnon, not just for what he brings to his team, but also for his now-below market $6.75M per year.

You might think Rantanen's just lucky to be there, a skilled playmaker playing alongside a superstar - and you may be correct for the moment, as his shot isn't yet hard enough to warrant a 30-goal production on his own - but do not sleep on the fact that he's a 6'4", 215-pound young adult who currently plays with grace. If he ever gets tired of playing nice and starts using that body like a power forward, you might start seeing some Eric Lindros-level physical dominance and it might be MacKinnon who starts riding his larger teammates' coattails.

In any event, the Avs are blessed by the fact that they can suit both up every game; it gives them instantaneous credibility and respect, and the status of an elite team.

Here is the young forward sporting the Avs' piping-heavy burgundy (home) uniform from the Reebok Edge days, on card #RM-MR from Upper Deck's 2015-16 Series 2 collection and Rookie Materials sub-set:

It features a matching event-worn (photo shoot) jersey swatch. I traded for it last season, helping a fellow collector finish his set with missing rookie cards in exchange for a jersey card of a player I try to draft in all of my hockey pools.

J.T. Compher Jersey Card

Some of the RFA deals this summer have been reasonable, a few have been head-scratchers in terms of why they're just a tad too high, and pundits still expect those that are left to break the bank.

J.T. Compher falls in the second category now that the Colorado Avalanche have signed him to a four-year extension worth $14M in total, or $3.5M per season against the salary cap.

Avs GM Joe Sakic mentions:

J.T. has been one of our most versatile forwards over the past two years. He plays on our power play, kills penalties and has played up and down our lineup. He has scored some big goals late in games and we are counting on him to have an even more expanded role moving forward. We are excited to have him under contract for the next four seasons.

Some things are definitely true in there: Compher has, indeed, completed his second full NHL season, his third straight year in the NHL (he only suited up for 21 games in 2016-17). And he did spend 1:53 of every game killing penalties, and 3:07 on the powerplay (on a team that boasted offensive talent like Mikko Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Tyson Barrie), and still only finished with 16 goals, 16 assists and 32 points in 66 games in 2018-19. Not on the powerplay... in total.

Granted, the 2013 second-rounder is just 24 years old, but seven players in his draft year already have 200 career points (one of them, Seth Jones, is a defenseman) while Compher has 60. But he did beat out Alex Kerfoot for the third-line centre job in Colorado, so there's that.

It's just that his output, at best, warranted a $2.5M cap hit - even if only on a two- or three-year bridge deal - not nearly double that. In terms of comparables, two players signed around roughly the same time as him: Kasperi Kapanen (23 years old) and Andreas Johnsson (24) with the Toronto Maple Leafs; Kapanen had 20 goals and 44 points last year and signed for $3.2M for three years, and Johnsson had 20 goals and 43 points, signing at $3.4M for four years. Better production, lower cap hits, in a city where they pay 10% more taxes.

Here he is sporting the Avs' white (away) uniform, on card #RM-JC from Upper Deck's 2017-18 Series 2 set and Rookie Materials sub-set:

It features a burgundy jersey swatch with unclear origins if you are just going by the back of the card:

We now know these as "event-worn", but sometimes UD uses vague language to try to trick collectors into thinking they've got something more special than it actually is.

2017-18 Upper Deck Hockey Series 2 Box Break

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Time for a second-straight box break, yesterday's twin in a way, for Upper Deck's 2017-18 Series 2:

Ah, Connor McDavid! I already know I'm in for a better treat than with Series 1!

The first clue to that is that the box is shock-full of Vegas Golden Knights and has players in their new uniforms (too bad Jaromir Jagr didn't last the year with the Calgary Flames):

I thought I could show some nice horizontal base cards as well:

The O-Pee-Chee glossy rookies (in their own special pack) were a treat, and I got a nice selection with Alex DeBrincat, Brock Boeser and Clayton Keller:

And while I could have done away with actual O-Pee-Chee Marquee Rookies in a box of another product, I did land Oscar Fantenberg and Jan Rutta in the regular-issue versions:

And I'll try to get the variant of Christian Jaros signed next year to add to my Sens Numbers Project:

I also got a Young Guns card of Alex Iafallo:

And I was most surprised to fall onto a Rookie Materials insert of Jonny Brodzinski:

And those weren't the only rookies, either, as I fell upon Alex DeBrincat and Ivan Barbashev in the UD Portraits inserts as well:

I also got a pair of veterans in the UD Canvas sub-sets, Johnny Oduya and the long-retired Ed Olczyk, seen here messing around Rick Wamsley's net:

Maybe I was luckier with my pulls, or maybe it's just a much better set, but this one's a pretty big upgrade from Series 1.

I give it a solid 8/10.

Erik Gudbranson Jersey Card

Honestly, I don't know what the hell is wrong with the Florida Panthers. Now that GM Dale Tallon has built a successful team, he's promoted so that someone else can either reap the spoils or rip the team to shreds... which is seemingly what is happening, particularly in light of how they traded dependable defenseman Erik Gudbranson to the Vancouver Canucks for an underachieving rookie (Jarred McCann) and an exchange of draft picks... just days after firing their scouting director - you know, the one guy who's seen all the prospects play in their draft year.

And the shake-up continued as some trainers left, and assistant coach - and former Stanley Cup-winning NHLer - John Madden and director of hockey operations Mike Dixon were also shown the door.

And they've now unveiled new uniforms - the home one looking like a Stadium Series jersey, the away (white) one just looking ridiculous and unprofessional. I wanted to say KHL-like, but no, the KHL has some really nice ones (start from the middle of the page for the nicer ones).

I was really getting into them, and now they're seemingly tearing it all apart.

The Gudbranson trade really baffles me, especially after they'd just signed him to a one-year deal and called him "captain material".

Here he is on card #RM-EG from Upper Deck's 2011-12 SPX set (and Rookie Materials sub-set), featuring a black photo shoot-worn jersey swatch:

It shows him wearing the Cats' former (and better) white (away) uniform.

Corban Knight Jersey Card

Corban Knight was drafted by the Florida Panthers with the 135th pick of the 2009 session, but didn't sign with the team, eventually signing with his hometown Calgary Flames, who employ his father as chaplain, as do the CFL's Calgary Stampeders. (Officially, it was a trade, but that's the gist of it anyway, everyone knew he wanted to play in Calgary and the Panthers recouped a fourth-rounder for their troubles).

Except Knight was mostly an AHLer in his time in Calgary, only appearing in 9 games at the NHL level, with a single goal to show for it; however, Panthers GM Dale Tallon wanted him enough to offer Calgary Drew Shore (the 44th overall pick of 2009) in exchange for the young Knight, who dressed for the team's record 12 straight wins earlier this year.

It sure seems like he's got a future in Florida.

He had a terrific season in the AHL last year, with 8 goals and 12 points in 22 games with the Abbotsford Heat and another 8 goals and 24 points in 36 games with the San Antonio Rampage; this season, he had 7 points in 30 games with the Panthers, and 3 points in 15 games with the Portland Pirates, but that's factoring in a serious injury.

At 25, he looks like he can be a full-time NHLer for the near future.

This is what he looked like wearing the Flames' current alternate uniform:

It's card #RPM-CK from Upper Deck's 2014-15 SPX set and Rookie Inaugural Materials sub-set, which includes an enclosed rookie photo shoot-worn piece of red jersey.

Sean Monahan Jersey Card

How does one follow up a 22-goal rookie season that ends with some Calder Trophy consideration? With a 31-goal, 62-point year ending fifth in Lady Byng and 20th in Selke voting, of course, leading the Calgary Flames to their first playoff series win in 11 years. If one is Sean Monahan, of course.

The sixth-overall pick of the 2013 draft (behind Nathan MacKinnon, Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Drouin, Seth Jones, and Elias Lindholm), Monahan has helped bring the Flames back to respectability, but unlike captain Mark Giordano who is already in his 30s, will now be tasked to continue and hold the mantle for the foreseeable future.

Offensively, the Flames are counting on Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau, Mikael Backlund, Sam Bennett and Max Reinhart to be at the center of their resurgence.

Because of how tight the league is, Calgary might miss the playoffs entirely in 2015-16, but I still feel they are an elite-level goaltender away from being perennial Stanley Cup contenders for a long while. I mean, I like Jonas Hiller, but his best years are probably past him and he'll probably end his career in Europe when his contract expires at the end of next year, and Joni Ortio may very well be the guy to take the Flames deep in a few years, but a top-level goalie right now would go a long way into putting them in the same conversation as the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings as the top teams to watch out for, ahead of the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Montréal Canadiens.

I've been following the Flames closely since the days of Jarome Iginla, and of their bruising-meets-speed style that Darryl Sutter instituted early in the new millennium;  I'm even more optimistic about where they're headed now than when they had the best goalie in the world - Miikka Kiprusoff - between the pipes.

Here's a card of Monahan's featuring a black event-worn jersey swatch from a photo shoot:

It's card #RM-SM from Upper Deck's 2013-14 SPX set, and is part of the Rookie Materials sub-set; it shows him wearing the Flames' red (home) uniform.

Tyler Toffoli Jersey Card

The Los Angeles Kings' star youngster Tyler Toffoli came back from a bout with mononucleosis last night with a 2-point performance against the Chicago Blackhawks. He was third on the Kings in goals when he got sick in early January, and got right back into the groove with the tying goal in a 4-3 win.

Toffoli, who wears uniform #73, came into prominence during last season's playoffs, as a member to That 70s Line with Jeff Carter (77) and Tanner Pearson (70), whom he is still paired with, but the Kings might want to return Toffoli back to his natural center position at some point to balance their offense out. Then again, maybe not. Stacking two lines with Anze Kopitar and Marian Gaborik on the other one is almost a fool-proof plan.

I don't know if the 47th player chosen in the 2010 draft will become a point-per-game player in the NHL, though he certainly was one in Juniors and in the AHL, but even that doesn't mean he can't be a consistent threat for 30-35 goals, perhaps with a peak over 40, which in itself would be terrific for the Kings, considering Carter is a former 50-goal scorer himself.

Here's a card from Upper Deck's 2013-14 SPx set (#RM-TT of the Rookie Materials sub-set), showing the 22-year-old with the Kings' black (home) uniform, with a purple swatch from a jersey worn in a rookie photo shoot:

It would have been nice of UD to have a swatch that fit the picture, but at least we're certain it's a Kings uniform he was wearing in the photo shoot...

Nail Yakupov Jersey Card

Nail Yakupov hasn't had it easy thus far in his NHL career. The pressure of being a first-overall pick in a Canadian hockey market on a lousy team were all losing predicaments, and I'm not certain even Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin or Evgeni Malkin could have saved the Edmonton Oilers at that point.

And yet he was tied for most points in his rookie season with the eventual Calder Trophy winner Jonathan Huberdeau.

But it's been a downward slide from there, statistically, and he's now with his third head coach in three NHL seasons (fourth if you count GM Craig MacTavish stepping behind the bench for a few games between Dallas Eakins' departure and Todd Nelson's actual arrival a few weeks ago).

He has exactly two and a half seasons of experience (well, considering his rookie campaign was a lockout-shortened season, maybe two full seasons would be more accurate), and yet Oilers fans have been clamoring for him to be traded for over a year. And some Montréal Canadiens fans would like to see him reunited with his OHL partner with the Sarnia Sting, Alex Galchenyuk, but I don't see it happening. Though I do have a strange feeling that Lars Eller will finish the season in Edmonton...

The question hockey fans should ask themselves before criticizing him is: Who is Nail Yakupov, as a hockey player?

His favourite player growing up was Pavel Bure, a flashy offensive player who passed the 50-goal mark five times, but was a minus-2 in his 59-goal season with the Florida Panthers in 2000-01. Yakupov isn't as fast as Bure, but he has the same type of flair for the net and good moves (as can be attested by his shootout goal against Roberto Luongo last night).

But like Bure (and Ovechkin in his early days), Yakupov has yet to learn the benefits of playing a sound defensive game to increase the likelihood of having more offensive chances. Keep in mind, he's barely 21 years old and won't turn 22 until next season (late October); some rookies don't make it to the NHL until well into their 20s, and he already has over 150 games of NHL experience.

Even if he turns out to be a Thomas Vanek-type of player who barely enters the defensive zone, there are ways to integrate the way he'd play the game in a system that would adapt, provided he's let loose to score his 40 goals and set up those of the linemates assigned to cover for him without the puck - the Oilers don't have the Daniel Brière/Jason Pominville/Zach Parise-type of player to make that work, though, for one, and at just 21, it's also a tad too early to give up on teaching him the fundamentals of defensive responsibility.

I'm just saying there are ways around his deficiencies if, by the time he's 25 or 26, he still hasn't rounded up his game.

Either way, the Oilers need to acknowledge that he, like Bure, is (potentially) a goal-scoring machine. He had his first hat trick in his first season, one at the U18 World Championships (in a winning cause agaisnt Team Canada), and has a 100% shootout rate.

He's not as complete as Galchenyuk in terms of two-way play and setting up teammates as well as completing their plays, but with a top-level setup man, chances are he'd be on the positive end in terms of goal differentials more often than not - something that hasn't happened too often in Edmonton, relegated to the Oilers' third line or even cut as a healthy scratch. I'm not saying I'm against ''tough love'', but if it doesn't work, perhaps it's time to try spending more face-to-face time actually teaching and demonstrating before another bout of watching the game from the press box.

So far, he just hasn't been put in a position to succeed. Then again, the Oilers can't pair him with his ideal partners, because they don't have them, but if he could play with a terrific setup man who plays a two-way game (a Patrice Bergeron type) and a brute who can protect his fragile frame and get the puck from the tough areas (say, a Milan Lucic type), he'd be an All-Star by now.

We'll see what happens. In the meantime, here he is wearing #64 (6+4=10, Bure's number and the one he's currently sporting) from his rookie season, with the Oilers' classic white uniform (though the swatch included is dark blue, like the Reebok Edge pajama-type uniforms from two lockouts ago):

It's card #RM-NY from Upper Deck's 2013-14 SPx set (part of the Rookie Materials sub-set, the swatch coming from a jersey he wore in a photo shoot).

Cory Conacher Jersey Card

I wrote about Cory Conacher having been a healthy scratch for the New York Islanders last month... well, he's now cleared waivers and is off the the AHL to play for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Sure it's a fall from grace of sorts, for someone who'd been an early front-runner for the Calder Trophy in his rookie season (though by the end he fell to 6th in voting), but at this point, the Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres and Islanders have all lost patience with him at the NHL level, so perhaps lighting up the AHL will be his way back to The Show, but to say his point production has taken a significant drop would be an understatement: after a rookie year in which he posted 11 goals and 29 points in 47 games, he fell to 7 goals and 26 points in 79 games last year, and had a measly 1 goal and 2 assists (3 points) in 15 games with the Isles this year, despite some playing time with John Tavares.

Conacher's just about two years removed from an 80-point season with the Norfolk Admirals, though, so perhaps that's just what the doctor ordered. Or maybe his skill level falls in the cracks between ''too good for the AHL'' and ''not quite NHL material''.

In any case, here's a Rookie Materials card of him with the Sens, #RM-CO of Upper Deck's 2013-14 Series 2 set:

It depicts him with the Senators' red (home) uniform, but has a swatch from a rookie photo shoot that is white, that could come from either that same uniform, or their white (away) one, or even that of the Tampa Bay Lightning, with whom he started his career before being sent to Ottawa.

Jacob Trouba Jersey Card

A cool thing about the midway point of a season in terms of card releases is to see rookies wearing a brand-new uniform, as was the case when I unwrapped this 2013-14 Series 2 Jacob Trouba Rookie Materials card from Upper Deck last season:

It shows him wearing the Winnipeg Jets' current white (away) uniform, with a black (or dark blue) swatch from a photo shoot, well placed below the action shot, in a very lively design.

Trouba was selected 9th overall in 2012, and at the time I didn't know who he was, because he'd mainly played with the U.S. Development Team, though the team had won two U-18 World Championship gold medals.

I saw a lot of him the following year, as Team USA won gold at the World Juniors and he was named the tournament's top defender, before also suiting up for the national team at the World Championships in the Spring, where he participated in winning bronze.

You never want to get carried away with young defensemen, but it seems like 2012 was a particularly stellar year for the position at the draft, with Ryan Murray leading the charge at second overall, followed by Griffin Reinhart (4th), Morgan Rielly (5th), Hampus Lindholm (6th), Mathew Dumba (7th), Derrick Pouliot (8th), Slater Koekkoek (10th), Cody Ceci (15th), Olli Maata (22nd), Mike Matheson (23rd), Dalton Thrower (51st), and Shayne Gostisbehere (78th) all within the first three rounds.

Trouba, a tall, skinny, quick skater who can throw some hits but might need to add 20 more pounds to his frame to survive a decade of the contacts he initiates, had 10 goals, 19 assists, 29 points and was a +4 on a very poor Jets team in his rookie season last year, in just 65 games. This year, he has 12 points and is a +6 through 29 games, showing no signs of slumping. Granted, three of those points came in just one game against the Edmonton Oilers last week, but he still put them up on the board.

He, Tobias Enstrom, Dustin Byflugien, and Zach Bogosian make for a very interesting top-4 on defense, definitely one of the strongest such units in the Eastern Conference.

Alex Chiasson Jersey Card

Arguably the trade that sparked the rest of the summer's movements, the one that sent Jason Spezza to the Dallas Stars and Alex Chiasson and two prospects to the Ottawa Senators changed the dynamic of two divisions. Dallas now has a top-six that rivals that of the Chicago Blackhawks, Los Angeles Kings, Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild, perhaps with even more raw talent; the Sens are now in the late stages of their rebuild and ready to climb in the standings, steady in front of the net, with a fine top-3 on defense, and a force on the wings - they might need to solidify their #2 and #3 center positions to rival the Montréal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins in the Atlantic division, though.

I love what Chiasson brings to the Sens - at 6'3'', working on his already-acceptable foot speed, gifted and gritty, he will take a lot of pressure off Bobby Ryan and may become Ottawa's version of Milan Lucic, except with a brain. Hockey's Future even goes as far as saying:

Potential top-six playmaking winger, like a more talented version of Blake Wheeler.

That may be laying it on a bit thick, in my opinion, which you can read in my recent post about Wheeler here. But the fact remains that Chiasson has dominated at every level before the NHL, from Midget AAA to the USHL to the NCAA (Boston University Terriers), and showed All-Star form in his rookie season with the AHL's Texas Stars before getting called up to the NHL and never looking back in 2012-13.

He will be wearing #90 with the Sens, seeing as Milan Michalek already wears #9. I expect him to score 20 goals with some 60 points per year for a decade, and peak around 30 goals and 75 points in maybe three years, hitting one of those numbers 3 or 4 times (he is a better playmaker than shooter at this point, but with his frame, may end up with a dozen powerplay goals a year, which would add to his totals in that category).

And so I was already a fan prior to the trade, which means I was thrilled when this card came out of a pack of Upper Deck's 2013-14 Series 2 cards - it's #RM-AC of the Rookie Materials sub-set, featuring a black swatch from an event-worn jersey. It depicts him with the Stars' white (away) uniform, perhaps the best-looking one since the team moved from Minnesota:

Alec Martinez (Rookie) Swatch Card

It has been said long and wide that Wayne Gretzky's trade to the Los Angeles Kings going into the 1990s changed the face of hockey, not just in the NHL but throughout the United States, and while Sports Illustrated still describes it as a ''fringe sport'', the fact that teams in the South can now dress local players is a huge step in the right direction.

One such player is the Kings' Alec Martinez, who spent his early years playing his minor hockey in Northern California, so when the Kings made him the 95th pick of the 2007 draft after playing for the Miami University RedHawks, he became a local prospect. Having been born in Michigan, the Detroit Red Wings could also have made him a hometown hero, though they've been quite successful drafting Swedes that I understand why they would have passed him over.

Still, Martinez is now a regular on the Kings with a Stanley Cup under his belt and, at age 26, is about to enter the prime of his career. His first career goal was scored against the Montréal Canadiens' Carey Price at the Bell Centre in 2010.

I got this card of his - featuring a black, event-worn (photo shoot) swatch - in a pack of Upper Deck's 2009-10 Series 2 (it's card #RM-AM of the Rookie Materials sub-set):

Jonathan Bernier Swatch Card

Jonathan Bernier kind of requested a trade last summer, when the Los Angeles Kings signed Jonathan Quick to a long-term contract pretty much ensuring he would be a second-stringer if he remained in L.A. He did retract himself when the season started, though, but not before winning the Spengler Cup with a stacked Team Canada in Switzerland during the lock-out and demonstrating he can, indeed, tend the nets on a daily basis in the NHL.

He has had a lot of success at lower levels: he was the LHJMQ playoff MVP in 2007, was drafted in the first round (11th overall) in 2006, played in the AHL All Star Game, and won the AHL best goalie award, the Baz Bastien trophy.

He shows a lot of promise, but has yet to impose himself as the go-to guy in the big show. Unfortunately for him, 50 goalies are drafted each year by NHL teams, from 30-some different leagues, and there are only 30 starters in the NHL... time is inevitably running out. He could end up having a career similar to that of Martin Biron, which is very respectable, just not star(ter) material.

This photo shoot-worn black swatch comes from Upper Deck's 2007-08 Series 2 set (card #RM-JB, part of the Rookie Materials sub-set). I almost always like the Kings' uniforms, and this one was pretty cool.

Guillaume Latendresse Jersey Card

Speaking of the Minnesota Wild's potential for offensive power, here's ''slow-footed'' powerforward Guillaume Latendresse, who started putting pucks in the net on a regular basis when he was traded by the Montréal Canadiens for Benoît Pouliot. 25 goals in a little more than 50 games.

This gave ample ammunition to those who kept requesting he be put on the Habs' top two lines, but Habs brass didn't think he was quick enough to warrant playing there, despite having had some level of success, playing with Saku Koivu while Chris Higgins was injured.

In any event, the big question now is whether he'll be able to repeat last year's performance and - by playing all 82 games - crack the 30-goal mark for the first time in his young career. He has the skill set to do so - terrific hands and an affinity to know where the net is. He just needs to play in a system where he isn't required to be the first man back in his own zone, and it seems he's found it in Minnesota.

This card (#RM-GL) is from Upper Deck's 2006-07 Series 2 set, and features a piece of white jersey that was used in a photo shoot, because by the time it was required for the cards to hit the streets, 'Tender' hadn't played a game yet, thus this being his 'Rookie Jersey' card, from the Rookie Materials sub-set.

Yan Stastny Rookie Jersey Card

Lost in the Trade Deadline shuffle was the news that Yan Stastny (Peter's older son, Paul's brother) was sent back to Canada...

Drafted by the Boston Bruins, he played his first NHL game with the Edmonton Oilers before being sent back to the Bruins with Marty Reasoner and a draft pick that became Milan Lucic, for Sergei Samsonov, a steal if I've ever seen one. Then he was sent to the city where he grew up, as the St. Louis Blues gave up a 5th-round pick to get him in 2007, and he was sent to the Vancouver Canucks (who immediately sent him to their AHL affiliate Manitoba Moose) a week ago.

Born in Québec, raised in St. Louis and of Slovakian descent, Yan (and Paul) could have played for either of those countries, but both chose to represent the U.S. in international competition - Paul at the 2010 Vancouver Games, Yan at the 2005 World Championships. In doing so, the Stastnys became the first family ever to suit up for four different countries in international play - Peter had played for Czechoslovakia, Canada (as a naturalized citizen for the 1984 Canada Cup) and Slovakia.

Not quite the offenive threat his father, brother and uncles (Marian and Anton) were, Yan can be counted on for a point every two games at the AHL level, statistics that should, eventually, be enough to grant him access to the NHL again in the future, as a third-or-fourth liner making the NHL minimum wage.

This card (#RM-YS), from the Rookie Materials insert sub-set of Upper Deck's 2006-07 Series 2 set, features a white piece of a Bruins jersey that was worn in a photo shoot and appears on the front through an R-shaped gap, and twice bears the mark of being 'Authentic'... it is considered a ''common'' rookie jersey card, seeing as Yan is nowhere near a star NHLer, but for a Nordiques fan like I who was a huge Peter fanatic (until 1989, he and Gretzky were my two favourite players), having a piece of memorabilia from his professional hockey-playing son is still something special.

The Habs should go get this guy, bring him back home.