Michael Grabner Autographed Card

The NHL is a thankless and ungrateful work environment.

Sure, most players end up getting their largest payday essentially for their work in the past, which seems contrary to that point, but apart from a select few (generally top-ten draft picks) who get countless chances, most players deal with a "what have you done for me lately?" mentality from organizations that lead to quick trades or buyouts after their big contract.

Today's proof of that comes in the form of Michael Grabner, who was bought out from the final season of his three-year deal with the Arizona Coyotes. Grabner may never post another 50-point season like he did with the New York Islanders in 2010-11 - except perhaps if he signs with the current Barry Trotz-coached Isles - but even his last two injury-filled seasons with the Yotes did not take away his blazing speed and defensive acumen, so he's still a very good penalty killer who is a sure bet for at least one breakaway per game. Heck, even in a sub-par, 9-goal, 7-assist, 16-point year in 2018-19 (in which he only suited up for 41 games), he still managed 6 of those goals on the PK to lead the league in shorthanded tallies. As a matter of fact, since he entered the league in 2009-10, only Brad Marchand has more shorthanded goals than Grabner (27 to 22), and The Rat has done so in 151 more games.

To think that Arizona bought him out of his $3.75M salary and $3.35M cap hit despite this and his three post-season goals this year has me thinking the team is going to go through yet another rebuild instead of trying to win meaningful hockey games in 2020-21.

He, on the other hand, should find a good half dozen suitors for his services, although he may have to take a one-year deal this year to fit under the salary cap and earn another three-year deal next off-season. If the Montréal Canadiens didn't already have Paul Byron who fits his exact description, I'd make it a bigger point that he has already worn their colours with the WHL's Spokane Chiefs, as can be attested from card #419 from In The Game's 2005-06 Heroes And Prospects set:

He signed it in blue sharpie during his time with the New York Rangers (2016-18). He has also briefly played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils and Vancouver Canucks, who had selected him 14th overall at the 2006 draft. He represents Austria internationally, including the 2009 Olympic Qualifiers (5 goals in 3 games) and 2014 Olympics, where he scored a hat trick against Team Finland. His 5 total goals tied Team USA's Phil Kessel for the tournament lead in Sochi.

Jared Cowen: 2 Autographed Cards

2016 hasn't been kind to Jared Cowen...

First he dealt with some injury troubles, then the Ottawa Senators sent him to the Toronto Maple Leafs as part of the Dion Phaneuf trade, and now he's lost his arbitration hearing against the Leafs, meaning he is now a free agent after having been bought out, despite said buyout happening while he was injured.

Though he has yet to hit his prime - some defensemen only hit it around the age of 26, and the bigger ones tend to take longer as they grow into their bodies, and Cowen's 6'5" and 230 pounds - and still young at 25 years old, he's already been bitten by the injury bug and has now also been bought out and traded, meaning two teams have given up on him, none of them Stanley Cup contenders.

It may prove difficult for him to score another contract that pays in the $3.5M range for the next couple of years, despite being a former first round draft pick (9th overall, 2009).

Maybe the Montréal Canadiens should give him a try; he certainly looks good in their colour pattern, as can be attested by card #71 from In The Game's 2009-10 Heroes And Prospects set, showing him wearing the Spokane Chiefs' red (away) uniform, and sporting the captain's "C" to boot:

But I prefer the Sens' alternate uniform, the "Black O" throwback, as seen on card #80 from Upper Deck's 2014-15 O-Pee-Chee set:

He signed both cards in blue sharpie with his jersey number (2) tagged at the end.

Dustin Tokarski: 5 Autographed Cards (Part 1)

Man, this is by far the best return so far this year - and perhaps even for my 2013-14 mailings:

That's right, 319 days in the making, seeing as I sent Dustin Tokarski these 5 card (two regular-issue and 3 customs) on March 24th, 2014 (care of the Hamilton Bulldogs, his team at the time) along with a fan letter, and got them all back, signed in blue sharpie with his uniform number tagged at the end, on February 6th, 2015.

If there was ever a doubt that Tokarski was going to succeed at the NHL level, the knock would always be his size, which at 5'11'' and 185 pounds seems more fitted for the 1990s than the current-day monsters that man the cages, but really, how many goalies are named top goalie at the World Juniors (winning gold with Team Canada), and top goalie and MVP at the Memorial Cup?

And how many couple that with a league-leading 1.97 GAA in 54 games the WHL? How about following that with a Calder Cup win that sees the goalie not just go 12-2 in 14 games (which could be a reflection of the team's play more than anything) but also a 1.46 GAA and .944 save percentage?

Those are looking a lot like ''elite'' numbers, right there. And he did nothing to dismiss his case last season, either, whenever the Montréal Canadiens required his services, posting a 2-0 record with a 1.84 GAA and .946 save percentage in three regular season games, with a spectacular four-start stint in the playoffs in a heartbreaking loss to the New York Rangers in the Eastern Finals where he was everything he could have been: his first game was a home-ice loss in which he was getting warmed up and improved every minute, then in Game 3 he stopped 35 of 37 shots for a tight win, then won a 7-4 affair showing he can battle all types of adversity and luck and still come out a winner, finishing with the final game, where he stopped 31 of 32 Rangers shots but still came up short of mounting a historic comeback for the ages. Which will just have to wait until next time.

Even this year, his win-lose record may only stand at 4-2-1, but his .924 save percentage speaks pretty loudly, and in just about every game, he was the better goalie, including an impressive 2-1 shootout win against the Florida Panthers.

He's 25, and in my opinion, perhaps a couple of seasons away from being the type of guy opponents' fans will be talking about on a regular basis, but he's taking it one step at a time, learning, improving, working hard. He will be a starter in the NHL, and a good one at that. The one thing that may stop him from doing so in Montréal is current incumbent Carey Price's status and the fact that hometown youngster Zachary Fucale is in the pipeline, perhaps three years away from backup status and five from being a full-time starter himself. The thing about the future is it's hard to predict, though, so we'll just have to wait and see.

In the meantime, I tried sending him cards that represented the various steps of his career, first from his WHL days with the Spokane Chiefs, from my own custom Hell's Kitchen 2013-14 Series 2 set (this is variant C of card #4 in the series):

Doesn't he look awesome in the bleu-blanc-rouge? He might be small by today's standards, but he suits the suit and wears it well.

While we're talking about the Habs, here are variants A and B from the same set, showing him with the AHL's Bulldogs:

I really like his stance here, the glove isn't as high as a lot of his contemporaries, though on the card on the left, I'd like to see it extended outwards (sideways, not front-wise) a bit more; the reason why, as a former goalie, I prefer it held sticking out to the side and just slightly going up rather than full-vertical like most goalies do nowadays is because it's a quicker and more natural movement to go up than down - as goalies, we've been making those spectacular (''hot dog'') saves our entire lives, and our muscle memory points that way anyway, and in modern life, unless our hands are pushing on something (a table, a keyboard, armrests), we rarely bring and keep our arms down without setting them on something solid, with some weight. The shots at most levels are also more likely to be lower than high (though at elite levels like the NHL or World Championships, 25% of the players can put the puck anywhere they want more than half the time, which is where speed and muscle memory come into play).

        (continued in the following post)

Pat Falloon Autograph Card

Pat Falloon was the second player chosen overall at the 1991 draft, behind ''The (First) Next One'', Eric Lindros. He was also the San Jose Sharks' very first pick ever.

As the first pick of an expansion franchise, one is expected to be the cornerstone of the team for years to come, perhaps a decade or longer, but Falloon never even reached the 60-point plateau. After a little more than 4 seasons, the Sharks dealt him to the Philadelphia Flyers, where he played well for two and a half years before being sent to the Ottawa Senators in return for another top-pick ''flop'', Alexandre Daigle. He also had brief stints with the Edmonton Oilers and Pittsburgh Penguins when neither of these teams were close to their dynasty form of 10 years previous.

Over the years, he was nicknamed ''Fat Balloon'' for his lack of conditioning. Despite all that, he still managed to gather 322 points in 575 NHL games - perhaps insufficient for a top-line player and second-overall pick, but pretty decent for a hockey player, period. But players chosen after him and Lindros at the draft went on to have better careers, such as Scott Niedermayer (3rd), Peter Forsberg (6th), Brian Rolston (11th), Alexei Kovalev (15th), Markus Naslund (16th), Ray Whitney (23rd), Zigmund Palffy (26th), and Sandis Ozolinsh (30th).

The card is from The Score Board's 1991-92 Classic Draft Picks set, and is ''extremely limited'' numbered 546/1100, a signed insert in blue sharpie. He is shown wearing the Spokane Chiefs' then-away jersey, modeled on the Montreal Canadiens' uniform, making a play with his head down and a Canadien-brand stick.