Richard Panik Autograph Card

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Once considered a reliable middle-six forward who was good for some 35-40 points per season, Richard Pánik's production has fallen off in recent years, partly because he played on bad teams like the Arizona Coyotes and Detroit Red Wings, but perhaps also because when he signed as a free agent with the Washington Capitals, he was mostly seen as depth and insurance, seeing his ice time fall from 15 minutes per game in Arizona to just a little over 12 in Washington because he didn't get to fill in for anyone injured on the second line.

At the trade deadline, he was part of a package the Caps sent to the Wings to acquire power forward Anthony Mantha, and he was flipped to the New York Islanders earlier today in return for defenseman Nick Leddy, in a move impacted by the upcoming Seattle Kraken expansion draft.

Playing away from the puck is not his strength - he's more of a Thomas Vanek-type, with decent speed, good hands and a good shot - so I'm not sure how he'll fare on a team managed by Lou Lamoriello and coached by Barry Trotz, but if anything, he can get flipped to yet another team if it doesn't work out. I have a soft spot for Leddy, so I'll say the Wings win this one.

Here is the former second-rounder (52nd overall in 2009, a Tampa Bay Lightning selection) wearing the Coyotes' burgundy and black home uniform, on card #SOTT-RP from Upper Deck's 2017-18 SP Authentic collection and Sign Of The Times sub-set:

It features a blue-sharpied on-card autograph, including his jersey number (14) tagged at the end.

Chris Drury Autographed Card

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What a year for the New York Rangers!

They bought out future Hall Of Famer Henrik Lundqvist to make room for two rookies in net, told Tony DeAngelo to stay home, had Mika Zibanejad take two months to recover from COVID-19, which also forced head coach David Quinn miss six games, and superstar Artemi Panarin missed a fair chunk of the season as well, dealing with (possibly politically-motivated) problems in Russia, yet the team was in the playoff picture until today.

Today is a weird day, culminating with the nomination of Chris Drury as President and General Manager of the team, after serving as assistant-GM for a handful of seasons; John Davidson and Jeff Gorton, respectively, were relieved of their functions today, a day after distancing themselves from a tweet that I fully endorse and support, myself:

Honestly, Tom Wilson should have been suspended for at least 10 games for what he did to Panarin, who will not play again this season. If your owner has the balls to call the player and the NHL's Director Of Player Safety, George Parros, out, you should have the principle that standing up for your player against an unpunished criminal action is the only right thing to do.

(edit: distancing themselves from the team's statement seems to have hurried the announcement, but many sources now confirm divergence of opinions on the state of the team's rebuild and roster priorities would have seen both men lose their jobs before the next draft anyhow).

It's a safe bet Davidson will return to his previous job as President of the Columbus Blue Jackets, I just hope that doesn't mean their own GM Jarmo Kekalainen will not be in constant danger of losing his own job to Gorton.

As for Drury, after a decorated career as a hockey player that included a Calder Trophy (1998-99), a Stanley Cup (2000-01), and the captaincy of both the Rangers and Buffalo Sabres, his turn as an executive has also yielded impressive results so far, with a successful run as GM of the Rangers' AHL affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack (2017-21) and for Team USA at the 2019, 2020 (cancelled) and 2021 World Championships, where he had rpeviously served as assistant-GM (2015-2017).

Here he is wearing the Sabres' black (away) uniform (1996-2006) on card #9 from Upper Deck's 2003-04 SP Authentic collection:

He signed it in blue sharpie near the end of his playing career with the Rangers.

Coyotes Preview: Steve Sullivan Autographed 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.

It's pretty easy to cast the Arizona Coyotes as a write-off or even a joke, as a team that simply shouldn't exist because it always lies in some kind of limbo, usually financial but also via pyramid-scheme-like ownership struggles, criminal behaviour and having no city to call home. However, despite all this, year in and year out, 25 to 30 professional hockey players do their best most of the time, and sometimes they have results to show for it, such as making the playoffs last year. After years of building through analytics and a seemingly communist approach of "everyone gets a six-year, $5M dollar deal", GM John Chayka gambled one time too many with Phil Kessel and Taylor Hall, then doubled down accepting a job with a competing organization while still under contract and was replaced... twice, in true Coyotes fashion.

What makes their odds look good:
Despite a sub-par season from Kessel (14 goals and 38 points in 70 games) and winning only 14 of 35 games after trading for Hall while giving up no roster player, Arizona managed to make it to the postseason. The goaltending duo of Darcy Kuemper and Antti Raanta rivals that of any team in the NHL, even Stanley Cup finalists Dallas Stars, a hair behind the Boston Bruins. If you can keep the puck out of your net, half the work's already done.

Question marks:
Oliver Ekman-Larsson hasn't looked as passionate about playing in the Desert since they tacked the captain's "C" on his chest, ironically; there was even some trade drama during the entire offseason. Is Jakob Chychrun ready to take on a first-pair role? Which young players among Nick Schmaltz, Clayton Keller, Conor Garland, Christian Dvorak, and Lawson Crouse can take on a prominent, perennial-All-Star role to lead the team to a deep run?

Outlook:
There are a lot of promising prospects on the team, but there seems to be a general lack of direction and identity. Still, year in and year out, the Coyotes' skaters give the middle of the pack a run for their money.

Prediction:
Fourth in the West Division.

I mentionned earlier Chayka being replaced twice... the drama hit right as the Yotes were preparing to enter the Edmonton bubble last summer, and regardlesss whether he quit or was fired, he still had to be replaced, so former player Steve Sullivan, who was assistant-GM, took over the mantle... for a month. He was then replaced by St. Louis Blues assistant-GM Bill Armstrong, but stayed on as assistant afterwards.

Sullivan's used to having to work hard for recognition; in the Dead Puck Era, when 20-goal seasons were considered excellent, he reached that mark for eight seasons in a row and even hit 30 twice - his 34 being second only to Tony Amonte's 35 on the Chicago Blackhawks in 2000-01, as his 75 points were 11 more than Amonte's 64 and his +3 rating was miles ahead of Amonte's -22, and his 31 goals with the Nashville Predators tied Paul Kariya for the team lead in 2005-06, but was achieved in 13 fewer games - and yet Sullivan never played in an All-Star Game and only suited up for Team Canada at two World Championships (2010 and 2011) where the country didn't really have a shot at a medal. The knock on him was usually his size (5'9" and 165 pounds), but it never stopped him from being a productive forward even when 6'4" defensemen were allowed to clutch and grab to defend their zone. Lucky for him (and us fans), he has a lot of fight in him.

Here he is wearing the Hawks' black (alternate/third) uniform from 1996-2009 on card #19 from Upper Deck's 2000-01 SP Authentic set:

He signed it in blue sharpie in 2008-09 or 2009-10 while with the Preds, either during his Bill Masterton Trophy-winning season or fresh off having just won it.

Kevin Klein Jersey Card

In case you missed it, former NHLer Kevin Klein announced his retirement in March, after two seasons as the alternate captain of the Zurich ZSC Lions of the Swiss league, which itself followed a retirement from the NHL's New York Rangers, a move that was decried at the time as being cap circumvention, as he was due $2.9M in the final year of his contract, which would have counted as "dead money" against the cap due to his supposed back spasms but would have stopped him from playing elsewhere, whereas by retiring, his entire cap hit was off the Rangers' books and he was free to pursue a career in Europe.

He did pretty well in Switzerland, too, with 22- and 24-point seasons (in 45 and 47 games, respectively) from the blue line. In his first year in Zurich, the team won the Swiss championship, but failed to make the playoffs in 2018-19.

Injuries were a constant in Klein's career; he has never suited up for a full 82 games, finishing with 81 twice (both times with the Nashville Predators), then 77, then 69. He had his best seasons in New York, however, hitting the 26-point mark twice in a row, in 2014-15 and 2015-16; his next best season was a 21-point output in 2011-12.

In his prime, he was fine playing 18 to 20 minutes on a second or third defensive pairing.

Here he is wearing the Rangers' beautiful white 2014 Stadium Series uniform on card #SS-KK from SP Authentic's 2014-15 SP Game-Used Edition, by Upper Deck:

It features a fairly big matching white game-worn jersey swatch.

The Rangers have iconic jerseys, and I like the care that goes into making original yet classic-feeling new ones for the outdoor cash grabs games, be they Winter Classics or Stadium Series.

Nicolas Deslauriers Autograph Card

When the Montréal Canadiens traded for Nicolas Deslauriers, they expected to receive a hometown boy who would hover between the fourth line and the AHL - which is essentially what they got.

They were also lucky enough to get a career-high 10 goals from him in 2017-18 (in just 58 games), as well as a points-collecting pace (14 points) that was unseen in his three-plus seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, and a steady array of fighting majors and tough guy penalties that was expected from the 6'1", 220-pounder.

This year, after starting out on injured reserve following a tough preseason fight against the New Jersey Devils' Brandon Baddock, he came back to a changed team, one that was surprisingly fighting for a playoff spot instead of draft lottery placement as many pundits had predicted.

That meant he no longer had leeway to make defensive mistakes under head coach Claude Julien, but also that Julien would likely scratch him altogether from time to time to instead dress two centers on the fourth line. Julien's one of those old-school unforgiving coaches who thinks he'll outsmart the opposing coach using baseball relief pitching tactics instead of the best possible lineup.

So, in 2018-19, Deslauriers only dressed in 48 games, all told, with 2 goals and 3 assists (5 points) and 22 penalty minutes to show for it, after going 10-4-15 with 55 PIMs last year. Oddly enough, when his mind was at ease, he was a +7 playing on a bottom-feeder last year yet is -12 playing for a team that'll finish in ninth-place in the Eastern Conference this year.

I'll try to get him to sign stuff in a Habs uniform next year, but for now, let's contemplate what he looked like wearing the Sabres' white (away) uniform, on the signed insert version of card #275 from Upper Deck's 2014-15 SP Authentic set and Future Watch sub-set:

It features a blue-sharpied on-card autograph. It's numbered #483/999.

Magnus Pääjärvi: Four Autographed Cards

As is the case every other year for the Edmonton Oilers, it's time for an organizational re-haul... after replacing perennial not-winning coach Todd McLellan with Edmonton native Ken Hitchcock earlier in the season, the Oilers will (likely, hopefully) remove General Manager Peter Chiarelli from his position today.

I will still defend the Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson deal (although a first-rounder should have also went the Oilers' way in that deal), but Jordan Eberle for Ryan Strome for Ryan Spooner for, uh, waivers is unforgivable, as was never solidifying the defense or the goaltending position.

Chiarelli inherited the draft pick that became Connor McDavid, who blossomed into the best player on the planet in just his second season; one can forgive playing into McDavid's hand by foregoing the bridge deal between the rookie salary cap and the MVP-like contract he ended up getting, but there was no reason to also do so with Leon Draisaitl. Now, these two superstars account for roughly a third of the team's overall cap, which should fit 23 people. Doing so seriously limits the supporting cast you can surround your stars with, as the Pittsburgh Penguins noticed in the near-decade between their 2009 and 2016 Stanley Cups.

And one of the people under that cap is $6M Milan Lucic, he who hath scored 15 goals in the last year and a half and is under contract until 2022-23.

The three main things the Oilers have been doing wrong in the past decade have been picking some of the wrong guys in the first round, never picking up supporting pieces in the later rounds, and/or not developing their prospects into viable NHL players.

Case in point: Karl Magnus Svensson Pääjärvi, now known simply in NHL circles as Magnus Pääjärvi.

A star player in Sweden who had already medaled twice at the World Juniors (silver in 2008 and 2009) when he was drafted tenth overall (he would add a bronze medal in 2010), he was chosen ahead of the likes of Ryan Ellis (11th), Calvin De Haan (12th), Dmitri Kulikov (14th), Nick Leddy (16th), Chris Kreider (19th), Kyle Palmieri (26th), Ryan O'Reilly (33rd), Jakob Silfverberg (39th), Robin Lehner (46th), Richard Panik (52nd), Tomas Tatar (60th), Tyson Barrie (64th), Cody Eakin (85th), David Savard (94th), Craig Smith (98th), Mattias Ekholm (102nd), Marcus Foligno (104th), Sami Vatanen (106th), Mike Hoffman (130th), Gabriel Bourque (132nd), Marcus Kruger (149th), Anders Lee (152nd), and Erik Haula (182nd).

Now, at 6'3" and 206 pounds with speed and good hands, of course he's worth taking a chance on, same as Kreider. Ahead of talented defensemen like Ellis, Kulikov, Barrie and Ekholm, I'm not sure; ahead of a blue chip goalie like Lehner, perhaps; ahead of hard-working probable point-per-game players like O'Reilly and Hoffman, again, not sure.

But what you do when you land a talent like that is nurture it. That means powerplay time, offensive zone starts, not benching him at every defensive mistake; instill a discipline, a taste for physical effort, a taste for using his body - not necessarily through hard checks (although if he wants to, sure), but at least as a means to protect the puck and carry/shield it to and in the offensive zone.

It's a process that takes years. Five to seven years on someone his size.

The Oilers gave him three years before losing patience, but they still landed a valuable asset in David Perron when they traded Pääjärvi; the St. Louis Blues, on the other hand, never trusted him enough to give him the "candy" minutes, more often than not leaving him on the ice for fewer than 12 minutes per game, then crying about his lack of offensive contribution and unfit defensive zone play.

The Blues ended up waiving him, and the Ottawa Senators pounced on him. They even re-signed him to an affordable one-year, $900K deal over the summer (the type the Oilers should be looking at right now, what with their limited cap space), with GM Pierre Dorion saying:

“We’re happy to have Magnus back in Ottawa. He showed us last season that he can play the game with speed, which fits with the style of play we want our team to exhibit. Magnus is a versatile player who will be able to provide us productive minutes in many situations.”

Speed. Following the team. Productive minutes. In many situations.

Sure, he had six goals in 35 games with the Sens last year and five in 40-some games this year, but as a left winger, he's behind Ryan Dzingel, Brady Tkachuk and Mikkel Boedker at his position, on par with Zack Smith; so the Sens are giving him minutes where they can, including shorthanded, usually with Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who is shaping up to have a Sean Couturier-like career trajectory. One of his goals was a short-hander. One was on a breakaway against Jusse Saros. He even wiped out after a goal last weekend.

He's fun to watch. He'd probably be a lot more fun to watch playing alongside an even faster McDavid.

Here he is wearing the Oilers' ugly practice-like uniform from after the season-long lockout, on card #78 from Upper Deck's 2011-12 Victory set:

And here he is sporting the team's classic white (now-away) uniform, on card #198 from Panini's beautiful 2013-14 Score set:

And here he is wearing Edmonton's classic blue uniform, possibly one of the ten best hockey jerseys of all time:

The card on the left is #192 from Panini's 2011-12 Score set, while the one on the right is #124 from UD's 2011-12 SP Authentic collection.

He signed them in blue sharpie in October 2018, prior to a home game against the Montréal Canadiens. These cards cement him as #91 on my Oilers Numbers Project.

Tyler Cuma Autograph Card

Many judge an NHL amateur scouting staff by number (or percentage) of players selected that play "at least one game at the NHL level", which is usually the standard by which Montréal Canadiens head scout Trevor Timmins keeps his job every year, because most of his first-round picks do end up playing in the league, but few of them become impact players, and even less get to fulfill the promises he makes for them - "future captain" is a title he has bestowed upon the likes of Mike Komisarek, Chris Higgins, Brendan Gallagher, Kyle Chipchura, Matt D'Agostini, David Fischer, Ryan McDonagh, the first two being players he hadn't even drafted.

If the same applies to other teams' scouts, then the Minnesota Wild should count Tyler Cuma's lone NHL game as a "win", despite the 23rd-overall pick of the 2008 draft playing in Austria since the 2014-15 season. Last season was the first time he broke the 10-point mark (11, in 41 games) with the Vienna Capitals.

Everything was going well for him until he suffered a knee injury incurred during Team Canada's 2009 World Juniors selection camp ruined everything for him. He felt its effects throughout his four seasons in the AHL.

He was in every card set in 2012-13, so I landed a few of his cards.I thought I'd start out by featuring this one, #223 from Upper Deck's 2012-13 SP Authentic set and Future Watch sub-set, numbered 308/999:

It's hard signed, on-card, in blue sharpie.

Jaroslav Balastik Autograph Card

One team I expected to win more in this year's playoffs is the Columbus Blue Jackets, who currently trail their series against the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1. They had finished the season 4th overall on the strength of team defense, team toughness, the goaltending of Sergei Bobrovsky, the coaching of John Tortorella and the rise of defenseman Zach Werenski.

The Pens, however, just seem to be able to pull rabbits out of their collective hats every game - and that's saying nothing of Bobrovsky, the heavy favourite to win the Vezina Trophy this season, allowing upwards of 3 goals per game (3.61 average).

Which brings me to a failed Jackets experiment from a decade ago, Jaroslav Balastik, featured here in the team's white (then-home) uniform, on card #JB from Upper Deck's 2005-06 SP Authentic set and Sign Of The Times sub-set:

Balastik was a star in the Czech Extraliga, its best forward for the 2004-05 season and two-time league leader for goals (29 in 2003-04, a mark he replicated in 2007-08, and 30 in 2004-05), as well as playoff goals (9) and points (18), both set in 2003-04, when he led is team to the league championship.

He also won a silver medal with the Czech Team at the 2006 World Championships, which makes it harder to conceive that he only managed to put up 13 goals, 11 assists and 24 points in 74 NHL games over two seasons, and 5 goals, 6 assists and 11 points in 20 games with the AHL's Syracuse Crunch over the same span.

He retired following the 2014-15 season, having spent most of his career with PSG Zlín (parts of 15 seasons), finishing with 277 goals (6th all-time) and 202 assists for 479 points (15th all-time) in 725 games in the best Czech league.

Émile Poirier Autograph Card

Back when he was drafted (22nd overall by the Calgary Flames in 2013), I thought expectations towards Émile Poirier needed to be tempered a bit; this was not top-level, top-line talent, but would have been a very nice second-round pick.

He's 6'1", 185 pounds and gaining weight, and has proven he can score in the LHJMQ with 32- and a 43-goal seasons for the Gatineau Olympiques, and he had a fine rookie season in the AHL in 2014-15, posting 19 goals and 23 assists for 42 points in 55 games with the Adirondack Flames, playing in the AHL All-Star Game in the process. He fell to 29 points in 60 games the following season and 17 (6 goals) in 43 games this year.

Where does his real potential lie? As a middle-six left winger. He's still learning, still growing, still just 22 years old.  Imagine a three-power-forward line comprised of Sam Bennett, Matthew Tkachuk and Poirier, each playing a heavy-hitting game and garnering between 40 and 60 points apiece... that would be nice. I'm no longer certain Bennett will hit that peak, but I'm pretty sure Tkachuk will develop nicely. All three need grooming, that's for certain.

I have at least two more cards of his to showcase, so I'll be keeping you abreast of my impressions throughout his development. In the meantime, here he is sporting the Flames' red (home) uniform, wearing the #57 jersey that slots him perfectly in my Flames Numbers Project, on the signed insert version of card #234 from Upper Deck's 2015-16 SP Authentic set:

It's signed on-card in blue sharpie, part of the Future Watch sub-set and numbered 762/999.

Jeff Zatkoff Stadium Series Jersey Card

Starting with the rebirth of Peter Budaj and continuing with the acquisition of Ben Bishop, the Los Angeles Kings may very well have sentenced intended backup goalie Jeff Zatkoff to a couple of years in the AHL instead of the two-year run as Jonathan Quick's backup, as had previously been intended.

It's been a pretty bad season for the former Pittsburgh Penguins prospect, and not just because of his 2-7-1 record, 2.94 GAA and awful .879 save percentage, but also because he has had to deal with injury after injury.

Zatkoff thus becomes the only goalie since the Darryl Sutter and Bill Ranford era began to not have a career season with the club, after Jonathan Bernier, Erik Ersberg, Ben Scrivens, Martin Jones and Jhonas Enroth had all posted terrific statistics behind the reinforced steel wall that is the Kings' defense.

Zatkoff possesses athletic genes, his father (Jeff Sr.) having been an NBA draftee and his great uncle Roger Zatkoff having played in the NFL with the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers.

Here's a really cool card showing Jeff wearing the Pens' 2014 Stadium Series white uniform, in a snowstorm, featuring a big white game-worn jersey swatch (that may or may not have been used in that game):

It's card #SS-JZ from SP Authentic's 2014-15 SP Game-Used Edition, by Upper Deck.

Mike Comrie Autographed Card

I certainly hoped I'd get to talk about former Edmonton Oilers star Mike Comrie in another light, but the day after Valentine's Day seems like as good a time as any for him to be accused of rape - which allegedly involved someone he had known for a long time, in a three-way, meaning the third party will likely be the most reliable witness, leading to a likely "not guilty" decision. Comrie has already said he expects "his name will be cleared".

Hilary Duff's former husband, now 36, hasn't played professional hockey since the 2010-11 season due to a hip injury that three surgeries hadn't completely fixed. His career 443 penalty minutes show he played much bigger than his 5'9", 185-pound frame.

Through ten NHL seasons, Comrie has played for the Oilers and the Ottawa Senators twice apiece, as well as the Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, New York Islanders, and Pittsburgh Penguins - i.e. many of the teams former Oilers tend to end up playing with (Doug Weight, Bill Guerin, Luke Richardson, Ken Linseman).

He hit the 30-goal and 60-point marks twice each (once with the Oilers, once in Arizona) and was a consistent point producer until 2008-09 - especially considering he started out playing in the Dead Puck Era - but his later years have hit his career stats line, where he finished with 168 goals, 197 assists and 365 points in 589 regular-season games, with just 4 goals, 6 assists and 10 points in 32 playoff games.

Of note, he is one of the rare players who came up as part of Edmonton's young core at the turn of the millennium who didn't stick around long enough to make it to the 2005-06 Stanley Cup Final, instead reaching it the following year as a depth player with the Sens, whose offense was carried by Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley.

Here he is retrieving or playing the puck ahead of Brenden Morrow of the Dallas Stars on card #34 from Upper Deck's 2001-02 SP Authentic set, which he signed in blue sharpie, tagging his uniform number (89) at the end:

It shows him wearing the blue (away) uniform the team wore from 1996 until 2007, with the oil driller patch on the shoulder and bronze instead of orange in the colour palette.

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...

Bill Muckalt Autograph Card

The New York Islanders took Game 1 of their series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, so I thought it'd be nice to show off this card of Bill Muckalt's from Upper Deck's 1999-2000 SP Authentic set (card #BM of the Sign Of The Times sub-set) to celebrate:

It shows him wearing the Isles' turn-of-the-millennium blue (away) uniform, shortly after the Captain Highliner debacle.

Muckalt played in 256 regular-season NHL games, scoring 40 goals with 57 assists for 97 points; he also accrued 204 penalty minutes in that span and suited up for five playoff games with the Minnesota Wild in 2002-03, going pointless.

Simon Després Autograph Card

There was one deadline deal I did not understand last year, with the Pittsburgh Penguins sending promising defenseman Simon Després (a potential #2-3 D) to the Anaheim Ducks for Ben Lovejoy (a #6 at best).

Sometimes, teams need to trade talent to acquire grit - that's fine; in this case, however, it was NHL-ready talent for grit that wasn't even good enough to dress every game. Even GM Jim Rutherford admitted to regretting it just a few weeks later.

Després is tall at 6'4'' and strong at 225 pounds, but he isn't overly physical; he doesn't need to be, because he has the speed to make plays and correct mistakes without needing to make the violent checks a stay-at-0home defender would.

He even has he physical skill-set to develop his offensive game - all he needs to find out is when to move up-ice with the offense and he'll be a very valuable piece of the Ducks moving forward, in the same vein as Cam Fowler.

Here's a nice card of his in the Pens' white (away) uniform, from Upper Deck's 2011-12 SP Authentic set (and Future Watch sub-set):

It's signed on-card in blue sharpie, numbered 416/999; it's card #274 in the series.

Alexander Frolov Autograph Card

Two weeks ago, after a year away from the game, Alexander Frolov announced he would come out of retirement and return to his former KHL club, Novgorod Torpedo Nizhny. His last KHL had been Moscow CSKA (i.e. the former Central Red Army team, now something closer to Central Athletics Team), and his last NHL team was the New York Rangers, in an injury-filled 2010-11 season.

However, in North America, he will mostly be remembered as the highlight-reel goal scorer and possession behemoth who spent 7 seasons with the Los Angeles Kings and only once outside of his rookie season had less than 50 points, in his 48-point sophomore season in 2003-04.

Internationally, he has suited up for Team Russia on seven different occasions, medalling 4 times, with gold at the World Juniors (2002) and World Championships (2009) and well as World Championship silver (2010) and bronze (2007). He has participated in the World Cup (2004) and Olympics (2006) as well.

Here he is wearing the Kings' black and purple home uniform, from Upper Deck's 2006-07 SP Authentic set, card #ST-AF of the Sign Of The Times sub-set, signed on-card in blue sharpie, with his uniform number (24) included:

I preferred it when players didn't have their numbers on their helmets, as shown here; I find it cheapens the overall look, whereas this old look was sleeker.

Devan Dubnyk Autograph Card

I couldn't think of a better card to sum up the day in the hockey world:

It's card #SOT-DD from Upper Deck's 2012-13 SP Authentic set, part of the Sign Of The Times sub-set, showing Devan Dubnyk sporting the Edmonton Oilers' white (away) uniform, signed on-card in this blue sharpie.

Dubnyk, fresh off winning this year's Bill Masterton Trophy, signed a six-year contract extension today, worth $25M in total. Not bad for a guy who was sent back to the AHL the year before, but pretty much a sign of the times (see what I did there?) that the guy who played for 5 franchises in the past two seasons now surpasses the three goalies who were already with the Minnesota Wild at the beginning of the 2014-15 season, creating the league's biggest goalie controversy at the time.

And this on the same day where the Oilers nabbed Cam Talbot in a trade with the New York Rangers, Edmonton being the team who tried the likes of Ilya Bryzgalov, Ben Scrivens, Viktor Fasth, Jason LaBarbera, Richard Bachman, Tyler Bunz and Laurent Brossoît with varying levels of small success in replacing the relatively underwhelming Dubnyk since 2013-14.

A lot of people are high on Talbot after he kept the Rangers in contention when Henrik Lundqvist went down with an injury, but they fail to keep in mind he was playing behind the best defense in the East; the same had been said of Scrivens behind the Los Angeles Kings defense, Fasth with the Anaheim Ducks, and Bryz with then-defensive powerhouse Phoenix Coyotes.

I'm not sure how much of Dubnyk's Vezina-caliber season was because of the Wild's back end and system, how much was him fulfilling his talent and expectations, or just the focus he had while fighting for the right to keep playing at any level, but we'll see soon enough. As will Darcy Kuemper and Niklas Backstrom...

Alex Killorn Autograph Card

Alex Killorn scored the opening goal of Game 7 earlier tonight, which was enough to carry the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Stanley Cup Finals, as Ben Bishop got his second Game 7 shutout of the postseason, eclipsing ''The King'' Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers, who looked beat after the game.

Killorn has become an important part of Tampa's offense - clearly the best in the league - with 16 points in 20 games so far and getting better and more comfortable every game while Bishop has proven to not only be an elite goaltender but also able to beat those considered ahead of him in most people's rankings, and Tyler Johnson is the East's strongest candidate for the Conn Smythe Trophy at the moment.

I'm still rooting for the Chicago Blackhawks, but I do feel the Anaheim Ducks will win tomorrow, making for a match between skill, size and goaltending (Bolts) versus size, grit and speed (Ducks). Probably a good series in the making, and one in which Montrealer Killorn and linemate Steven Stamkos will have to continue their formidable work from Round 3.

In the meantime, here's a Killorn auto I pulled last summer, from Upper Deck's 2013-14 SP Authentic (card #284 of the Future Watch sub-set, the Autographed insert version), showing him in the Bolts' blue (home) jersey, signed in thin blue sharpie (and numbered 770/999):

SP Authentic is usually a clean, white-based design where the only effects are shadows and blending the picture within the background, but this insert incorporates darker colours matching the uniform, so it looks even better.

Lennart Petrell Autograph Card

The Edmonton Oilers are winning some games to end the season on a positive note, so I thought I'd come up with another installment of my Oilers Numbers Project, this time checking off my #37 with Lennart Petrell.

Petrell didn't last very long with the Oilers - parts of two seasons - after spending 8 seasons in the Finnish Elite League with the Helsinki HIFK, and it's mostly because for all he brought to the ice (hard checks, relentless energy, a never-say-die attitude, and a nearly flawless defensive game made of shot-blocking, pass interceptions and perfect positioning), he never could translate his attributes into tangible statistics, as can be attested by his 7 goals and 18 points in 95 games.

He could bat the puck out of thin air to save a perfect one-timer pass on the penalty kill but for some reason couldn't do it to redirect pucks in the opposition's net.

Then again, the 2011-12 and 2012-13 Oilers were far from All-Star-caliber teams, but the fact that he couldn't force the team to play him more than 11 minutes per game on such weak line-ups speaks volumes.

That's not to say the 6'3'', 215-pound Finnish heavyweight had an awful career; he hit the 30-point mark twice in Finland, had 5 goals and 21 points in 50 games in Switzerland last year, and 5 goals and 10 points in the very strong (and very defensive-minded) Swedish League this season. There's nothing wrong with playing pro hockey just below the elite level, and now that the NHL has over-specialized and the Art Ross winner will finish with the lowest points total in 53 years (and lowest points-per-game average in 65), perhaps there's room for the type of services he can offer a team, should he even want to come back to North America.

Last year I participated in a large number of online group box breaks, and in one of them, I got cards of players I care little for, and another participant traded this card for one of those I had ''hit'' with, knowing I had put bids on Habs and Oilers cards hits as well as what I ended up getting:

It's card #280 from Upper Deck's 2011-12 SP Authentic set (part of the Future Watch sub-set, numbered 839/999), showing him in the Oilers' classic blue (now-home) uniform. It's signed on-card, in blue sharpie.

Jaroslav Halak: 2 Autographed Cards

There are so many hockey stories to start the week (Scott Gomez signing in New Jersey, Daniel Brière scoring against the Habs, the players Team Canada chose to invite to its camp for the World Juniors) that I almost didn't know where to start, and who to feature.

Of course, getting a surprise in the mail that wasn't even a return (just a straight-up ''free'' gift) kind of supersedes any other story, particularly when it's from one's favourite goalie... who was just named the first star of the week. Of course, I'm referring to the New York Islanders' winner of nine straight games, Jaroslav Halak.

Per NHL.com:

Halak posted a 3-0-0 record with a 0.95 goals-against average, .964 save percentage and one shutout to help the Islanders (17-7-0, 34 points) win three of four starts and complete their best November in 34 years. (...) Halak extended his personal winning streak to a career-long nine games (1.18 GAA, .956 SV%, 3 SO); only Billy Smith has posted a longer such streak in Islanders history (Jan. 23 – Feb. 25, 1982: 10-0-0). The 29-year-old Bratislava, Slovakia, native is 12-4-0 in 16 appearances this season, ranking in the top 10 in the NHL in wins, goals-against average (2.13), save percentage (.926) and shutouts (3).

I talked a lot about Halak's recent stats back in July, but I want to point out that apart from the lockout-shortened season in which he only played 16 games due to injury and had a sub-par GAA of .899, this year's numbers are consistent with what he's always provided during the regular season:

GAAs in the low 2s, save percentages in the .920s, usually tremendous under pressure (long runs with teams looking to secure playoff spots). And that's saying nothing of his Conn Smythe-caliber playoff run in 2010 on a team that didn't believe in him and almost refused to let him play.

Speaking of which, here he is wearing the Montréal Canadiens' white uniform, from Panini's 2010-11 Score set (card #7 of the Playoff Heroes sub-set):

And one of him with the St. Louis Blues' blue (away) uniform from the beginning of the Reebok era, from Upper Deck's 2012-13 SP Authentic set (#4 in the collection):

Both cards came in on December 1st, 2014, signed in (fading) black sharpie, with his jersey number tagged at the end. I'm particularly happy about them because now that he's an Islander, I don't expect him to receive his mail anymore, meaning the only way to get his autograph now will be in person.

In my playing days, I also wore Brian's equipment, mostly (though I had a Vaughn blocker and Victoriaville stick, the rest was all Brian's); therefore, I commend Halak's taste in protection, which usually looks as good as it protects.

Thomas Hickey Autograph card

Thomas Hickey didn't get to the NHL the easy way, though he was drafted 4th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in 2007; because he was picked ahead of Sam Gagner (6th), Jakub Voracek (7th), Logan Couture (9th), Ryan McDonagh (12th), Lars Eller (13th), Kevin Shattenkirk (14th), Max Pacioretty (22nd), P.K. Subban (43rd), Jamie Benn (129th), Jake Muzzin (141st), and Nick Bonino (173rd), many fans and journalists were quick to label him as a ''bust'' forgetting that defensemen take longer to mature than forwards do, that reaching the NHL in your 20s is perfectly fine, and there isn't much one can do with freak injuries but wait for them to heal, and to get back on the horse when they do.

Keep in mind that Gagner (with an Edmonton Oilers record of 8 points in a single game on his resume), Eller (a 4-goal game and long stretches where he looked like a #1 center), and Subban (a Norris trophy as the league's best defenseman) have all, also, been subject to much criticism from both the media and fans on social networks.

Hickey was chosen by the Kings to be the guy who had the Juniors career he had post-draft: a leader, point-per-game defenseman who was a key player in two Team Canada gold medals at the World Juniors - the latter as team captain, on a team that included John Tavares, Subban, and Zach Boychuk.

He had some adjusting to do in the AHL, except for those first 7 games at the tail end of the 2008-09 season where he was riding the wave from the World Juniors to producing almost two points per game in the second half of the year with the Seattle Thunderbirds, and having the Manchester Monarchs give him all the ice time he needed to contribute to the tune of 7 points in 7 games.

And though his point production normalized in the AHL to some 25 points per 75 games, he was seen as enough of a presence to warrant being named alternate captain. He led the team in +/- statistics in 2011-12 and was a ''Black Ace'' for the Kings' Stanley Cup run. The lock-out and depth on L.A.'s blue line got him invited to the team's mini-training camp for the shortened season, but when he didn't make the cut and had to clear waivers, he was claimed by the New York Islanders, and he's been a steady presence on their blue line ever since.

He averages around 19 minutes of ice time with the Isles, despite the team having acquired Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy at the beginning of the season, helping the team's defense (with Jaroslav Halak in goal) quality equal that of its offense, for the first time since the early-1990s.

The team is currently tied for first in the Metropolitan Division with the Pittsburgh Penguins (who have a game in hand), and whom the Islanders beat twice over the weekend. The Pens' resident cheap-shot artist Steve Downey laid a dirty hit on Hickey in the second game, grabbing a minor penalty in the process and forcing Travis Hamonic to intervene.

I thought I had a card of Hickey's with the Monarchs, but I can't find it; still, it's even better to have one of his with the team he's found his niche with - and has become an important part of - the Islanders:

It's from Upper Deck's 2013-14 SP Authentic set (card #SOT-HI of the Sign Of The Times sub-set), signed on-card in blue sharpie, and showing him in the Isles' current/retro white (now-away) uniform.

He's yet another example of good defensemen reaching maturity in their mid-20s, and their peak from ages 28-32. The first rule of drafting is being patient. If you trust a player enough to select him instead of thousands of other candidates, have faith that he will develop well if you lead him down the right path.