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.

Lightning Preview: Andrei Vasilevskiy 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: I liked doing last year's format, so I'll be doing it the same way this season as well, partly because of that but also because as a father of a toddler and a baby, I just do not have enough time to write two separate posts per day on each blog. I'll copy these on each one instead. Like last year, 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 training camp being set to start in less than two weeks, several players haven't found a team yet, many RFAs haven't signed with their respective teams, and a few clubs are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much maneuvering left to do.

Key exits: Yanni Gourde (C), Blake Coleman (LW), Barclay Goodrow (RW), Tyler Johnson (C), David Savard (D), Luke Schenn (D), Curtis McElhinney (G)

Key Arrivals: Brian Elliott (G), Corey Perry (RW), Zach Bogosian (D), Pierre-Édouard Bellemare (C), Charles Hudon (C)

Top prospects: Alex Barré-Boulet (C), Roman Schmidt (D), Boris Katchouk (LW), Taylor Raddysh (RW), Simon Ryfors (C), Odeen Tutfo (C), Cal Foote (D), Hugo Alnefelt (G), Jack Finley (C), Nick Perbix (D), Dylan Duke (C), Cole Koepke (LW), Gage Goncalves (C)

I have called the Tampa Bay Lightning the "best-assembled team in the cap era", but "best team" would be just as fitting. Even past Rocket Richard Trophy winner and captain Steven Stamkos, Hart and Art Ross winner Nikita Kucherov, Vezina and Conn Smythe winner Andrei Vasilevskiy and Norris and Conn Smythe winner Victor Hedman, there is still the ever-clutch antics of point-per-game player Brayden Point, two-way star Anthony Cirelli, playoff hero Alex Killorn, consistent beast Ondrej Palat, heart-and-soul grinder Pat Maroon, future Norris winner Mikhail Sergachev, All-Star Ryan McDonagh, sophomore Foote... they're like the Canadian Olympic team, they could ice two teams and still be serious contenders.

What makes their odds look good:
They are the back-to-back champions and replaced every departed player with their equivalent (at least on paper).

Question marks: They lost their entire third line (Gourde, Coleman and Goodrow), which had been essential for them last postseason - while Coleman and Goodrow also led the team with over 100 hits apiece in the regular season, followed by Schenn, with 99, who also left. But they have players lined up to replace them, both old (Perry, the returning Bogosian) and young (Barré-Boulet) and in-between (Bellemare and Hudon).

Outlook:
This team can withstand missing an entire season of Stamkos and win the Cup. This team can withstand missing an entire season of Kucherov and win the Cup. This team can withstand a sub-par postseason by Hedman and win the Cup. They could possibly only get challenged by losing two MVP-level players, as losing "just" one clearly still had them on top of the rest of the league. We have three more years of them being heavy contenders for the title - or until they get bored and tired of winning.

Prediction:
1st in the Atlantic Division.

Of course, Vasilevskiy will have a great say on whether the Bolts finish first, second (if he misses time to injury), third (if for some reason he falters and completely loses his way) or fourth (if he misses nearly the entire season due to unforeseen cicumstances), but unless the team's plane crashes altogether, Tampa will make the playoffs and be a threat to win it all again this year. The only thing standing between Tampa Bay and a third consecutive Stanley Cup is fatigue - not just accrued from the last two championship runs, but also because a lot of their best players (Vasilevskiy, Hedman, Kucherov, Palat, Point, McDonagh, possibly Stamkos) will be representing their countries in the Olympics mid-season.

You may recall my attempts at ranking Vasi with the best of the best last season, admitting he was currently the best in the world at covering the bottom-third of the net, but that he had flaws up high; in terms of "which goalie would be best playing behind the same team as his counterparts", I would likely have him second behind the Winnipeg Jets' Connor Hellebuyck with an asterix for John Gibson in that he would be capable to elevate his game to #2. Rounding out my top-five for the upcoming season are Marc-André Fleury and Jacob Markstrom, with Robin Lehner right outside. Thatcher Demko is making a strong case for consideration as well. In terms of a farther future, say five years down the line, Spencer Knight, Cayden Primeau and Devon Levi are probably the bigger names coming, ahead of Carter Hart, who I do not necessarily view as a future perennial Vezina candidate the way many pundits do.

Here is #88 sporting the Bolts' blue (home) uniform on card #GJ-AV from Upper Deck's 2017-18 Series 1 set and UD Game Jersey sub-set:

It features a matching game-worn jersey swatch.

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!

Victor Hedman Dual Jersey Card

There is bound to be a dichotomy between the best at anything for a period and the best on a shorter term, or most deserving of a nod. Victor Hedman, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in an impressive Stanley Cup run with the Tampa Bay Lightning is currently the best defenseman in the NHL, but I'm totally fine with handing this year's Norris Trophy for best performance by a defenseman to the Washington Capitals' John Carlson who produced an insane 75 points in 69 games this year, well ahead of anyone else at his position while almost never playing with Alex Ovechkin. It was his second straight 70-point season, and it deserves some recognition.

Does Carlson have flaws? Of course: all over the defensive zone. Does Hedman? Not really. And that's why Hedman won the Norris in 2017-18 and has been a finalist for the past four years. He's so dominant you get used to it, but not quite as head and shoulders above his peers as Nicklas Lidstrom used to be - which justified his winning the award every year - which is why other worthy seasons were also rewarded with the award.

His performance in these playoffs was just as impressive as those of the last defenseman who won the award, Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks, and it's a safe bet both players will end up in the Hall Of Fame some day.

He technically fell two goals short of Paul Coffey's 12 in a single postseason, but I was glad no one broke any production records this year since the statistics were skewed by the play-in round counting as postseason games this year, which is an aberration. I understand the league didn't want to influence the regular-season points (Leon Draisaitl versus Connor McDavid) and goals (Ovechkin versus David Pastrnak) standings, but that's no reason to forgo playoff history, although Wayne Gretzky was correct in saying that the greats from the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s were at a disadvantage when the elimination round started al being best-of-sevens instead of best-of-fives.

Speaking of all-time greats, none other than Scotty Bowman - whom the Toronto Sun aptly described as having "coached Doug Harvey and Lidstrom, Coffey, Larry Robinson and Serge Savard, and happened to be on the bench in St. Louis when Bobby Orr flew through the air after his famous 1970 Stanley Cup-winning overtime goal" had this to say about Hedman:

He is in his own place right now. He’s a big guy that does just about everything right. He’s so mobile for his size. He plays, what, 26 minutes a game? And you get the impression he could play a lot more. He reminds me of Larry (Robinson) that way. For a big man, he can really skate.

That's how I'd compare him as well. He's not as mean as Chris Pronger, but he hits as hard as Robinson; he's not as smooth and perfect as Lidstrom, but he almost looks as smooth as Scott Niedermayer out there at times.

Here he is wearing the Bolts' former third jersey on card #FA-VH from Upper Deck's 2014-15 Artifacts set and Frozen Artifacts sub-set:

It features two white game-worn jersey swatches that likely come from the team's away uniform.

Brayden Point Jersey Card

Going back to yesterday's game, it was fitting that Brayden Point would score the quintuple-overtime game-winner - and apparently unsurprising to those who watched him grow up - seeing as he often seems to play well within the Tampa Bay Lightning's system, letting stars like Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh and Andrei Vasilevskiy take the spotlight, but every time he has a chance to stand out with a quick, nifty opportune play, he's there without fault.

It happened more often during the 2018-19 season, which was pretty much Point's coming out party, contributing 41 goals and 92 points for third-place (!) on the Bolts, behind Kucherov's 128 (41 goals) and Stamkos' 98 (45 goals), prompting the blogosphere and hockey websites' comments sections to erupt into thinking he was going to sign an $11M-a-year offer sheet, but he instead went with common sense, signing to a $6.75M cap hit over three years with the final year at $9M, meaning if Tampa wants to qualify him going forward, they're going to have t offer him a deal worth over $9.9M per - or risk losing him to free agency.

With the Covid situation bringing a stagnating cap, however, not many teams will have room to take on that kind of hit without giving anything in  return, so the Lightning may have some wiggle room to try a bold move like signing him a little below that.

This season, he had 25 goals and 64 points in 66 games, which is where I think his median will stand, with one or two other peaks above the 90-point mark, but mostly a very dependable, two-way point-per-game player is where I see him, manning a second line on a contending team.

And there has not really been a much more contending team than the one whose home uniform is this:

That's card #2 (Red Rainbow Jersey Parallel) from Upper Deck's 2019-20 Allure collection, featuring a decent-sized game-worn jersey swatch. I am still surprised I found this one for under $5 on Ebay considering how much packs of these went for on the market for $130 per box of 8 packs X 6 cards each, meaning a common card would normally come up to close to $3 on average, and I got a hit by a very good player for just a couple of bucks more.

I also bought a few common cards to test the set out, and I'm glad I didn't shell out for a whole box.

Ruslan Fedotenko: Two Autographed Cards

I didn't realize how many autographed cards of Ruslan Fedotenko's until I went in my as-yet-unfeatured cards to try to plan my posts from the next couple of months (while leaving some leeway to "news of the day"-type stories). You'd think he was my favourite player ever or that we shared a birthday. Upon verification, not only do we not, but I'm four months older than he is, and he retired four years ago. I feel old.

Fedotenko had two stints with the Philadelphia Flyers, and between them spent time with the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders. Today, I will focus on the Ukrainian hockey star's time in Tampa, connecting with the Bolts' two wins in Sweden this weekend, a two-game series against the Buffalo Sabres that may have re-launched their season... and sent Buffalo's down the drain.

He was acquired for a first-round pick that became Joni Pitkanen, a serviceable defenseman who played ion over 500 NHL games and suited up for Team Finland internationally, but made the risk worthwhile by leading the team in game-winning goals with 6 in his first season, and then again a year and a half later when he scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal in Game 7 of the 2004 Final. As a matter of fact, he scored both goals in a 2-1 win against the Calgary Flames - the team I was rooting for to win.

This is what the Lightning's away jerseys looked like at the time, as attested from card #305 from Pacific's 2003-04 Pacific set:

And here is their white jersey from the same period, on card #572 from In The Game's 2003-04 In The Game Action collection:

He signed both in blue sharpie, which to me dates it around 2012 or 2013. He tagged them with his jersey number - 17 - at the end; of note, his preferred number was 26, but Martin St-Louis had first dibs on that one in Tampa.

Vladislav Namestnikov: Two Autographed Cards

In a move that was rumoured all summer long, the New York Rangers have finally traded 26-year-old centre Vladislav Namestnikov to the Ottawa Senators, for 25-year old AHL defenseman Nick Ebert and a fourth-round draft pick in 2121.

I'll tell you right now, the Sens improved, not just because Namestnikov is a former first-rounder (27th overall in 2011), but because he can still produce, even on teams that don't want him: he had 20 goals and 44 points in 62 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2017-18 and 31 points in 78 games on a terrible Rangers team last year, so between an AHLer plus a seventh and 30-45 points, you take the points.

In Tampa, he was forced out by the quick ascension of Brayden Point, and the Rangers were hoping to make a second-line centre out of him, but acquiring Ryan Strome who miraculously started producing with the Blueshirts left him once again out in the cold.

And while he still has that offensive ability, he just isn't a shut-down player who can man a third line that is strictly defensive. It's a skill he is developing, but he's not there yet. But the Rangers kept insisting on it: in their two wins this year, they played him an average of 13:53 per, with 100% of his starts being in the defensive zone. Not "more than half", not "three-quarters"... 100%.

On the Senators, it's likely he will form a line with Artem Anisimov with the pair switching from centre to wing depending on situation and each pushing the other to remain relevant in an ever-younger league.

I hope he makes a good go of it.

We already know he looks good in black, as can be attested from card #444 in Upper Deck's 2016-17 O-Pee-Chee collection:

It will be weird to no longer see him in blue, though, as so far I mostly think of him as a member of the Lightning, as per card #415 from Upper Deck's 2016-17 Series 2 set:

He signed them in blue sharpie in January 2018, back when he was still with Tampa Bay. He tagged his jersey number (90) at the end.

Internationally, he has two bronze medals with Team Russia, from the 2009 World Junior "A" Challenge and the 2017 World Championships; he also has two fourth-place finishes, at the 2010 World Juniors and the 2016 World Cup.

Dustin Tokarski Swatch Card

It's that time of year where we think of goalies that are not currently playing in the NHL and wonder where they've been...

Today's subject is Dustin Tokarski, who can be so hot he looks like Tim Thomas or so cold that he looks like Scott Darling; there is seemingly no middle ground in his case; one need only look at his stats from last season alone in the AHL to see the disparity:

from HockeyDB

His statistics were the best on the Charlotte Checkers - the best team in the league - for whom he played 7 games, so roughly 10% of the season. In 21 games with the Hartford Wolf Pack, his numbers were dangerously close to starting a conversation about a demotion to the ECHL.

At 30 years of age, his window for NHL call-ups is getting smaller, but goalies get injured more and more often now, so he'll at least get to suit up in games, if not actually play in any. This season, he's signed on to play with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the Pittsburgh Penguins' affiliate, meaning he has Matt Murray, Tristan Jarry and last year's NHL backup, 28-year-old Casey DeSmith, ahead of him on the depth chart. It's a harder path than that of the, say, Carolina Hurricanes.

I'll always remember his fierce battle with Henrik Lundqvist in the 2014 Easter Conference Final, as he single-handedly forced the New York Rangers to play two more games than they had to, seemingly by sheer will.

Here he is wearing the Bolts' worst-ever white (then-away) uniform on card #60 from Panini's 2011-12 Pinnacle set and Threads sub-set:

It features a black game-worn jersey swatch that is probably from the darker home uniform.

Victor Hedman Jersey Card

(As per years past, this is a twin-post with my "regular" blog, where I predicted the Tampa Bay Lightning would finish first in the Atlantic Division - and overall - in 2019-20).

Victor Hedman has grown into one of the best defensemen of his generation, with one Norris Trophy already on his mantle and  possibly more to come, perhaps even an eventual Hart of Conn Smythe as well, should the Tampa Bay Lightning ever live up to expectations.

He's done so himself, finishing in the top-3 Norris finalists three years running, despite missing 12 games to injury last season. That's how dominant he's been. And the thing about watching his elegant poetry on ice is we tend to forget just how much of a force of nature he is, at nearly two metres high (6'6") and 230 pounds.

However, his official head shots should make anyone think twice about wronging him - on the ice or off:

He looks like he could be a club bouncer or rock'n' roll roadie.

He's also a solid playoff contributor, hitting the 10-point mark three times in the past five seasons, with a high of 14 in both 2014-15 (Stanley Cup Final) and 2015-16 (Conference Final), and 11 in 2017-18 (another Conference Final).

He also has an extensive medal collection from playing with Team Sweden: World Championship gold (2017) and bronze (2010), two World Juniors silvers (2008 and 2009) and World U-18s bronze (2007). Sweden also placed third in the 2016 World Cup.

As long as Hedman's healthy, the Bolts will have a shot at a championship.

Here he is wearing Tampa's white (away) uniform on card #GJ-VH from Upper Deck's 2015-16 Series 1 set and UD Game Jersey sub-set:

It features a matching game-worn jersey swatch.

Vincent Lecavalier Swatch 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)

Vincent Lecavalier's name is all over the Tampa Bay Lightning's record book: most career goals (383), second in career assists (491) and points (874), the team's longest-serving captain (6 seasons) and up until tonight, its single-season points leader (108).

Nikita Kucherov's season for the ages, however, has now put the latter in the past, as he's now at 110 points with 13 more games to go in the regular season. This marks Kucherov's second-consecutive 100-point season, and he's been so impressive that he's rendered offensive stars like Steven Stamkos, Tyler Johnson and Brayden Point mere afterthoughts.

Then again, Tampa's so strong this season that both of its goalies - Andrei Vasilevskiy and Louis Domingue - have each had 10-game winning streaks this year. Of course, they're playing behind what is by far the best defense in the league in Norris winner Victor Hedman, All-Star Ryan McDonagh, potential future Norris winner Mikhail Sergachev, Anton Stralman, Braydon Coburn, and Dan Girardi. Any of the first four could be a first-unit player on any other team.

The Bolts are even more balanced than in Lecavalier's heyday, when he was surrounded by the likes of Hall of Famers Martin St-Louis and Dave Andreychuk, Brad Richards, Fredrik Modin, Cory Stillman, and Ruslan Fedotenko up front, Dan Boyle, Pavel Kubina, Cory Sarich and Jassen Cullimore out back, and "The Bulin Wall" Nikolai Khabibulin in nets. Some of those guys were extremely talented, and they did win the 2004 Stanley Cup, but they don't stack up against the All-World talent on this year's team, which was the fourth-fastest of all time to reach 100 points (although, of course, this warrants the asterisk for happening in the shootout era where there are no longer tied games).

Here is Lecavalier, sporting the captain's "C" on the Bolts' alternate jersey from last decade, on card #1 from Panini's 2011-12 Titanium set and Game-Worn Gear sub-set:

It features a black swatch that is more likely to be from the Lightning's black (away) uniform. I'd like to note that I like this jersey a lot better than the team's current alternate, the "Black Ice" uniform:

Urgh. Tampa Bay's batting average for jerseys is among the worst in the league with the Buffalo Sabres.

Slater Koekkoek Autograph Card

A couple of weeks ago, the Tampa Bay Lightning essentially gave up on trying to find room for Slater Koekkoek int heir lineup, sending him to the Chicago Blackhawks for Jan Rutta. Koekkoek, on the verge of turning 25, had been a first-round draft pick (10th overall in 2012); Rutta is an undrafted 28-year-old Czech star who is proving to be too good for the AHL but who also failed to make the Hawks a decent defensive team.

Ultimately, Koekkoek's failing will have been that he was unable to knock off a veteran from a line-up that included Jason Garrison, Anton Stralman, Andrej Sustr and Braydon Coburn, which morphed into the star-studded current lineup of Norris winner Victor Hedman, All-Star Ryan McDonagh, Stralman, eventual Norris winner Mikhail Sergachev, Coburn and a dependable second-rounder from 2015, Erik Cernak.

Not that he wasn't good. It's just that every time he finally found a roster spot, GM Steve Yzerman (maybe accidentally) added one or two left-handed defensemen that slotted ahead of him, with the  latest instances being former New York Rangers captain McDonagh and former Montréal Canadiens first-rounder Sergachev (actually, both are technically former Habs first-rounders).

It's hard for a young player to fight for ice time on a championship-caliber team - which the Bolts have been for years now - especially a young defenseman. Tampa will likely continue to be the cream of the crop for a few years as well. The Hawks, on the other hand, have big decisions looming with another expansion draft coming and two defensemen (Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook) with no-trade clauses they'll have to protect unless they can find a way of letting (at least one of) them go before the end of next season.

It may be of little comfort to a guy like Koekkoek who is about to enter his prime and might have had his development stalled a bit by remaining in the stands a tad too long in Florida, but an actual NHL roster spot will be available for him in 2020, in Chicago, Seattle or elsewhere.

Here he is wearing the Bolts' white (away) uniform, on card #152 from Upper Deck's 2015-16 Trilogy collection and Rookie Premieres (Level 2) sub-set:

It's numbered #379/499 and features an on-sticker blue-sharpied signature. The scan made it blueish with green highlights, but to the naked eye, it's actually mostly silver with golden highlights.

Nikita Kucherov Jersey Card

The NHL landscape is changing, with new stars making names for themselves among the best goalies (Matt Murray), defensemen (Mikhail Sergachev), and goal scorers (Patrick Laine), while others are cementing their positions at the top (Mark Scheifele, Connor McDavid, Vladimir Tarasenko).

Among the latter is a player who started out making up the lost production of oft-injured Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos and just never let up when he got back, Nikita Kucherov.

After a 40-goal (good for second overall), 45-assist, 85-point (fifth overall) season in 2016-17, Kucherov is showing that his constant climb in points (from 18 to 65 to 66 to 85) is no fluke, as he's set lofty goals for himself this year, including trying to net 60 goals.

A case can be made that he's been one of the five best players in the game since last season, and his statistics since last February are pretty convincing evidence of that.

Although it's unlikely that he'll keep scoring at a 20% clip, and it's very possible he'll hit a 10- or 15-game slump at some point, he has a legitimate shot at 60 goals, 60 assists and 100 points, all of which are amazing milestones in this day and age where scoring is at a premium.

Here he is wearing the Bolts' white (away) uniform, on the "Copper" variant of the jersey insert version of card #13 from Upper Deck's 2015-16 SP Game-Used Edition set, which I got from a box of repackaged cards from multiple sports last year:

It features a blue jersey swatch that is certified to have been used in an "official NHL game".

Internationally, he has won silver (2012) and bronze medals at the World Juniors, and bronze (2017) at the World Championships, suiting up for Team Russia.

Cédrick Desjardins Two Autographed Pictures

Cédrick Desjardins' NHL statistics look very good as a whole, what with a career 2.42 GAA and .919 save percentage, but the last two times the Tampa Bay Lightning gave him ice time, his numbers took a bit of a hit:

from Hockey Reference

On a team that employed the likes of Vezina nominee Ben Bishop, Latvian Olympic hero Kristers Gudlevskis and super-prospect Andrei Vasilevskiy, there was no way he was going to be given another chance after that.

Following his second stint with the Bolts, which was itself linked with two stints within the Montréal Canadiens organization, he signed two-way contracts with the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings organizations, but marred by injuries was unable to sign with an NHL-affiliated team for the current season, which is why he's now playing with the LNAH's Jonquière Marquis, sharing the net with another former Habs prospect, Loïc Lacasse.

His save percentage might look low with the Marquis at 0.893, but his record stands at 6-1-1 in 8 games; Lacasse is showing an .898 save percentage - good for third in the league - with a 12-3-1 record.

The Marquis have used a ton of current and former NHL prospects this season, including Calgary Flames draft pick Hugo Carpentier, Slovakian star Juraj Kolnik, Washington Capitals pick Benoit Gratton, Jean-Simon Allard (Buffalo Sabres), Stefan Chaput (Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins), Jonathan Paiement (Rangers), Samuel Groulx (San Jose Sharks), Jean-Michel Bolduc (Minnesota Wild), Gabryel Paquin-Boudreau (Sharks, Nashville Predators), and Maxime Sauvé (Bruins). That's a lot of talent for a league considered to be "semi-pro"...

Not many goalies have been able to be relegated down to the LNAH and make their way back to the NHL, but it's not impossible; Sébastien Charpentier comes to mind as one, perhaps Desjardins will be able to as well.

In the meantime, here's a look back at what he looked like in Tampa, first with the regular-issue white (away) uniform, which perhaps would look NHL-worthy if it didn't have the TAMPA BAY typefont:

And here he is wearing the Bolts' blue (home) uniform:

It shows him in his final NHL game, February 6th, 2014, post-fight with the Toronto Maple Leafs' Jonathan Bernier (18:17 of the third period), after teammate J.T. Brown had run into Bernier in the final throes of a 4-1 loss.

Both 4x6 pictures were signed in person in blue sharpie, in April that year, when he faced the Hamilton Bulldogs in a road game (I think the Bulldogs, with Dustin Tokarski in net, lost 3-1 that night). Ironically, the Habs - the Bulldogs' head team - had acquired Tokarski in exchange for Desjardins...

Daren Puppa Autograph Card

Daren Puppa had a decent career that was marred by inconsistency and back injuries toward the end. He was a runner-up for the Vezina Trophy in 1989-90 and had two clear-cut seasons as a #1 goalie, winning 31 games with the Buffalo Sabres in 1989-90 and 29 with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1995-96, leading them to their first-ever playoff appearance.

He is also the only NHL player to have been selected twice in an expansion draft, as the Florida Panthers took him off the Toronto Maple Leafs' roster in the summer of 1993 but had him plucked by Tampa who, like the Ottawa Senators and San Jose Sharks, were allowed to each pick two players from the Panthers and Anaheim Mighty Ducks. This was a compensatory selection because it had been deemed that the Ducks and Cats had benefited from better drafting rules than the Sens, Bolts and Sharks in the two years prior.

Here is Puppa with the Bolts, wearing their original black (away) uniform, on the signed insert version of card #281 from In The Game's 1998-99 Be A Player set:

He signed it in thin black sharpie (bottom right).

Nowadays, he is a realtor in the Tampa area.

Brad Richards Jersey Card

Every summer, solid veterans who could be useful in a specific role opt to not move to another city on a low-paying one-year contract and decide to retire instead, and this year is no exception, with the most notable case being former Conn Smythe Trophy winner Brad Richards.

He recorded 932 points (298 goals and 634 assists) in 1126 NHL regular-season games with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Dallas Stars, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings. He won Stanley Cups with the Bolts and Hawks, as well as a World Cup with Team Canada, alongside his faithful Lightning teammates Martin St-Louis and Vincent Lecavalier.

He also reached the Cup Final with the Rangers, again with Marty St-Louis.

He earned less than 30 penalty minutes in 14 of his 15 NHL seasons, leaving the game as one of the most respected, gentlemanly players of his generation, as can be attested by his 2003-04 Lady Byng Trophy, for which he was also the runner-up in 2005-06 and 2009-10 (and got votes almost every year).

Here he is wearing the alternate captain's "A" on the Bolts' initial black (away) uniform, on card #J-RI from Upper Deck's 2007-08 Series 1 collection and UD Game Jersey sub-set:

It features a matching game-used jersey swatch.

Martin St-Louis Jersey Card

So the World Cup of Hockey rosters were completed today, and there were a few surprises: Phil Kessel left off Team USA, P.K. Subban, Brent Seabrook, Corey Perry (who a week ago captained the World Championship-winning team) and Kris Letang left off Team Canada, John Klingberg left off Team Sweden and Alex Galchenyuk left off the Young Stars team.

Subban's omission comes as the Montréal Canadiens' GM, Marc Bergevin, stands as one of Canadian GM Doug Armstrong's assistants, which is reminiscent of when Steve Yzerman didn't select his own Tampa Bay Lightning captain Martin Saint-Louis for the Olympics in 2014... which brings me to this card:

It's card #WC-ML from Upper Deck's 2004-05 Series 1 set and World Cup of Hockey Tribute sub-set, featuring a black game-worn Lightning jersey swatch.

Tampa had just won the Stanley Cup and the league was hosting just its second World Cup (the continuation of the former Canada Cup, whose name was stained by Alan Eagleson's legacy) as a cash-grab just before getting into a lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 season entirely. Three of Tampa's players made the team that year: Saint-Louis, the reigning Art Ross winner; Brad Richards, the reigning Hart Trophy winner; and then-captain Vincent Lecavalier, who was named the tournament's MVP.

The Lightning officially had the three best forwards in the game. Game breakers. That the salary cap eventually broke apart: Richards was the first casualty, as a not-quite-point-per-game player in the regular season though truly efficient in the post-season, followed a few years later by Lecavalier being bought out. St-Louis asked to be traded after Yzerman's snub, and led the New York Rangers to the Stanley Cup Final that year and the Eastern Conference Final the next - against Tampa, ironically.

And, thus, what "could have been" never was.

I rarely root for Team Canada in international competitions because it doesn't represent me and people like me. I usually root for an underdog, like Slovakia, or a nice story, like Russia at the Sochi games. In this iteration of the World Cup, however, countries like Switzerland and Slovakia have been merged as one "sub-Team Europe" that makes little to no sense (the Swiss don't care about losing to the Czechs as much as the Slovaks, I guarantee you) if you're going to make it an actual international competition.

And I say this as a kid whose best live hockey experience was the 1991 Canada Cup and 1996 World Cup. Plus, all games are being held in Toronto. This tournament might not even exist to me come September.

Alex Killorn: 2 Swatch Cards

Oh, man, did the Tampa Bay Lightning ever play with my emotions tonight! Trailing 2-0, tying the game up, the Pittsburgh Penguins going up 3-2 in the final minute of the second, the Bolts tying it near the end of the third and winning on a Tyler Johnson goal less than a minute into overtime - whew!

And the first Tampa player to score was my chouchou (positive French term for favourite, or teacher's pet), Alex Killorn, who now has 13 points in 15 playoff games this year, and 33 in 45 for his career.

When playing EA Sports' NHL 16 (or any iteration thereof, from 2014 onward), my first move as GM of the Montréal Canadiens is to trade Carey Price to Tampa Bay for Ben Bishop, Killorn and a first-rounder. And I keep winning the Stanley Cup, and those guys keep proving me right in real life time after time as well.

I usually try to trade away my doubles of jersey cards, but in this case, I couldn't. One of the reasons is that I want to start collecting Killorn more seriously, but also because Panini's 2013-14 Totally Certified cards often didn't come in the most pristine conditions, often with at least one banged corner, or - as is the case for one of these two - imperfect sides; still, it's a beautiful card, both of mine featuring blue event-worn jersey swatches:

It's card #RR-AK or the Rookie Roll Call and Dual Rookie Class sub-sets, showing him wearing the Bolts' white (away) uniform.

Victor Hedman Jersey Card

So... how about that Victor Hedman, eh?

Just as I'm about to enter the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa to see Pearl Jam for the second time in four nights, the Tampa Bay Lightning have eliminated the New York Islanders in five games, on the strength of yet another series-clinching shutout by Ben Bishop (his fourth in two seasons, which already ties him for second-most of all-time) and two goals from their star defenseman.

Hedman's the real deal and was an early Norris favourite (along with Mark Giordano) in 2014-15 until an injury limited him to 59 games (and Giordano to 61), but he suited up for 78 this year and had 10 goals and 47 points to show for it. At 25 years of age, he's smack-dab entering his prime and should get his hands on the coveted award for best defenseman at least once in the next five years - they'll likely give it to Drew Doughty this year so the Los Angeles Kings and West Coast media will shut up about it, but after that, we can get back to rewarding players for their accomplishments on the ice in a specific season rather than reputation and/or making up for past transgressions.

Ironically, I traded a double of this Doughty card (and a dozen regular-issue Doughty cards) to land this one of Hedman's:

It's card #GJ-VH from Upper Deck's 2012-13 Series 1 set and UD Game Jersey sub-set, showing him wearing Tampa's white (away) uniform, but featuring a blue game-worn jersey swatch.

Teddy Purcell Swatch Card

The Florida Panthers tied their series with the New York Islanders up 2-2 tonight and Teddy Purcell was a huge part of his team's 2-1 win, scoring the first goal. There was some discussion about a coach's challenge being somewhat murky.

The Panthers had acquired Purcell at the trade deadline from the Edmonton Oilers for a third-round draft pick, which seems like a great deal now, what with Purcell posting 11 points in 15 games with the Cats to close off the season and two goals in four playoff games so far.

The 30-year-old will be a free agent this summer, and you'd think the 6'2", 200-pound clutch right winger (he's also posted 17 points in 18 postseason games with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2010-11) will garner quite a bit of interest.

Though he was undrafted, he did suit up for Team Canada at the 2012 World Championships.

Like all the cards he signed for me last year, here he is wearing the Bolts' colours, specifically the white (away) uniform, on card #35 from Panini's 2010-11 Donruss collection and Boys Of Winter sub-set:

It features a black game-worn jersey swatch.

Enrico Ciccone Autograph Card

Thank you Ebay for netting me this card of Enrico Ciccone's showing him wearing the Minnesota North Stars' colours (though he's listed on the back as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning):

It's the autographed insert version of card #132 from Upper Deck's 1994-95 Be A Player set, which he signed on-card in gold sharpie.

It's fitting, because the North Stars moved south just a few seasons later to become the Dallas Stars, and a decade later were replaced by the Minnesota Wild, who are currently facing off in the first round of these 2016 playoffs. (I'm predicting the Stars will win it in 5 games).

Ciccone's one of Québec's best hockey analysts and an NHL-recognized player agent (one job obviously helps with the other). The former heavyweight defenseman (6'5", 200 pounds in the 1990s) racked up 1469 penalty minutes in just 374 regular-season games while suiting up for seven teams (Minnesota and Tampa Bay, obviously, as well as the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, Carolina Hurricanes, Vancouver Canucks and Montréal Canadiens).