Ryan Smyth Jersey Card

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At this point, most readers are aware that Ryan Smyth was one of my favourite players of his generation; he kept the Edmonton Oilers' flame lit for his entire tenure (1994-2007, 2011-14), in addition to posting decent numbers with the New York Islanders, Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings - though he was clearly not an ideal fit on the latter two, despite what the numbers say.

However, last night, he suffered an injury when he received an elbow to the head right after scoring a goal in the Chinook Hockey League final, as his Stony Plain Eagles are facing the Lacombe Generals for the right to represent Alberta in the Allan Cup championship, the Stanley Cup of senior-league hockey.

The Hockey News went so far as to suggest his assailant, Kyle Sheen, is a goon - not just an enforcer, but a brute and thug - who shouldn't even be on the same sheet of ice as Smyth. The video in their opinion piece does, indeed, seem to confirm just that.

Smyth isn't just the Eagles' captain or an Oiler alumnus; he's Captain Canada, for fuck's sake. Every single year his NHL teams failed to make the playoffs despite his giving every ounce of energy to attain that goal, he answered Team Canada's call for the World Championships and proudly wore the "C" atop the maple leaf, usually on his way to a gold medal.

The way Canada usually convinces young players (say a Matt Duchene, Jordan Eberle, Aaron Ekblad or Ryan O'Reilly) to join those teams after disappointing seasons is with a bit of a bribe: "come play with us, join the Hockey Canada Rolodex, and maybe we'll call on you later, such as the Olympics or something".

They didn't have to go through such lengths with Smyth, who knew he'd be passed over for the more marquee events because Canada would rather have the star power of a center such as Jeff Carter or Claude Giroux playing wing than a guy willing to get injured on the ice to prevent or even score a goal; no, Smyth just goes because of his commitment to his country and his love for the game.

The same love of the game that got him playing in a senior league at age 41, three years after having retired from the rigors of the NHL, because he couldn't not play.

Here he is wearing the Oilers' white (then-home) turn-of-the-millennium uniform with the "Oil Driller" shoulder patches and the alternate captain's "A", on card #FF-RS from Upper Deck's 2005-06 Ice set and Frozen Fabrics sub-set:

It features a matching game-worn jersey swatch.

Ryan Smyth: 4 Autographed Cards

I wrote to Ryan Smyth when he announced his retirement during the 2013-14 season, adding four cards I'd hoped he'd sign for me to the package; I received all of them back today, signed in black sharpie, with his usual unique handwriting on them.

Smyth may be nicknamed Captain Canada for having, well, captained Team Canada a record six times at World Championships and for being the only player ever to lead the team to gold at all major events - Olympics (2002), World Championships (2003 and 2004), World Cup (2004), World Juniors (1995) and Spengler Cup (2012) - but he is also recognized as one of the three penultimate Edmonton Oilers, with Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier.

He finished his storied NHL career with 386 goals, 456 assists and 842 total points in 1270 regular-season NHL games, and another 28 goals, 31 assists and 59 points in 93 playoff games, but his contributions were always about more than mere numbers anyway. He was often the hardest-working man on the ice - nay, in the league.

His leading by example and leaving everything on the ice at every game led to his wearing an "A" on his jersey for most of his career, as can be attested on the following three cards of him with the Oilers, all from Upper Deck and all showing him wearing he team's white (home) uniform from the turn of the millennium:

On top is card #82 from Fleer's 2005-06 Fleer Ultra set, where he is fighting for position with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks' Niclas Havelid; the card in the middle sees him forechecking, with Ales Hemsky holding the middle behind him, on card #319 from UD's 2005-06 Series 2 collection; and the card at the bottom is from the beautiful 2006-07 SPX set.

I also included a card of his with the Colorado Avalanche, #70 in the 2007-08 SP Authentic set, showing him wearing the team's pretty awful burgundy Reebok Edge jersey:

I did so to commemorate that magical week he had upon signing with the Avs as a free agent where he put together a string of three consecutive three-point games between December 1st and 9th, 2007.

He had just come off of two straight 36-goal seasons, and the Avs were hoping he could delay the mid-thirties decline most power forwards go through, and he almost did, flirting with the point-per-game average in Denver but with injuries starting to take their toll.

The Avs traded him to the Los Angeles Kings after he posted 26 goals and 59 points in 2008-09, numbers that declined to 22 and 53 (in 67 games, mind you) to 23 and 47 (in 82 games), prompting L.A. to send him back to Edmonton, where he finished fifth in team scoring with 46 points in 2011-12, then 13 in 47 games, then 10 goals and 23 points in 72 games in his final season, in 2013-14.

Better numbers than many other players but, then again, Ryan Smyth was a better player than most. He certainly had a lot of heart. And he can't get hockey out of his mind, as can be attested by the fact that he half-ended his retirement to play in the Chinook senior league last year...

Ryan Smyth Autographed Card

When future civilizations uncover the remains of our history and enter Rexall Place in Edmonton, they'll see five Stanley Cup banners and close to a dozen banners with numbers and names hanging from the rafters, ranging from 3 (Al Hamilton) to 99 (Wayne Gretzky), and figuring out through our printed material that 99 was the very best there ever was at whatever ''ice hockey'' was, they might assume that the one hanging right next to him, 94, with Ryan Smyth's name on top of it, would be second in line. If I'm still around when that happens, I will do nothing to try to convince them otherwise - apologies to Mark Messier and Jari Kurri.

I mean, sure, Mess has two Cups more than Gretzky does, a Hart trophy and a Conn Smythe. Whoop-dee-do, considering the teams he's played on. Smyth? He was often the one posting the best on-ice results despite even all the articles praising him suggesting he may have been the least talented player on the ice the whole time, that it was all accomplished out of sheer will and hard work alone. All of it: an All-Star Game; a Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals; 6 international gold medals (including an Olympics and a World Cup) and one silver with Team Canada, often as the captain (6 times); 1270 regular season games with 360 goals, 456 assists and 842 points (again, on ''no talent''), with 59 more points (28 of them goals) in 93 playoff games.

I like that despite Andrew Ference being the Edmonton Oilers' captain, the team put the 'C' on Smyth's chest for his final game, on April 11th. As this 2003-04 Quest For The Cup card from Pacific (#43 in the set) can attest, it wasn't the first time:

Indeed, he was the de-facto choice to wear the 'C' when the captain would be injured from 1997 onwards, and often during the pre-season as well. But he was also such a tremendous leader that he didn't need it to be stitched on his chest to give it his all, and the results would show up on the score sheet as well, with seven seasons of more than 25 goals (with a top of 39 in 1996-97) and a good 50-60 guaranteed points by year's end, with a career-best of 70 in 2000-01 and 10 different seasons over the 50 mark.

Stability, leadership, dedication, consistency. Had the Mark Messier award (for best leader) existed in the 1990s and 2000s, Smyth may very well have won it... over Messier himself.

Thanks for the memories.

Ryan Smyth: 5 Autographed Cards (Part 2)

                 (continued from the previous post)

But the real prize of this mailing remains the cards picturing him as an Oiler. After Wayne Gretzky and Kevin Lowe - or perhaps even on par with them - Smyth rounds up my top-3 favourite Oiler skaters ever. These three cards have him wearing all three Oilers' uniforms he's worn over the years:

The one on the left - the dark blue 'away' jersey - is from UD's 2005-06 SP Authentic set (card #41); the card in the middle - the 'home' jersey -is from the 2003-04 In The Game set (card #38) by In The Game; and the card on the right, in which he's sporting the Oilers' then-third jersey designed by Todd McFarlane - my favourite alternate jersey in all sports - is from Topps' 2002-03 Topps Total set (card #268).

Welcome home, Captain Canada!

Ryan Smyth: 5 Autographed Cards (Part 1)

Timing is everything!

I sent Ryan Smyth - one of my favourite Edmonton Oilers of all time! - these 5 cards, care of the Los Angeles Kings, on March 25th, 2011, along with a fan letter wishing him the best for the upcoming playoffs. I got them all back, signed in black sharpie, on May 23rd, 2011 after a quick elimination at the hands of the evil San Jose Sharks. And what a unique signature it is!

In my letter, I also added that I never thought he'd one day be a part of another team than the Oilers, but that I was happy to see him with the Colorado Avalanche, alongside my favourite player, Joe Sakic, and that he did look good in a Kings uniform. But that it wasn't the same as with the Oilers.

Well, karma has hit, as the trade to send him back to Edmonton was finalized yesterday, with the Kings getting Colin Fraser and a seventh-round pick in return.

So I now have this card to remind me of his Colorado days:

It is card #144 in Upper Deck's 2008-09 Victory collection.

I also have this memento of his time in Los Angeles, card #77 of UD's 2010-11 Black Diamond set:

              (continued in the next post)