Lightning Preview: Steven Stamkos Jersey Card

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: Unlike in the distant past where I would post different texts on this collectibles blog and my personal one, I've been using a new format for the past couple of years, where I'll copy the same text on each one. As a father of two young kids, I just do not have enough time to write two separate posts per day on each blog. This year again, the entire scope of the analysis will take place first and the featured player will have a direct or perhaps indirect connection to what's written, below.

Caveats: At this point, despite training camp being set to start in a couple of weeks, several players haven't found a team yet and a few clubs are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much maneuvering left to do.

Key exits: Ross Colton (C), Alex Killorn (LW/C), Corey Perry (RW), Ian Cole (D), Patrick Maroon (LW), Pierre-Édouard Bellemare (D), and Brian Elliott (G).

Key Arrivals: Calvin De Haan (D), Conor Sheary (LW), Josh Archibald (RW), Luke Glendening (C), Logan Brown (LW), and Jonas Johansson (G).

Top prospects: Roman Schmidt (D, 20 years old, will require a year of AHL seasoning), Gage Goncalves (C, 22 years old, will jump straight to the second line in case of injury), Jack Thompson (D, 21 years old, will likely see a handful of games this season), Cole Koepke (LW, 25 years old, a spot in the bottom-six is his to lose), Gabriel Fortier (LW, 23 years old, will likely see 5-10 games this season), Isaac Howard (LW, 19 years old, will play another couple of seasons in the NCAA, Jack Finley (C, 21 years old, will require more AHL seasoning), and Niko Huuhtanen (RW, 20 years old, will play one more season in Finland before playing in the AHL to adapt to the North American ice surface).

No other team in the NHL has seen its depth depleted like the Tampa Bay Lightning in the past three to five years; the Bolts have lost the equivalent of three top-of-the-food-chain third lines in the past two offseasons and trade deadlines, in addition to a slew of first- and second-round draft picks. You would think that would close their contending window for a while, but their elite talent is so good that it will not affect them for the next two, three or perhaps even four seasons. After all, Nikita Kucherov is fresh off a 113-point season, Brayden Point got his usual 95 and even broke the 50-goal barrier, while Steven Stamkos added yet another point-per-game season to his Hall of Fame resume. Add to that a pair of #1 defenders in Mikhail Sergachev and Victor Hedman - don't get fooled by Hedman's dipping offensive stats, he's still dominant, he just surrendered some prime producing moments like first-line powerplay time to Sergachev, but they both played nearly 24 minutes a game and had simlar plus/minus and possession stats - and a top-five goalie who still has the best legs in the game in Andrei Vasilevskiy, and there is still an All-Star team's worth of players in the middle or end of their primes as the foundation.

What makes their odds look good:
The Toronto Maple Leafs may have equivalent star forwards, but no team in the East has the type of elite defensemen the Lightning has. With support from Brandon Hagel, Sheary, Nick Paul and Anthony Cirelli, there will be plenty of offense to win between 50 and 60 games this season.

Question marks: Can Tanner Jeannot step up and prove invaluable like Hagel did last year? At a cost of a first, a second and a third-round pick, or in context, a possible 2025 middle-six player, a 2026 top-six forward and a 50/50 shot at a depth player, he needs to be responsible for 2-3 wins this year and 3-5 wins next year as well as a few important playoff moments (say a couple of game-winning goals) to justify the cost of acquiring him from the Nashville Predators. Anti-vaxer Archibald lost a year and a half of play due to Covid travel restricioons while with the Edmonton Oilers and has lost a step, going from third-liner with occasional bumps to Connor McDavid's line to part-time fourth-liner. Should he make the team, he will probably love Florida.

Outlook:
Don't get me wrong: they are at the tail end of their contending window and are probably no match for the likes of the Dallas Stars or Vegas Golden Knights out West, but they can take anyone in the East (yes, including the equally depth-deprived Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins, as well as the inexperienced New Jersey Devils and coach cemetery New York Rangers), and there is no guarantee the Western finalist won't also be a team with its own issues. And this time around, for the first time in four years and just the second in six seasons, Tampa Bay has had a short postseason, getting eliminated in seven games in the first round. They are well-rested and (probably) hungry.

Prediction:
Second in the Atlantic Division.

As mentionned before, Steven Stamkos is carving himself quite the career, with little to no signs of slowing down at age 33. His days of leading the league in scoring (51 goals in 2009-10 and 60 goals in 2011-12) are probably a thing of the past in the era of McDavid, Auston Matthews, David Pastrnak and Leon Draisaitl - and with Alex Ovechkin still around - but his 84 points were still 23rd in the NHL last season, which would have put him first on 17 teams.

He's been around or over the point-per-game mark every year since 2016-17 after a dip in 2014-15 (43 goals and 72 points in 82 games) and 2015-16 (36 goals and 64 points in 77 games), two seasons in which his points totals may have dipped but during which he garnered some Lady Byng consideration - and even finished fourth in right wingers for the end of season All-Star Teams and finished 11th in Hart voting in 2014-15.

He has 515 goals, 541 assists and 1056 career points in 1003 regular-season games so far, and another 45 goals, 50 assists and 95 points in 123 playoff games. The only time his playoff shooting percentage was below 10% was in 2015-16, when he played just 11:55 in a single game and did not score on his two shots taken; however, his lone 2:47 of ice time in the 2019-20 is the stuff of legends, as he scored on his only shot, despite being on the ice for just three shifts in total. The goal gave the Bolts a 2-0 lead, paving the way to a 5-2 victory.

Here he is wearing Tampa's white (away) uniform, on card #6 from Upper Deck's 2014-15 SP Game-Used Edition set and Jersey Card sub-set:

It features a matching game-worn jersey swatch.

Internationally, he has won gold medals in 2008 (World Juniors) and 2016 (World Cup) and was a silver medalist at the 2009 World Championships playing for Team Canada. He has also represented his country in 2007 (U18s and Ivan Hlinka tournaments), as well as the 2010 and 2013 World Championships.

Tom Wilson Jersey Card

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Fucking Tom Wilson.

A former first round draft pick (16th overall in 2012, by the Washington Capitals), Wilson is a hard-working, very talented and physically strong power forward, who at 6'4" and 220 pounds ranks among the most difficult to move from the front of the net or along the boards. He has a decent shot that could have him hit the 30-goal mark a couple of times before he retires and some 20-24 goals for four more seasons at least. He's pretty much the halfway mark between 1986-94 era Cam Neely (a Hall Of Famer who reached the 50-goal mark three times in the high-scoring late 1980s) and 2011-13 Milan Lucic. Perhaps he is even a fine human being off the ice.

He also has a habit of delivering questionable, dangerous and illegal hits such as this one on unsuspecting Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo: One thing's for certain, many hockey observers are getting fed up with one aspect of his game: his habit of continuously crossing the line that separates "tough" and "predatory". While I agree with the Sports Illustrated/The Hockey News article on the fact that the NHL was lenient towards him before his first suspension in 2017 and that instead of now standing at five (plus a couple of fines), he should probably have seven to ten on his record at this point, I, however, would like to commend him on the fact that he hadn't been suspended in a little over two years. He hasn't done as admirable a job of keeping his nose clean as Brad Marchand, but he has trended in a better direction, which is why I'm satisfied with this being a seven-game suspension instead of ten.

I also disagree with SI/THN's assessment that this hit should have been reviewed under the "hit to the head" rule instead of "boarding", because the initial contact is above the heart, between the shoulder and neck - not the cleanest of hits, but not a direct, unequivocal hit to the head either; it's the follow-through that has Carlo's head crashing in the glass. I do think the league has missed the boat on many occasions this season, particularly early on, to set the tone and demand clean play, with a handful of players deserving of at least a game or two getting a pass instead.

There's something about Wilson's attitude that has me thinking I may like him on my team - a sentiment I absolutely do not share about Marchand, for instance, despite his rehabilitation into a true star player - but he really needs to stop crossing that line and let up when he sees he's nearing a face, just like all players should let up when they see an opponent's numbers on their backs.

I have a card of his that I traded for last year, #SS-TW from Upper Deck's 2019-20 SP Game-Used collection and Showcase Standouts sub-set:

It shows him wearing an NHLPA uniform based on the New York Rangers' classic white garbs and features two swatches that are believed to be from that jersey. Both the front and back claim it's from the 2017 NHLPA Rookie Showcase event/photoshoot, but Wilson played for the Capitals in the 2012-13 playoffs, and his true rookie season was in 2013-14... three full years before the showcase they claim he was in. Also, this is what he looked like in 2017 (courtesy of Wikipedia):

That face - and the facial hair - looks much older than what's shown on the card. My guess is he was actually in the 2012 or 2013 showcase.

Patrick Kane Jersey Card

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Earlier tonight, Patrick Kane became the 100th NHLer to score 400 career goals, at age 32, putting him at 1056 points in 996 regular-season games. He's definitely got another hundred in him, maybe 150. He will likely be known as the greatest American-born player in NHL history for at least 15 more years, until Auston Matthews perhaps comes making a run at the title, or someone else who hasn't been drafted yet. But Kane doesn't just score and assist on other people's goals; he's also electrifying, was an integral part of three Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup championships with one Conn Smythe to show for it (although I agree with his assessment that goalie Corey Crawford deserved it just as much as he did) to go with an Art Ross (league's leading scorer in points), Hart (most valuable player as voted by journalists), and a Ted Linsday Award (best player as voted by his peers).

I would not have expected all of that when he began his career, when his behaviour was problematic at best and criminal at worst, and the stories kept adding up while he was in a drunken haze for a couple of offseasons, from the assault of a cab driver (proven true) to his choking a woman at a sorority party (rumoured) to alleged anti-semetic comments (impossible to prove since the witness didn't actually witness any of it, as the altercation took place across the street from him and he couldn't hear) to a rape accusation that grew weirder and weirder with each passing day, for which he was not charged because DNA, physical evidence and forensic evidence did not back the victim's testimony (and there were lies about rape kits being delivered to the victim's mother that had the accusation's lawyer step down from the lawsuit).

Even though he was not charged with the most serious offense with evidence leaning towards the "it didn't happen" category more than the "we couldn't find the type of evidence that gets a conviction", you don't get into this type of smoke without any fire, and he did put himself into bad situations as a young adult. The fact that he was allowed to be given room to change is a positive, although I do wonder if he'd have had the same chance had he been Black in the United States. But that's yet another debate for another day.

What today brings, however, is the Kane dichotomy: I haven't been able to recognize his accomplishments on the ice as the second-highest points-per-game average of any American player ever with the fact that he also had a rough patch from 2012 to 2015 that, yes, cost him endorsement deals, but had they all been proven true would have made him one of the most despised individuals in professional sports. I don't want to "cancel him" altogether for many reasons (including "innocent until proven guilty" and "if you've paid for your crime, you can have another shot at Life", but also because I don't believe "cancelling" is always the best option), but I don't want to whitewash history either. I would like it if we could find "pure" people to look up to who've never done anything wrong, but I can definitely settle for recognizing someone's greatness at one thing while acknowledging their failures at other things - or at the same thing, in the case of the American Founding Fathers, many of whom owned other human beings at a time when it was legal if not necessarily moral. Mother Teresa refused to give her patients the medication that would save their lives, preferring they suffer to "earn their way into Heaven"; Gandhi was a racist: he actually fought so that the Indian people wouldn't be treated as lowly as Black people, without giving the slightest effort in raising their statute at the same time; Patrick Kane mugged and beat a cab driver, may have choked a woman at a frat party he had no business attending, and was (perhaps wrongly) accused of rape - and he's pretty good on skates and at handling a small piece of vulcanized rubber with a stick.

My thoughts will probably evolve on the matter as more light is shed on either side of his permanent record, but for now, he has to be content to contend with Mike Modano as the best American-born hockey player of all time, and this is what he wore the most often while reaching that point:

That's the Hawks' red (home) uniform, with matching game-worn jersey swatch, on card #AF-KA from Upper Deck's 2010-11 SP Game-Used Edition set and Authentic Fabrics sub-set. I traded for it three or four years ago.

Avs Preview: Milan Hejduk Dual Jersey Card

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.

The biggest change the Colorado Avalanche (team links lead to Amazon sponsored pages, player links to relevant pages on my blog, and news links to their source) made this off-season is completing the switch to new uniforms from navy blue to baby blue by removing the black helmets, gloves and pants and making them blue as well. It's both gorgeous and extremely bizarre. Apart from that, GM Joe Sakic didn't overhaul his Stanley Cup-contending roster, with depth players departing (Nikita Zadorov, Vladislav Namestnikov, Colin Wilson, Mark Barberio, Kevin Connaughton and Matt Nieto), and depth players coming in (Brandon Saad, Devon Toews, Dennis Gilbert and Mikka Salomaki). After a career year at the age of 36, I also expect Sakic to obtain value for Ian Cole via trade, possibly for a high draft pick. I see him going back to a former team like the Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues or Toronto Maple Leafs.

What makes their odds look good:
They have the most valuable NHL forward in Nathan MacKinnon, who is one of the three best forwards in the game yet only makes half of Connor McDavid's salary, leaving plenty of room under the cap for Mikko Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog, Nazem Kadri, Saad, Samuel Girard, goalies Pavel Francouz and Philipp Grubauer and eventually star defensemen Cale Makar and Bowen Byram when they get off their ELCs. We'll see ten years from now if the Edmonton Oilers end up having as many Cups as the Avs, but my gut tells me "no" (unless they each have zero or one).

Question marks:
The Avalanche do not have question marks anywhere on their roster. Not many things stand in their way of a championship, save for Covid-19, the Vegas Golden Knights in their own division, and the Tampa Bay Lightning being the reigning champs and still the best hockey team of the past 20 years on paper, with or without MVP Nikita Kucherov.

Outlook:
Sakic has one job: to not mess around with the roster. I think he knows it. This is a contender for the next five years as is.

Prediction:
First in the West Division.

This is the second time in the team's 25-year history that they have the make-up of a dynasty; unlike the 1995-2002 team, however, they do not need to have a Patrick Roy-level legend in net to get there, partly because there is currently no one like that in the league, and also because the game itself has changed and is more methodical and chess-like at nearly every position save for a few elite game-changers. The Avalanche have MacKinnon and Makar that fit the bill, and Rantanen is just a notch below.

If the "original" Avs had two MacKinnons in the form of Hall of Famers Sakic and Peter Forsberg (there was no salary cap at the time), and their Rantanen was Milan Hejduk, no slouch himself, as The Hockey Writers have aptly shown here. In addition to matching or surpassing Sakic and Forsberg on many an occasion, he did win the Rocket Richard Trophy as the lone 50-goal scorer of the 2002-03 season and stil only got a Second Team All-Star nod at his position at the end of the year, behind Todd Bertuzzi. Talk about a clash in style and personalities...

375 goals and 805 points in the Dead Puck Era (including 98 points in the worst of it in the early 00s) is equivalent to 1200 points in the 1980s. Never forget Hejduk, he was a heck of a player.

Here he is wearing the Avs' Reebok Edge burgundy (home) uniform with the awful vertical piping on cad #AF-MH from Upper Deck's 2008-09 SP Game-Used Edition collection and Authentic Fabrics/Dual Jerseys sub-sets:

It features not one but two matching game-worn jersey swatches. These types of cards were much thinner back then, they feel thinner than many modern base cards.

Rangers Preview: Anson Carter Jersey Card

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

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.

That being said, the New York Rangers are, surprisingly, one of the few teams who have some kind of control over their current cap, with just under $4.9M in cap space (including the $3.95M cap penalty because of all the bonuses on their contracts), and they only have 43 NHL contracts when most teams are near the limit of 50. They can acquire a star at the deadline to help push them over the edge and into a playoff spot if at all possible for GM Jeff Gorton (Covid-19 regulations and quarantine rules pending).

What makes their odds look good:
The Rags fast-tracked their rebuild last season with the acquisition of Artemi Panarin, who helped Mika Zibanejad complete his development into a true #1 centre. Ryan Strome has found his niche centering the middle-six in Manhattan, and he will be able to draw on his own experience to help guide the first-overall pick in the last draft, Alexis Lafrenière, around the difficulties that lie with high expectations. Speaking of high expectations, expect 24-year-old rookie Igor Shesterkin to be annointed the #1 goalie, ahead of Alexandar Georgiev - a duo David Quinn and the rest of the coaching staff were so confident in that the team bought out Henrik Lundqvist on a year where it will be mandatory to have three healthy goalies on hand. Vitali Kravtsov is another highly-touted rookie, but even though he is 20 years old (two years older than Lafrenière), he shouldn't be expected to make the team for another two seasons, because at 6'3" and 189 pounds, he's expected to become a power forward, and they take longer to develop and get comfortable with their bodies; he will also need to add more muscle to his frame.

The defense is impressive, particularly the right side with Jacob Trouba, Adam Fox and Tony DeAngelo. Someone on the right might actually get sacrificed to spruce up the left side, where veterans Brendan Smith and Jack Johnson have seen better days.

Question marks:
Can rookie goalies actually cut it in today's NHL? Does Kaapo Kakko require a couple of seasons in Europe to perfect his game and learn to play against, equal and eventually dominate against men? How long will Chris Kreider be worth his cap hit before age or karma start to collect on the many hits he's dished out over the years?

Outlook:
The Rangers are definitely on the rise and will be fighting for the last playoff spot in their division with the injury-depleted Boston Bruins and the fading Pittsburgh Penguins; they might surpass the Pens next season, but we're probably not there yet.

Prediction:
Sixth in the Metropolitan/East Division.

When the NHL and Adidas announced their "Reverse Retro" program in November, my very first thought was to feature the Lady Liberty jersey in my preview post, I just wasn't certain which player I would go with; I opted for Anson Carter, because I liked him a lot and because the jersey appears very clearly on card #110 from Upper Deck's 2003-04 SP Game-Used Edition set and SP Star Fabrics sub-set:

What a great jersey! The card itself features a blue game-worn swatch, but it could be from the Rangers' traditional uniform, as it's brighter than the Liberty one, I believe.

Kids these days mostly know Carter as a "former player" and NBC Sports and MSG Network analyst, but he was a heck of a hockey player. Originally a Québec Nordiques draft pick, he was sent to the Washington Capitals by the relocated Colorado Avalanche for a fourth-rounder after failing to sign a contract with the team despite having been named a CCHA First-Team All-Star in 1993-94 and 1994-95 and Second Team All-Star in 1995-96 with the Michigan State Spartans (my guess is the team was already overcrowded with offensive talent, having just won the Stanley Cup, and they wanted to kick the can of integrating young talent farther down the line).

He didn't stay long in Washington, as the team packaged him with Jason Allison, Vezina-winning goalie Jim Carey, a 1997 third-round pick (Lee Goren) and a conditional 1998 pick in a trade for the Bruins' top centre Adam Oates, starting goalie Bill Ranford and declining power forward Rick Tocchet. His 13 points in 19 games to close off the 1996-97 season were an instant hit in Boston, and while his 43 points in 78 games the following year had Bruins fans worried, he quickly gained back their trust and admiration with 46 goals, 41 assists and 87 points in his next 114 games in consecutive, injury-filled seasons in which he showed a lot of grit and emotion.

The turn-of-the-millennium Bruins were rebuilding around 20-year-olds Joe Thornton and Sergei Samsonov, so anyone 25 and older was trade bait, even long-time captain Ray Bourque, so Carter was sent to the Edmonton Oilers with the first-round pick that became Ales Hemsky and the second-rounder that became Doug Lynch, as well as a conditional pick in the 2003 draft, for Bill Guerin and a first-rounder in the 2001 draft (Shaone Morrisonn).

Carter would excel in Edmonton, posting 42 points in 61 games in 2000-01 and exploding with 28 goals, 32 assists and 60 points in 82 games the following year in the midst of the Dead Puck Era, a production he followed with 25 more goals and 55 more points in just 68 games until the Oilers pulled the trigger on a deal themselves, sending him along with Ales Pisa to the Rangers for Cory Cross and Radek Dvorak.

He became a bit of a journeyman at this point, spending just under a calendar year in NYC, with the Rangers themselves sending him back to Washington (for the services of Jaromir Jagr, no less), who themselves sent him to the Los Angeles Kings a couple of months later after just 19 games (10 points); he'd close out the 2003-04 season with 15 games (with 1 assist) in L.A before signing a one-year deal with the Vancouver Canucks in 2005-06 and splitting the 2006-07 campaign between the Columbus Blue Jackets (54 games, 27 points) and Carolina Hurricanes (10 games, 1 goal).

His year in Vancouver was as remarkable as his time in Edmonton, hitting the 30-goal mark for the first time (33) to go with his 55 points.

He's also a three-time gold medal winner with Team Canada, at the 1994 World Juniors and 1997 and 2003 World Championships. He now resides in Atlanta.

Bolts Preview: Nikita Kucherov Jersey Card

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.

One team whose cap cunnundrum was solved today is the Tampa Bay Lightning, who not only have the strongest team on paper but are also the reigning Stanley Cup champions. Unfortunately, the $9.5M in cap space comes in the form of an injury to star Nikita Kucherov that will see him miss the entire regular-season.

What makes their odds look good:
Despite losing Kucherov, they essentially replace him in-house with the return of captain Steven Stamkos, who missed half of last season and all but one playoff game, and a forward corps that still includes Brayden Point, Ondrej Palat, Anthony Cirelli, Alex Killorn, Blake Coleman, Tyler Johnson and Yanni Gourde, which means goals will still come often for the Bolts. Add a Vezina-winning goalie in Andrei Vasilevskiy, a Norris and Conn Smythe winner in Victor Hedman, a possible future Norris winner in Mikhail Sergachev, former All-Star Ryan McDonagh and a good support cast on defense and you've got one of the best teams in the salary cap era (although weaker than last season's with the departures of Zach Bogosian, Kevin Shattenkirk and the inevitable one or two pieces to leave for cap room (Johnson is a regular on the rumour circuit while I personally believe Braydon Coburn might fall victim to a bottom-role salary purge).

Question marks:
The only question mark I would normally have would be with head coach Jon Cooper suffering from messaging fatigue, but a Cup buys him leeway even if he fares badly during this shortened season, although I do not see that happening.

Outlook:
Tampa woud be first in any division, but placing them in the Central means they can even rest players during back-to-backs and move guys in and out of the Taxi Squad in the hopes of staying fresh for the playoffs. If the players accept to sacrifice statistical milestones for legitimate shots at multiple championships, that's one way to to have a clear path to another one.

Prediction:
First in the Central Division.

Kucherov's presence will be missed. While he's taken up more and more room as the years have passed - room that became legitimate as he had led the team in scoring for the past five seasons - this has been Stamkos' and Hedman's team for roughly a decade at this point, and #86 has merely been filling up the opposition's net for them, enough to have played in the 2017, 2018 and 2019 All-Star Games, which is where this card comes into play:

It's card #AS-NK from Upper Deck's 2018-19 SP Game-Used Edition and All-Star Skills Fabrics sub-set, featuring a swatch from the jersey in the picure, used in the 2018 NHL All-Star Skills Competition. Because of the talent in Tampa, Kucherov's career has been a bit overlooked at times, but he has three types of impressive numbers.

First, the comparisons:
His 529 points (212 goals, 317 points) in 463 games over the past six seasons are tied with Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane for the most in the NHL.

He also holds Lightning team records (the same team tghat once employed Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St-Louis):

Most Playoff Points - 95
Most Career Playoff Goals - 36
Most Career Playoff Assists - 59
Most points in a single season, 128 (2018–19)
Most assists in a single season, 87 (2018–19)
Most points in a single calendar month, 30 (2018–19)
Most assists in a single calendar month, 21 (2018–19)
Most consecutive games with a point to start a season, 11 (2017–18)
Most consecutive games with a goal to start a season, 7 (2017–18)
Most points in a single playoff season, 34 (2019–20)
Most assists in a single playoff season, 27 (2019–20)

He also holds two NHL records:

Most assists in a single season by a winger, 87 (2018–19) (Shared with Jaromír Jágr)
Most points in a single season by a Russian-born player, 128 (2018–19)

And he's still just 27 years old!

Flames Preview: Akim Aliu Autograph Card

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. Two more caveats: at this point, the NHL has not even confirmed the division make-ups yet despite the season being set to start a month from now, and several impact players such as 25-to-30-goal scorer Mike Hoffman and 20-goal journeyman forward Anthony Duclair, among others, 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.

That being said, let's start with the one division we're pretty sure is going to happen if only because of the border situation, the Canadian/North Division, and the Calgary Flames.

Calgary has been trending downwards since looking overmatched in the 2019 playoffs against a much better and faster Colorado Avalanche team, with the entire first line of Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Elias Lindholm appearing to be in the midst of mid-life crises.

What makes their odds look good:
GM Brad Treliving was faced with a huge dilemme: which team is the real Flames, the one which finished with the second-best offense and ninth-best defense in the league in 2018-19, or the 20th-best offense and 18th defense in 2019-20? Instead of betting on one and hoping for the best, he retooled his defense and added the best goalie on either the free agent or trade market - legitimate Vezina contender Jacob Markstrom - so that even if Gaudreau and Monahan have dropped from 90-point producers to 65-point players, the back end will be able to compensate by shutting the door more effectively in the defensive zone, at least.

Also, it's now clear that Mark Giordano no longer has to both anchor the blue line and be the team's heart and soul - that latter task now rests on the younger shoulders of Matthew Tkachuk, and he relishes it.

Speaking of the back end, T.J. Brodie and Travis Hamonic may have left as free agents duing the offseason, but Rasmus Andersson and Juuso Valimaki are ready to take their place, with Noah Hanifin completing what remains one of the best top-fours in the league, definitely in the top-10.

Question marks:
Is Geoff Ward an NHL-level head coach and if not, how does a team make a change in a Covid-19, two-week quarantine world?

Can Gaudreau bounce back?

Outlook:
Markstrom is an improvement over Cam Talbot between the pipes, the defense got five years younger but remains as good, and there is some depth - Tkachuk, Andrew Mangiapane, Mikael Backlund, playoff Sam Bennett showcasing his stuff for a Seattle expansion draft, Dillon Dubé - up front. I just always expect the Flames to fire their coach and hire a Sutter to take them to a Stanely Cup Final.

In a Canadian division, Calgary is not as good as the Vancouver Canucks, not as deep as the Montréal Canadiens and lack the star power of the Edmonton Oilers; I see them fighting with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the final playoff spot and I believe the team that takes the season series wins the berth, and I believe the Flames can etch out one more win than the Leafs.

Prediction:
Fourth in the Canadian Division.

Akim Aliu may have left the Flames organization in 2013, but he has had an impact on the team as recently as last season, one which is still felt today, as his outing of the abuse head coach Bill Peters in November, following the dismissal of Mike Babcock from the Leafs; Peters was replaced by Ward, who may or may not be in over his head at the NHL level.

If you don't know Aliu's story, I urge you to read his side of it first, so that if you do form an initial opinion, it is at least based on your perception of his side of it. From the language barrier as a kid to growing up poor in two countries to the Steve Downie incident in Juniors to the Peters incident in the AHL, it is a testament that, yes, hockey is tough on many, but more so on people of colour, who still have to struggle with oftentimes worse socio-economical situations and the weight of slurs often having the meaning of "less than human" attached to them.

He's 31 years old at this point, for all intents and purposes removed from an NHL job for having spent most of his development and prime years just trying to keep a job in the lower echelons of the sport - and I recall instances where the Toronto media would try to help him by interviewing him in October, as he was still searching for a job, practising with local Juniors or University teams hoping for an NHL GM to call, instead answering the bell to play abroad. His skill-set still has him dominate in the ECHL, but he's more of a middle-of-the-linup AHLer or Tier II European star at this point, whereas he would have (probably) been a dependable middle-six NHLer if given a proper chance.

Regardless of the angle you take it on, hockey has to be an inclusive sport. If only for the economics, you want as many people as possible to purchase gear, apparel, and memorabilia, but the marketing of the sport also needs every kid to be able to dream they have a spot in it if they want it; on an HR level, why would you go out of your way to reduce the pool of candidates for any given job, especially since hiring someone that doesn't fit in the traditional mold might be what's needed to provide a new train of thought that gives you the outside edge. It's gotten better and easier for Russians and Eastern Bloc hockey folks to make it in North America, but it's also time kids from decrepit rinks in poor parts of Toronto and Winnipeg, people from the Far North and other Indeginous peoples to also get the access to a fair shake.

Jay Feaster was on the right side of many a one-sided move as GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Flames, including a deal to loan Aliu from the Winnipeg Jets to try him out and then send John Negrin for his actual rights, and with 3 points and 12 penalty minutes in two games in 2011-12 and another 14 PIMs in 5 games in 2012-13, he knew he had a guy who would stand his ground to keep his spot, but he lost his footing - a contending team going into a sudden rebuild due to inuries to starting goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, a tight salary cap that cost depth inn the middle of the lineup and young guys like Giordano, Brodie and Backlund taking just a tad too long to develop - and had to trade away Hall Of Fame captain Jarome Iginla before losing his job. I personally would have loved to see Iginla and Steve Bégin take Aliu under their wings and mesh his natural talent and determination with an irreproachable work ethic that would have made this sight one that lasts 8 years instead of 8 games:

That's the signed insert version of card #109 from Upper Deck's 2012-13 SP Game-Used Edition set and Authentic Rookies sub-set. It features an on-sticker blue-sharpied autograph and shows hi wearin gthe team's classic red uniform.

Chris Drury Jersey Card

Chris Drury signed an extension as the New York Rangers' assistant-GM in March 2019, months before drafting Kaapo Kakko second-overall at the 2019 draft and a year and a half before using the first-overall selection to either select generational talent Alexis Lafrenière help or concoct a major trade with the likes of the Los Angeles Kings, Montréal Canadiens or Ottawa Senators.

Those moves combined with the signing of Artemi Panarin and having two solid goaltending prospects and the emergence if Mika Zibanejad and a strong, young defensive unit mean the Rangers' rebuild is not only well under way but almost at a point where they can seriously contend for a playoff spot, which in turn means he'll get his shot a running his own team sooner than later.

He might be on the shortlist for next Buffalo Sabres GM if Kevyn Adams' revamped lineup doesn't make a dent in the playoffs in the next three to five seasons; he'd be a great fit for the Sabres, since he captained them like he did the Rangers, and he looked pretty good in their uniform, too:

Of course, as a Colorado Avalanche fan, I remember him winning the Calder Trophy (1998-99) and Stanley Cup (2000-01) in Denver, but I kind of had forgotten they'd traded him to the Calgary Flames to bolster their defense with Derek Morris following Ray Bourque's retirement.

He was a good enough player to be inducted in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2015 on the strength of 615 points in 895 NHL regular-season games as well as two Olympic silver medals with Team USA and was a pretty good playoff performer when his teams made them, nearing the point-per-game mark four times in nine appearances.

Mike Green Jersey Card

Mike Green is an offensive defenseman who can quarterback a powerplay very well. He has a fine pass, a pretty good shot and can still find speed on the rush although his actual footspeed isn't what it was in his heyday when he was putting up 780-point seasons and scoring 30 goals from the point.

Defensively, it's still a mixed bag, but not as bad as his critics would say; there will not be a quality shot on his team's net every time he hits the ice, but perhaps a quality chance or two per game.

Essentially, it was a net gain when the Edmonton Oilers acquired him from the Detroit Red Wings for Kyle Brodziak's LTIR cap hit and conditional draft pick that is at best a third-rounder and at worst a fourth. As an immediate replacement for the injured Oscar Klefbom and Kris Russell, he was an immediate fit on the NHL's top powerplay unit and would provide defensive depth for the playoff run.

Except he got injured in his second game with the Oilers, and will be out three-to-four weeks with a sprained MCL. Ouch.

Edmonton is currently second in the Pacific Division, four points behind the Vegas Golden Knights who sit in first, but also just four ahead of the Arizona Coyotes, who are outside the playoff picture in fifth place, with the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks sandwiched in between and a mix-and-match quality and quantity of games in hand (the Coyotes have the fewest games remaining, however).

It's going to be a tight race, but hopefully Green comes back with stored energy and helps boost the Oilers upon his return.

Here he is sporting the Washington Capitals' white RBK Edge (away) uniform with the alternate captain's "A" on his chest, on card #AF-GR from Upper Deck's 2013-14 SP Game-Used Edition set and Authentic Fabrics sub-set:

It features a matching game-worn jersey swatch.

Zach Bogosian Jersey Card

Honestly, a week away from the trade deadline, you'd think Zach Bogosian would give the Buffalo Sabres a chance to make their sales pitch to other teams instead of seeming like an entitled, grizzled and angry veteran who refuses to be a team player.

Of course, I'm referring to his decision to not report to the AHL Rochester Americans after going unclaimed via waivers, and the Sabres' easy subsequent decision to suspend him while the two sides try to work something out.

Between hip injuries and healthy scratches, the 29-year-old has suited up in only 19 games this season, down from 65 last year but one more than the 18 from 2017-18.  He's missed more than 15 games in 11 of his 13 NHL seasons, and failed to play in more than half the games four times.

Here is the Team USA alumnus in better days, wearing the Winnipeg Jets' dark blue (home) uniform on card #AF-ZB from Upper Deck's 2013-14 SP Game-Used Edition collection and Authentic Fabrics sub-set:

It features an even darker (possibly black) game-worn jersey swatch that could be from his days with the Atlanta Thrashers before they moved to Winnipeg.

Blake Hillman Autograph Card

Blake Hillman was part of an entire crop of College players who signed a shorter-term ELC in their early 20s, but unlike a lot of seniors who were free agents for never having been drafted or waiting for their fourth year to not play with the team that owned their rights, he chose to sign with the Chicago Blackhawks, who had selected him 173th overall in 2016.

He got to play in four games at the tail of of the season, scoring a goal in his second game; however, with the Hawks' logjam on defense last year and the NHL limit of 50 active contracts, the team elected not to extend him a qualifying offer last summer, and he became a UFA at the age of 23.

He signed a one-year deal with the ECHL's Toledo Walleye and appeared in five AHL games with the Grand Rapids Griffins, but he hasn't shown the type of offensive game that will make it easy for him to have another shit at the NHL soon.

He may have to sign a few AHL deals or spend a year or two in Europe to show that his defensive game is strong enough to warrant a bottom-pairing role in the Big Show.

Here he is wearing the Hawks' white (away) uniform on the signed insert version of card #146 from Upper Deck's 2018-19 SP Game-Used Edition collection and Authentic Rookies sub-set:

It features a blue-sharpied on-sticker autograph with his jersey number (55) tagged at the end.

Connor Hellebuyck Jersey Card

We're now past the mid-season point of the NHL season and we're starting the see the story lines clearly: which teams are surprisingly good, which ones are a disappointment, which players are having down years, who has risen to elite status, who the most important players to their teams are.

Connor Hellebuyck's Winnipeg Jets may currently be outside the playoff picture looking in - they're three points from the final Western Wild Card spot and three points behind the Dallas Stars in their own division, yet he leads the NHL with 4 shutouts, has played the third-most minutes (2318:40), has faced the most shots at 5-on-5 (1,030) and the most high-danger shots against (283); he is also ninth in save percentage (.917) among goalies who have played over 20 games and is top 10 in even-strength save percentage (.927) despite the Jets losing the likes of Jacob Trouba (trade), Dustin Byfuglien (injury and dispute with management), Tyler Myers an Ben Chiarot (both via free agency) on defense over the summer.

Not only is he the front-runner for the Vezina Trophy in my opinion - ahead of the likes of Darcy Kuemper, Tuukka Rask, Elvis Merzlikins, Tristan Jarry and Ben Bishop, all of whom are part of successful platoons this season and have accrued much more rest than Hellebuyck - but he should also finish in the top-10 for the Hart Trophy if he manages to pull Winnipeg into the postseason, behind the likes of Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Evgeni Malkin, Alex Ovechkin, David Pastrnak, Jonathan Huberdeau and slightly ahead of Roman Josi, Leon Draisaitl and Artemi Panarin.

He just played in his second career All-Star Game last week; here's what he looked like in the first one, two seasons ago:

It's card #AS-CH from Upper Deck's 2018-19 SP Game-Used Edition collection and All-Star Skills Fabrics sub-set, which I won in a group break. It features a light blue jersey swatch that UD guarantees was worn in the skills competition:

I like this. It's specific, it's clear, there's a picture as proof of authenticity.

I had predicted he would be this good at about this time in his career in 2017, but let's not forget he was ahead of even my expectations when he was nominated for the Vezina two years ago.

Zach Werenski Jersey Card

The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated star defenseman Zach Werenski from the Long-Term Injured List and and placed winger Josh Anderson on it after suffering an injury against the Ottawa Senators in the game in which former Jacket Anthony Duclair scored a hat trick against his former team and head coach who had said he "wasn't sure (Duclair) knew how to play".

At the time on Werenski's injury, he was expected to miss four weeks - which, with the Jackets' schedule, could have led to the New Year - and led the team's defence corps with 6 goals and 16 points; despite missing 7 games, he remains first, tied with Seth Jones, who has played relatively well in his partner's absence.

As predicted, however, goaltending has been the team's Achilles Heel and the main reason why the team is sixth of eight teams in the Metropolitan Division. Team scoring is down from last year without the superstar presence of Artemi Panarin, but Gustav Nyquist, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Cam Atkinson are carrying the offence and giving the team a chance to win on most nights. I bet head coach John Tortorella would like to get help between the pipes, though, but perhaps GM Jarmo Kekalainen feels the price is too steep to take a risk on the likes of Jonathan Quick and Devan Dubnyk, two star #1s of the past five years who have since lost their starting positions.

Having Werenski back should help keep the goals-against down, though, if only because having him and Jones on the ice for half the game will keep the opposition from having prime scoring chances.

Here he is wearing the Jackets' white (away) uniform on card #RS-ZW from Upper Deck's 2016-17 SP Game-Used Edition set and Rookie Sweaters sub-set:

It features a matching jersey swatch from a rookie photo shoot and is numbered 260/499.

Nathan MacKinnon Jersey Card

There are two undeniable and irreplaceable forwards in the NHL "MVP" conversation: Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid, because he's simply the best player in the world in this generation, and Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche, who is proving that he doesn't need his fellow stars Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen not only to produce points, but also wins for his team.

The 24-year-old has 16 goals, 23 assists and 39 points in 25 games this season, 16 of them without Rantanen, 14 without Landeskog.

The Avs currently sit third in the Central Division with 32 standing points, one behind the Winnipeg Jets with a game in hand, and tied with the Dallas Stars with two games in hand.

When he was drafted first overall, it was widely believed the Avalanche would instead opt for hometown kid Seth Jones (now a #1 defenseman in his own right and perhaps eventual Norris Trophy winner), but head coach and VP of Hockey Operations Patrick Roy - who had just coached against MacKinnon and the Halifax Mooseheads in the LHJMQ - insisted the Avalanche select MacKinnon instead; Jones fell to fourth, behind Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Drouin. Because Drouin and MacKinnon were teammates, it was widely believed they complemented one another to a point where if they were to be separated, perhaps they would be less productive.

Nowadays, not only have those fears dissipated, but most of that strong draft year's top-20 currently plays a high-profile role in the NHL, as Elias Lindholm (5th), Sean Monahan (6th), Darnell Nurse (7th), Rasmus Ristolainen (8th), Bo Horvat (9th), Max Domi (12th), Josh Morrissey (13th), Alexander Wennberg (14th), Ryan Pulock (15th), and Anthony Mantha (20th) are all top-unit players, and Nikita Zadorov (16th) plays a big part defensively on the Avs.

Drouin was the Montréal Canadiens' best forward this season before suffering an injury that will sideline him for months, and MacKinnon has been close to the 100-point plateau for three straight seasons now.

In retrospect, perhaps voters now feel Taylor Hall's 2017-18 Hart Trophy would be more at home in MacKinnon's living room (I already felt that way at the time, myself).

Here is #29 in all his splendour, sporting the Avalanche's burgundy (home) uniform on the "Gold" jersey insert version of card #55 from Upper Deck's 2018-19 SP Game-Used Edition collection:

It features a white game-worn jersey swatch from Colorado's away uniform.

Dylan Gambrell Jersey Card

To my absolute pleasure, the San Jose Sharks are mired in a mediocre quarter-season that has them in a four-team cluster oscillating between fourth-place and seventh in the lowly Pacific Division; additionally, their offense is pretty dry, with a number of forwards performing below expectations notably restricted free agent signings Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc (he who "bet on himself" last summer to help the team bring back veterans Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau to the fold).

One player who can't seem to find his place on the roster is 23-year-old Dylan Gambrell, the 60th pick in the 2016 draft, ahead of the likes of top-unit defenseman Adam Fox (66th overall), Joey Anderson (73rd), Carsen Twarynski (82nd), Josh Mahura (85th), top-unit defenseman Victor Mete (100th), Sharks teammate Noah Gregor (111th), a goalie who's already played for the Colorado Avalanche (Adam Werner, 131st), Max Lajoie (133rd), Nicholas Caamano (146th), top-six forward Jesper Bratt (162nd), and Maxim Mamin (175th).

At 6' and 183 pounds, Gambrell is by no means a power forward, which means he should develop at a regular pace, reaching his prime between the ages of 24 and 27 until roughly 30, 31 or 32. He has a good face-off percentage this season at 52.0%, but cannot yet be used as a shut-down third-liner because his -6 rating is problematic, made worse by a negative Corsi (45.8), a negative Fenwick (44.1) and a negative PDO (97.4).

His lone goal with 4 assists for 5 points in 20 games makes his coach hesitate to send him out with better players, particularly since the two forwards who are near the point-per-game mark are both centres - Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl.

Then again, his head coach is Peter DeBoer, not exactly a guy known for fixing things, changing them up or thinking outside the box.

Here he is wearing the Sharks' teal uniform they've been using since 2013 (with the shoulder patches that date from 2017 onward, though, featuring a matching jersey swatch:

That's the "Gold" variant of the jersey insert version of card #118 from Upper Deck's 2018-19 SP Game-Used collection and Authentic Rookies sub-set, numbered 366/499.

They are purposefully vague about the origins of the jersey, however:

They guarantee it's "been worn by the featured player". Whether it was on or off the ice, in a game or a photo shoot, if he was asleep or awake or even consented to wearing it is not specified, nor it the jersey is authentic game-quality or a replica.

Keep in mind these cost $150 for six cards - that's over 20 hours of a minimum-wage job in Canadian money considering income and sales taxes.

Shea Weber Jersey Card

I've seen some of the all-time greats play, especially the top-six defensemen on the all-time powerplay scorers list (Ray Bourque, Al MacInnis, Rob Blake, Paul Coffey, Nicklas Lidstrom and Phil Housley), the next four a little less (Denis Potvin, Larry Murphy, Brian Leetch and Sergei Gonchar), and I've never seen the two best defensemen ever (Doug Harvey and Bobby Orr) play live, though I've seen old broadcasts, so I know for sure that Shea Weber isn't one of the ten best defensemen of all time.

But he certainly has one of the best point shots of all time, with MacInnis, Alex Ovechkin, Al Iafrate, Zdeno Chara, and Sheldon Souray.

His mighty slapper was on full display on Saturday as he scored a pair of goals with the man advantage to tie and pass Mathieu Schneider as the 11th most productive goal-scorer from the blue line in those conditions, as the Montréal Canadiens best the Los Angeles Kings 3-2.

The Canadiens captain is one marker from catching up with Gonchar (102) and might even catch Leetch (111) and Murphy (114) before the season's over, although that might be stretching it a bit. He's likely not going to continue producing at a rate that would bring him to 24 goals by year's end, and he might even get injured again; even putting aside the "what ifs", he has become a less effective defender, currently playing nearly three fewer minutes than his career average on the Habs' second pairing, so unless he starts playing all two minutes of every powerplay and coach Claude Julien doesn't mind trading in powerplay goals for the occasional short-hander going the other way, his offensive output will regress to his recent mean, 15-20 goals per 75-80 games. Which is nothing to scoff at.

And while his critics - among them myself - will point to the cost of his acquisition in a younger Norris winner on a shorter contract and the fact that his deal will take him until the end of time, he actually does bring a lot of leadership to that locker room, so much so that the captain that was in place when he got there (Max Pacioretty) was traded a year after his arrival because it became clear which player could best handle the pressure of wearing the "C" in a hockey-mad city and face critics every single day of the season.

Here he is wearing the letter with his previous team, the Nashville Predators and the worst jersey in the game, their yellow home uniform, on card #AF-SW from Upper Deck's 2013-14 SP Game-Used Edition collection and Authentic Fabrics sub-set:

It features a blue game-worn jersey swatch that probably comes from another uniform, though, either the blue alternate jersey of the blue home one that came before the yellow.

Also, because it becomes increasingly likelier to happen with each passing year, here is the breakdown per season of his cap recapture penalty, should he be bought out or retire early:

After this season, the Habs wouldn't be hurt at all, as only the Preds would be affected - more and more with each passing season.

Nicolas Petan Jersey Card

There is a tendency in sports reporting that I don't like and is being normalized these days, which is to attack someone (or a group of people) at the bottom of the food chain to send a message to the entity or entities up top, and the worst of the worst - as always - comes from the Toronto media.

Not only do they concentrate on their own team too much, they also over-emphasize the importance of the Toronto Maple Leafs (far from the most storied franchise in the league, in fact more like the team with the most and longest sequences of irrelevance), but they live in a bubble where they keep repeating the same message over and over where it actually becomes a narrative and a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Too cryptic?

Think of last summer's narrative: The overpaid John Tavares and Auston Matthews inspired Mitch Marner to force the Leafs to hand him the same type of overpaid contract, but with the overpaid William Nylander in the mix, they won't have enough money to match the high-powered offense with a top-notch defense, and they will lack depth.

Fine.

On the other hand, teams with great defence (the Nashville Predators come to mind) rarely can afford 50-goal scorers and 100-point forwards (except maybe the Calgary Flames). Case in point: the Vegas Golden Knights and Pittsburgh Penguins.

But I digress. I was talking about the bubble: TSN (half-owners of the team) talks about the lack of depth, Sportsnet (half owners of the team and sole owners of the national TV rights) talks about a lack of depth; the Globe And Mail and sports radio talks about a lack of depth and hints at a general lack of talent; the National Post says it's the most disappointing Leafs team of the past 20 years; TSN gets more critical, Sportsnet gets more critical, Hockey Night In Canada points to why they're in a critical situation, sports radio wants GM Kyle Dubas' head while Sportsnet asks for head coach Mike Babcock's - the same Babcock they were so adamant was the exact person the team needed when they signed him - now that his patience and rebuild process and plan has come to fruition, and TSN Radio goes and says the team has "no talent".

They're not wrong on the initial, original premise: Tavares was overpaid to be convinced to leave the New York Islanders in the midst of his prime at age 28 because he was eventually going to represent a reasonable portion of the salary cap when the young guns also reach their prime; Matthews and Marner - at least a couple of years away from their prime - are already getting paid for what they'll be expected to provide when they're 25 and 26 years old; Nylander should never have been given that money, he'll likely never be worth it; there is less money left to hire 19 other players at a value that most pother teams will be spending on 19 players.

All true.

But some players accepted to play for their hometown team at a rebate - Jason Spezza, for instance, taking a 90% pay cut to join a contending club and provide leadership. Sure, he's far removed from his prime, but for what he can provide (he's coming off two straight 8-goal, 26-and 27-point seasons, so it'd be reasonable to expect 5-7 goals and 22-25 points on his part with favourable matchups), but you'd have to think the Montréal Canadiens or Ottawa Senators would have paid double for what he brings, to provide their young players with a lifetime's worth of experience from top-rated prospect to second-liner to first-liner to centre of the best line in the NHL to captain to depth piece to checking centre. Contracts like his enable so0me extravagance in other areas.

What I don't like is how it spirals into "no talent" territory.

1: Fuck You. 2: What?

Spezza is a 1000-game veteran with over 900 points; Jake Muzzin is an Olympic gold medal winner with Team Canada; Alex Kerfoot will make more mistakes than your usual third-line centre, but he'll chip in for 40-50 points, 20% more than is expected from his position; Dmytro Timashov is 23, in his first NHL season, and was a two-point-per-game player in the LHJMQ; that "no good" Cody Ceci is a +6; Frédérik Gauthier is a former first-rounder who was always groomed to be a fourth-liner for this team, so I don't know what else people were expecting; Michael Hutchinson is in his fourth organization and third NHL team (he never played for the Boston Bruins but had a short stint with the Florida Panthers and played with the Winnipeg Jets in parts of five seasons), meaning three teams so far have seen him as a better option than their own current #3 goalies; Rasmus Sandin, just 19 years old, former first-rounder; Nick Shore, veteran of nearly 250 NHL games.

These aren't your beer league retirees or ECHL-caliber youngsters, these are ten of 700 players who will play in the best league in the world this year, possibly among the 1000 best at what they do on the planet. I know for a fact that no one in the National Post is among the top 1000 at what they do.

Which brings me to Nicolas Petan, former second-round pick of the Winnipeg Jets (43rd overall in 2013), acquired by the Leafs at last year's trade deadline and extended for two seasons near the league minimum who was quickly recalled early in the month. He has an assist in 4 games so far, which projects to 20 points over a full season while playing under 10 minutes per, but he was a point-per-game player in the AHL (52 points in 52 games) with the Manitoba Moose in 2017-18.

He has talent, he has guts, but Babcock won't play him because he's 5'9" despite his 180 pounds. But he's there waiting for his chance, like Martin St-Louis, Tyler Johnson, Yanni Gourde, David Desharnais and Paul Byron before him.

Journalists and pundits need to chill out and realize we're just 13 games in - time to reflect, time to prepare for the 20-game/quarter-season look back, but no time to panic or ask for heads to roll, especially those who have no stake in it.

Here is Petan wearingt the Jets' white (away) uniform, on the bronze insert version of card #150 from Upper Deck's 2015-16 SP Game-Used Edition collection and Authentic Rookies sub-set:

It features a dark blue event-worn jersey swatch and is numbered 241/399.