John Gibson Autographed Picture 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)

As an Edmonton Oilers fan, I've been on John Gibson trade watch for the better part of the last three years, hoping beyond hope that a competent enough GM would be able to swing a trade with the Anaheim Ducks and make the three-time All-Star's salary work under the team's cap and propose a package that was enticing enough to Anaheim to convince them to part ways with their at-times disgruntled starter.

Earlier today at the 2025 NHL draft, the Detroit Red Wings put those dreams to rest, acquiring Gibson for a package that included an objectively less-heralded goalie in Petr Mrazek, as well as a 2027 second-round pick and a 2026 fourth-round pick. No first-rounder, no top-rated prospect, just a backup goalie, and essentially two lottery tickets, as second-rounders have a 34% of making it to the NHL, and only 7.9% of fourth-rounders end up playing in 100 NHL games.

This leads me to think it was solely the cap hit that the Oilers couldn't find their way around - or that GMs Ken Holland (2019-24) and successor Stan Bowman simply didn't like the player, because on the surface Gibson is still a top-15 or top-20 goalie in the NHL. He had a .912 save percentage in 2024-25 - albeit in only 29 games - after five straight seasons below .910, although he had started each of those seasons extremely well (twice the best goalie in the league before Christmas) before running out of steam as the Ducks accumulated the defensive zone breakdowns when the going got tougher. But we're still talking about a .910 career save percentage, two Conference Finals, gold at the World Juniors and U-18s, bronze at the World Championships for Team USA, and this stat line playing against the best available adults:

Sure, that was more than a decade ago, but he still shows flashes of that today, and at 31 years of age, he should still has three or four good years left.

I was able to grab this piece via trade a little over a year ago:

It was originally part of a larger piece (a 4x6 photo of his helmet that hadn't printed well and was pixelated), which autograph collector BG cut into a card-sized piece to facilitate moving on from it. It was signed in (fading) black sharpie.

Oilers Preview: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins 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, 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: Adam Larsson (D), James Neal (LW), Alex Chiasson (W), Ethan Bear (D), Caleb Jones (D), Dominik Kahun (LW), Tyler Ennis (LW), Jujhar Khaira (C), Dmitry Kulikov (D), Joakim Nygard (LW)

Key Arrivals: Duncan Keith (D), Zach Hyman (LW), Cody Ceci (D), Warren Foegele (LW), Derek Ryan (RW)

Top prospects: Evan Bouchard (D), Dylan Holloway (C), Raphaël Lavoie (RW), Xavier Bourgault (C), Philip Broberg (D), Carter Savoie (LW), Ryan McLeod (C), Tyler Benson (LW), Ilya Konovalov (G), Olivier Rodrigue (G), Stuart Skinner (G), Tyler Tullio (C), Dmitri Samorukov (D)

As a lifelong Edmonton Oilers fan, I must admit the departures of Bear and Jones were baffling, particularly with the team unable to keep Larsson in the mix, who would have been the ideal partner for Keith on a second pairing.

What makes their odds look good:
They have the best player on the planet (Connor McDavid) and the third- or fourth-best centre on earth (Leon Draisaitl), who are finally complemented by a decent surrounding cast at nearly every position...

Question marks: Will the goaltending duo of 41-year-old Mike Smith and the untradeable Mikko Koskinen (he of the 3.17 goals-against average and .899 save percetage last season) hold up or anchor the team?

Outlook:
The Vegas Golden Knights are the cream of the Pacific Division, so much so that they can withstand injuries to an entire line from their top-six and an elite defenseman without worrying aout losing home-ice advantage in the first two rounds, but the Oilers are definitely the best of what's left, if only because of their firepower up front. Their defense is also no longer an issue, with Darnell Nurse reaching elite status himself and Bouchard making for a nice wildcard to have, in addition to such steady defensive defensemen as Kris Russell and (believe it or not) Ceci, while a guy like Tyson Barrie can produce upwards of 50 points from the blue line.

Prediction:
Second in the Pacific Division.

For the past three years, most of the focus in Edmonton has been centered around McDavid and Draisaitl, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins figuring as an afterthought at best and perhaps a serious question mark regarding his production versus his salary and re-signing value, a situation GM Ken Holland dealt with well last summer by signing him to a long extention that diminished his cap hit by a little bit, saving the team nearly a million per season. I believe last year's points totals (13 goals, 19 assists and 35 points in 52 games, for a points-per-game average of 0.67 as a 27-year-old) to be an outlier in terms of his prime (0.77 PPG at 24, 0.84 at 25, 0.94 at 26), and that hovering between the third line when playing on the road and manning the second unit with Hyman and Kailer Yamamoto at home will enable him to return to at least 0.75 points per game, possibly 0.8 if he gets a few looks with either of the two superstars here and there.

As a former first-overall pick (2011), he cannot be considered on even footing with McDavid as a generational player, but he can be seen as a success, particularly in light of other recent Oiler first-overall players like Nail Yakupov. In his draft year, he currently ranks sixth in point production behind Nikita Kucherov (58th overall), Gabriel Landeskog (2nd), Mark Scheifele (7th), Jonathan Huberdeau (3rd) and Johnny Gaudreau (104th), and ahead of the likes of Sean Couturier (8th), Mika Zibanejad (6th), Ondrej Palat (208th), J.T. Miller (15th), Dougie Hamilton (9th), and Vincent Trocheck (64th). I believe he will catch up to Gaudreau, but Couturier and Zibanejad will give him a run for his money in terms of who will round out that draft class' top-five when their careers are over.

Here he is wearing Edmonton's orange (home) uniform on card #GJ-RN from Upper Deck's 2020-21 Series 1 collection and UD Game Jersey sub-set:

It features a white swatch that is certified as having been used in an NHL game. I was pretty stoked to land it, as it's my first RNH "hit" ever.

Christian Wolanin Autographed Custom Card

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

Three days after clearing waivers, Christian Wolanin was traded to the Los Angeles Kings while Michael Amadio will make his way to the Ottawa Senators.

Waivers nowadays are a bit of a crapshoot, with the majoriy of players staying put, but more and more moves occur not when someone is grabbed on the wire - which seems to be more of a goaltending thing recently - but instead a player getting traded with another contract going back the other way, which serves two purposes: the first takes into consideration the 50-contract limit, whereby NHL teams cannot have more than 50 players signed to an NHL-accessible deal at once; the second makes acquiring the player a lower-risk proposition, because having already cleared waivers once, said player can be assigned directly to the taxi squad or AHL/ECHL affiliate without needing to pass through waivers again, and the current Collective Bargaining Agreement no longer includes the provision in which players called up from the minors had to clear waivers again. In Wolanin's case, he will report to the AHL's Ontario Reign until the Kings see fit to give him a shot at a roster spot. My guess is the team wants their own staff to evaluate where he's at in his development and if he looks solid after two to five games where he accumulates a point per game or something near that, he'll be called up for regular NHL duties.

He had fallen out of favour with Sens head coach D.J. Smith, and the team's depth on the left side currently starts with Thomas Chabot logging the most minutes and Mike Reilly eating another chunk; in terms of prospects, Erik Brannstrom has also been singled out by Smith as not having a complete enough game at the moment to warrant second-pairing minutes but was still ranked ahead of Womanin, and College prospect Jake Sanderson was probably also slotted ahead of him as early as next season.

At 26, Wolanin should be entering his prime, but injuries have derailed his development a bit, having only suited up in 12 professional games during the 2019-20 season. Here he is wearing the Sens' red (home, 2007-2020) uniform on a signed custom card by BG:

Ironically (considering his defensive short-comings), he is, of course, former Québec Nordiques shutdown defenseman Craig Wolanin's son. Like Paul Stastny, Christian was born in Québec and holds dual citizenship, but considers himself American.

Tom Wilson Jersey Card

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

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

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

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.

Bruins Preview: Patrice Bergeron 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 that saw its situation get more problematic with the realignment this year is the Boston Bruins, who go from being one of two powerhouse teams in the Atlantic with the Tampa Bay Lightning and be nearly assured of at least one round of home ice advantage in the playoffs to joining the Metropolitan with perennial division winners Washington Capitals, contenders Philadelphia Flyers, the NHL's best-coached team (the New York Islanders), recent two-time Stanley Cup winners Pittsburgh Penguins, two teams that are nearing the end of their rebuilds in the New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres, and the New Jersey Devils. With Brad Marchand possibly still suffering from a serious injury to some extent and Rocket Richard Trophy co-winner David Pastrnak set to miss six weeks (i.e. close to half the season), the Bs will be fighting for their spot all year.

What makes their odds look good:
They still have the best goaltending duo in the league in Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak, for starters, so regardless of the team in front of them, they will always be in the game; Patrice Bergeron is still a two-way wonder, the middle-six is a solid if unimpressive blue collar-type of mix that always seems to fare well in Boston, and Bruce Cassidy has done a masterful job since taking over behind the bench in 2017.

Question marks:
With Bergeron still on board, I don't really fear a leadership "void" with the absence of Zdeno Chara on the blue line, as the giant's role had diminshed a lot in recent years with the steady play of Torey Krug and the rise of Charlie McAvoy, but don't sleep on Brandon Carlo, who is effective when on his game. Still, this is a defense that compares more with that of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets than the Flyers'. And Pastrnak's goals will be hard to replace.

Outlook:
The Flyers and Capitals are in a zone of their own, the Devils are a mess, theSabres' goaltending will sink them, the Rangers are clmbing and Pens are falling, which leaves the Bruins and Isles as the above average teams that should make the playoffs. But missing them and obtaining a high draft pick in a contract year for Rask that would bring his value down and getting back at it next year while essentially riding Pastrnak's injury out wouldn't be the end of the world, either.

Prediction:
Fourth in the Metro.

What was the sense since 2006 until concussion issues derailed his early career and Chara took the actual "C" actually came to fruition today when Bergeron was named the team's 20th captain, and only the fourth Quebecer to earn the title after Sprague Cleghorn (1925-27), Léo Boivin (1963-1966) and Ray Bourque (1985-2000). Here he is wearing the Bruins' white jersey on card #TS-BE from Upper Deck's 2012-13 Artifacts collection and Treasured Swatched sub-set:

It features two matching game-worn jersey swatches. I got it in a trade a couple of years ago.

At this point, Bergeron is tied with Bob Gainey with four career Selke trophies, the award for best defensive forward. He looks poised for a Hall Of Fame nod at the end of his career.

Blues Preview: Vladimir Tarasenko 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 St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup in 2019 and had only lost a handful of support players to defend their title prior to last season - Joel Edmundson and hometown hero Patrick Maroon - but this time around, losing captain Alex Pietrangelo, retiree Jay Bouwmeester, free agent Troy Brouwer and goalie Jake Allen makes for a greater impact on paper, even though the team remains solid and among the best in a top-heavy but shallow West division. Nearly as significant is the loss of Vladimir Tarasenko to a long-term injury, although he could be back in time for the playoffs, which would be a huge boost.

What makes their odds look good:
They still have 15 players who won a Cup just 18 months ago, including Jaden Schwartz, Ryan O'Reilly, David Perron, Brayden Schenn, Samuel Blais, Colton Parayko and Jordan Binnington. They also replaced Pietrangelo with Torey Krug, who was on the Boston Bruins team the Blues faced in that Final, with a four-point game to show for it.

Question marks:
Is Justin Faulk a fit on this team, or will he get traded before the end of the season? Which is the real Binnington - the one from the 2019 or the 2020 playoffs?

Outlook:
There is no need to worry about missing the playoffs, but playing in the same division as the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights means that making it past the second round is going to be extremely difficult and exhausting.

Prediction:
Third in the West Division.

Back to Tarasenko, who underwent his third shoulder surgery in three years last September and will be out until the end of March. He had 10 points in 10 games in 2019-20, which is a better scoring rate than he's ever achieved over a full season, so at age 29, he really is in his prime, but despite having posted five straight 30-goal seasons (with a high of 40 in 2015-16), he still falls short of what was expected of him: 50-goal seasons and chanllenging Alex Ovechkin for the scoring crown; part of that can be attributed to Tarasenko also developing as a passer (he is usually at no more than a 10 goals-to-assists ratio difference at the end of any given season), whereas Ovie is definitely a shoot-only type of player, but it also has to do with the Blues' historically defensive style of play. Tarasenko will likely never win a Selke Trophy, but he has less leeway than his Team Russia teammate in his own zone. We'll see if there are any long-term consequences to his surgery in the next couple of years.

Here he is sporting the Blues' white (away) uniform on the jersey insert version of card #11 from Upper Deck's 2017-18 SPX set:

It features a game-worn dark blue jersey swatch that is probably from the Blues' blue (home) jersey. I got it in a trade for a few in-person autograph cards before realizing it could be purchased for $5-10 on Ebay. Internationally, Tarasenko has a gold medal from the 2011 World Juniors and silver from the 2008 U18s, 2009 Hlinka Cup, and 2015 World Championships.

Taylor Hall Jersey Card

The most coveted forward in this off-season's free agency, Taylor Hall, will go through the process again next year, as he's agreed to a one-year deal worth $8M with the Buffalo Sabres.

You may recall him saying he was looking to win and that a large paycheque was not the top thing on his shopping list, that he was looking for stability...

While this move makes his previous comments seem a tad hypocritical, bear in mind that most contending teams are tight against the cap this year with a flat cap looming over GMs' heads for the next couple of seasons - and few of them were looking to make trades to make room to add salary, save perhaps for the Toronto Maple Leafs, who already have arguably three better forwards on their roster and instead need to find a way to keep pucks out of their own net at this point.

So instead, Hall is betting on himself, hoping he gets to line up with Jack Eichel, that neither of them gets injured, and that they can pad each other's statistics enough for Hall to force himself to an even greater payday next summer. If all the stars align, the Sabres can win it all in 2020-21, but that's going to take a near-miracle. Hall's semi-realistic hope is to crack the 100-point mark with Eichel to parlay his way onto a stacked team like the Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, Vegas Golden Knights, St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets, Colorado Avalanche or Vancouver Canucks.

I, for one, expect the market to remain essentially the same next time around, however, with GMs going for safe, reasonable bets.

Here is Hall wearing the New Jersey Devils' red (home) uniform, on card #24 from Upper Deck's 2017-18 Premier set, which I got in a trade last summer for a card of his wearing the Edmonton Oilers' blue uniform:

It features a matching game-used piece of "memorabilia" (as per the back, the front specifies it's a jersey). The actual card has the foil at the bottom in pure silver, the scan rendered it beige.

Dale Hawerchuk Autographed Card

The biggest story in sports today isn't what happened on any field but instead the loss of one of the all-time greats, with the passing of Dale Hawerchuk.

He had been diagnosed with stomach cancer in October 2019, and it was believed he had won the fight in April, but it came back in July. He had had a gastrectomy in January.

By all accounts, he was a very good person, a terrific father and a caring Juniors coach, but most hockey fans will remember him as a very good hockey player who broke records everywhere he went, from the Guy Lafleur-besting 8 goals in a single game at the Québec International peewee tournament to the Memorial Cup record of 8 goals and 13 points to being the youngest player to ever reach the 100-pont mark in the NHL (a mark since beaten by Sidney Crosby), he was destined to make history.

And perhaps he'd have made an even larger mark on the game had he not played in the very same division as Wayne Gretzky's dynasty Edmonton Oilers, whom he would face in the playoff nearly every season in the 1980s and thus went home to an earlier Spring than if he'd played in one of 15 other NHL cities.

Heck, even his most memorable international moment with Team Canada is overshadowed by #99, as few people remember Hawerchuk was actually the player who won the defensive zone face-off and made the pass to Gretzky against Team USSR in a 5-5 winner-takes-all game, sending The Great One and a certain Mario Lemieux off on a two-on-one that would seal the game. That goal doesn't happen without Hawerchuk. He was named the MVP of that game, too.

Despite also suiting up for the Buffalo Sabres, St. Louis Blues and Philadelphia Flyers - there will be plenty of time to revisit that later - he remains, in my mind, forever the best centre in Winnipeg Jets history. As a matter of fact, here is my all-time Jets lineup, regardless of league, but just the Jets in Winnipeg:

Bobby Hull - Hawerchuk - Teemu Selanne
Thomas Steen - Ulf Nilsson - Anders Hedberg
Keith Tkachuk - Mark Schiefele - Blake Wheeler
Paul MacLean - Alexei Zhamnov - Shane Doan
Ed Olczyk, Bryan Little

Phil Housley - Dustin Byfuglien
Randy Carlyle - Teppo Numminen
Dave Babych - Fredrik Olausson

Connor Hellebuyck
Bob Essensa

I think it's safe to say he's the #1 Jets player of all time, ahead of Hull, who had his best years with the Chicago Blackhawks. Selanne's rookie season was off the charts, but it's hard to argue with six 100-point seasons, two more over 90 and one at 81 in nine years in Winnipeg. That's elite among the elite.

That's why I traded for card #133 from Upper Deck's 2000-01 Legends set, that he signed with a fading blue sharpie, adding his jersey number (10) at the end:

It shows him wearing the team's classic blue 1980s uniform with the long white sleeves that I miss dearly.

R.I.P.

David Honzik Autographed Card

David Honzik came just a little too late to make it with his frame and skill-set, which mostly consisted of his dropping to his knees in the butterfly style, trying to cover as much of the net as possible and shifting quickly from side to side to be in good position in the event of a pass.

Many of the people who accompanied me when I watched him play - be it live during his days in the "Q" or on TV in the Czech system - likened his style to that of Carey Price, but couldn't put their finger on why Price stopped more shots than Honzik did; sometimes, an inch makes a world of difference, and while they weigh nearly the same (214 pounds vs 217), Price's listed height at 6'3" or 6'4" depending on the source does cover a little more net than Honzik's 6'2", not-quite-6'3". I'm at that height myself and felt my eyes came up a little higher than his when I crossed his path, so maybe even that may have been slightly exaggerated.

Honzik was selected 71st overall (third round) by the Vancouver Canucks in the 211 draft, ahead of Jordan Binnington (88th), Laurent Brossoit (164th), Anton Forsberg (188th), and Garrett Sparks (190th) - all goalies who have appeared in over 35 NHL games, while he has suited up for none.

I'll admit his Czech League regular-season stats look pedestrian while his Second Division numbers are excellent (which in North American terms would be viewed as "tweener", i.e. too good for the AHL, borderline player in the NHL), but his playoff statistics are generally terrific, telling me he's learned to perform well under pressure:

from EliteProspects

He's now 26 years old, about to enter his prime years. It might be time for a team to take a chance on him during meaningful regular-season games.

He's played a bit in North America, suited up for àthree seasons of Juniors hockey in the LHJMQ, two with the Victoriaville Tigres and one with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles; he fared much better with the former, and this is what he looked like wearing their yellow (home) uniform:

That's card #46 from In The Game's 2011-12 Heroes And Prospects set, which he signed in blue sharpie. I actually traded for this one, and the person who had it signed had not erased the gloss off the card before handing him the sharpie, which is why it's a tad smudged.

Hunter Shinkaruk Autograph Card

Hunter Shinkaruk is still just 24 years old, so not only is it a bit early to call him a first-round bust - he was the Vancouver Canucks' selection at the 2013 draft, 24th overall - but he remains halfway through playing all of the Canadian NHL teams, having also spent time with the Calgary Flames and the Montréal Canadiens' AHL affilitae Laval Rocket.

This year, he was released by the Charlotte Checkers after a 20-game stint (4 goals, 3 assists, 7 points, 4 penalty minutes and a -1 rating, so really not much to show for it) and he's since signed on with the KHL's Kunlun Red Star, a team that stands sixth in its division with a 25-25-3-4 record (57 points in 57 games, 131 goals for, 149 goals against) despite dressing a bunch of former top NHL prospects like Brandon Yip, Adam Cracknell, Spencer Foo, Gilbert Brulé, Devante Smith-Pelly, Andrej Sustr, Wojtek Wolski, and Griffin Reinhart, as well as famous sons Jake Chelios and David Bondra.

Here's hoping he finds the inner strength and an agent with jedi-level convincing powers so he can also suit up for the Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs in the next decade. Posterity demands it.

As a player, he has blazing speed - think NHL-elite-level speed - and isn't afraid to park himself in front of the opposition's net despite being just 5'11" and 190 pounds, like a somewhat taller Brendan Gallagher... except the finishing touch he demonstrated when he scored 49 and 37 goals in 60-some games with the Medecine Hat Tigers in Juniors has yet to translate to the pro game. The only time he reached the 20-goal mark was in 2015-16, where he had 21 in 45 games with the Utica Comets, 0 in 1 game with the Canucks, 6 in 17 games with the Stockton Heat and 2 in 7 games with the Calgary Flames.

It's like he never got over being traded the first time and has since wallowed in the middle- or bottom-six of minor leagues, unable to find a prominent role even on sub-par teams.

Here's hoping he puts all the ingredients together in the next couple of years and bounces back enough to ensure he has a future in the game...

In the meantime, this is what he looked like in the Canucks' white (away) uniform, on card #RR-25 from Upper Deck's 2015-16 Contours set and Rookie Resume sub-set:

It features a blue-sharpied on-sticker signature. His #48 slots him perfectly in my Canucks Numbers Project.

Jared Cowen Autograph Card

Two-time World Juniors silver medalist, Memorial Cup champion, Calder Cup champion.

Then an up-and-down six seasons in the Ottawa Senators organization, the way most young defensemen spend their time learning their craft.

That was the career trajectory of Jared Cowen, the ninth-overall draft pick of 2009, until February 9th, 2016, when he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, with Colin Greening, Milan Michalek, Tobias Lindberg and a second-round draft pick, for Dion Phaneuf, Matt Frattin, Ryan Rupert, Casey Bailey and Cody Donahey.

Cowen hasn't played since that season - heck, he never even played a game for the Leafs. Instead, they realized he was playing through an injury and bought him out, a move that is against the rules of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement that the NHL let slide because it's the Leafs and their GM at the time was Lou Lamoriello, and the Leafs need to be good for Canadian ratings to be good, revenue to flow in, and Lamoriello was supposed to bring them a much-needed Stanley Cup, like Dave Nonis before him, and Brian Burke before him, and John Ferguson Jr. before him, and Pat Quinn before him, and Ken Dryden before him, and Cliff Fletcher before that.

Wow, that's a lot of GMs since the 1990s. I wonder how long they've been without a Cup for, must be a while. I guess that's what you get when you're better at managing "assets" than "players".

That being said, Cowen did get a look at the Colorado Avalanche's camp the following pre-season, but he didn't make it very far. My guess is he's still suffering from all the injuries he fought through.

Here he is from better days, sporting Team Canada's white (home) uniform, on card #108 from Upper Deck's 2013-14 Team Canada collection:

He signed it in blue sharpie in 2014-15, adding his number (2) at the end.

Ronalds Kenins Autograph Card

Ronalds Kenins is a Latvian left winger who was born to play in the Swiss League: he is relentless, quick, a very good play-maker and smart both with and without the puck, the type of guy who can play a middle-six role anywhere - in international competitions, in Europe, in North America - and not hinder his team or look out of place.

However, at 6' and 200 pounds, he is a little light to play a power forward-type of game and produce points in the NHL, Sweden, the Czech League or the KHL, whereas he plays and looks more imposing in Switzerland, France and Italy and can complement his game with decent offensive statistics there because of his strong two-way play.

Undrafted, he was given a chance by the Vancouver Canucks in the middle of the decade, splitting his time between the NHL team and its AHL affiliate Utica Comets in 2014-15 and 2015-16, but when he got an offer to go back to the Zurich Lions for the 2016-17 season on a two-year deal, he jumped on the opportunity to go back.

He's currently in the second season of a three-year deal with the Lausanne HC, where he's on a 0.5 point-per-game pace.

Here he is wearing the Canucks' blue (now-home) uniform, on card #IPA-RK from Upper Deck's 2015-16 Ice collection and Ice Premieres Autographs sub-set:

It features an on-card blue sharpie signature. The card is see-through plastic, acetate-style, and is numbered #426/499. It is gorgeous.

Markus Granlund Autograph Card

When the NHL season got underway, I traded for this card of Markus Granlund so I could check off #60 from my Flames Numbers Project:

It's card #YM-18 from Upper Deck's 2015-16 Contours set and Youth Movement sub-set - numbered 154/399 - showing him wearing the Calgary Flames' white (away) uniform and featuring a blue-sharpied on-sticker autograph.

The Nashville Predators' Mikael Granlund's younger brother, Markus started his career like many second-rounders do (45th overall, 2011), remaining in Europe to develop for a couple of extra seasons, then coming to North America and signing a three-year entry-level deal, alternating between the AHL and NHL in his first season, at some point leading AHL rookies in points, earning his first point in his third NHL game, scoring his first NHL goal in his fifth game. He finished the 2013-14 with 25 goals and 21 assists (46 points) in 52 AHL games, and 3 points in 7 NHL games.

2014-15 was spread out a little more evenly, and he collected 17 points in 21 games with the AHL's Adirondack Flames, and 18 points (8 goals) in 48 games with teh Flames; 2015-16 confirmed he was among the AHL elite (9 points in 12 games with the Stockton Heat) but after collecting just 7 poiits in 31 games at the NHL level, the Flames traded him to the Vancouver Canucks for Hunter Shinkaruk, a former firs-round pick (24th overall in 2013), where his 3 points in 16 games to close out the eyar were nothing to write home about.

He had his best season in 2016-17, scoring 19 goals and amassing 13 assists for 32 points in 69 games, displaying the sort of skills and understanding of the game that had him looking like an eventual solid second-liner, but he slipped to 12 points in 53 games in 2017-18 and 22 points in 77 games last year, falling out of favour in Vancouver.

He signed a one-year deal near the league minimum with the Edmonton Oilers last summer, and his points totals have all but dried up, playing part-time minutes on the fourth line, but he seems aware that he's there to help the penalty-kill first and foremost while the likes of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and James Neal take care of the offence.

Who knows where his career will lead him from here, but he's almost half-way in playing for every Canadian team from West to East, so a good bet would be the Winnipeg Jets next, followed by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators and Montréal Canadiens.

Ryan Strome Jersey Card

Earlier tonight, New York Rangers forward Ryan Strome shot a puck directly into Montréal Canadiens captain Shea Weber's face, leaving the Norris Trophy candidate bloodied - although Weber wouldn't even miss a shift and would go on to play a game-high 24 minutes.

Strome's been finding more net than face this year, with 6 goals, 18 assists and 24 points in 28 games, with 22 penalty minutes and a +7 rating. He is second only to Artemi Panarin (13 goals, 21 assists, 34 points) in team scoring, playing upwards of 19 minutes per game. All this is factoring in the fact that he only had two assists in his previous five games, he's had a tremendous bounce-back season.

He's 11 points from last year's total of 35, which he had to dress in 81 games to get; his career-high of 17 goals and 50 points (2014-15, New York Islanders) not only seem attainable but well within reach.

It's the type of comeback story that wins a Bill Masterton Trophy if no one has a deadly affliction during the season.

We've been hearing the word "flop" associated with Strome for at least three years now, but the fifth-overall pick of the 2011 draft has climbed up the production chart to 16th of his class, which makes him worthy of a first-round spot, especially considering Nikita Kucherov (58th overall, second round, 1st in points), Johnny Gaudreau 104th overall, fourth round, 3rd in points), Brandon Saad (43rd, second round, 7th), Ondrej Palat (208th, seventh round, 10th), Vincent Trocheck (64th, third round, 13th), and Andrew Shaw (139th, fifth round, 15th) are ahead of him.

It's a safe bet that Kucherov, Gabriel Landeskog (second overall, 2nd in scoring), Gaudreau, Mark Scheifele (seventh-overall, 4th in scoring), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (first-overall, 5th in scoring), Jonathan Huberdeau (third-overall, 6th in scoring), Sean Couturier (eighth-overall, 7th in scoring), defenseman Dougie Hamilton (ninth-overall, 8th in scoring) and Trocheck continue hitting the same type of production for the remainder of their careers with similar aging curves, and it's expected that Saad, Palat and Shaw may regress due to playing more a physical style that lends itself to injuries as times piles on, and I'm betting on Mika Zibanejad (sixth-overall, 9th in points) to hit higher peaks than he had in past years for the next five, so my expectation of their points totals once they've all retired would have them finish in the following order:

1. Kucherov
2. Gaudreau
3. Huberdeau
4. Scheifele
5. Couturier
6. Zibanejad
7. Nugent-Hopkins
8. Landeskog
9. Trocheck
10. Strome
11. Hamilton
12. Rickard Rackell
13. J.T. Miller
14. William Karlsson
15. Jean-Gabriel Pageau
16. Phillip Danault
17. Palat
18. Saad
19. Shaw
20.  Vladislav Namestnikov

Or maybe Palat finishes 13th, but I'm fairly confident about the final positionning for the rest of the guys, with a two-rank buffer at most.

Which is to say that Strome, in less than a full calendar year with the Blueshirts, has even gone up five to eight spots in my own opinion of him. All credit goes to the way he's handling himself in a hard situation, with the pressures of a first-rounder, the near-kiss of death of serving as one of the Edmonton Oilers' worst transactions in recent memory - a one-for-one trade for Jordan Eberle, who it has to be said has been trending downwards in the goal-scoring department - to finding his game as a young veteran on a Rangers team that is going through a complete rebuild and where he was only expected to fill a roster spot, not earn top-six minutes and a new deal.

Which brings me to card #M-RS from Upper Deck's 2015-16 SPX set and Monochromatics sub-set, showing him and the rest of the picture in black-and-white save for the blue on Islanders' home jersey:

It features a matching game-used jersey swatch. Although it's impossible to tell via the scan, the "Monochromatics" text, the swatch's contour, his name and the SPX and Isles' logos are all actually in silver foil. It's a beautiful card and a great sub-set idea.

Valentin Zykov Autographed Card

Today, the Vegas Golden Knights announced they had sent Valentin Zykov down to the AHL's Chicago Wolves after clearing wavers, as he is set to return to play after a 20-game suspension for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. After it has been revealed that this was done without the consent of the Golden Knights - and because he's the second player in two seasons to get suspended by the league for PEDs - I am fairly certain the organization now wants him out.

Despite his pedigree as a second-round pick (37th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in 2013), the 24-year-old with over-average stick-handling skills and near-elite passing with decent size (6'2", 205-210 pounds), I doubt many teams want to take a chance on handing him a middle-six position on the wing after this. I believe he will require a five-year exile to the KHL to mature before getting another chance at an NHL gig, especially with just 15 points in 47 NHL games to his name so far split between L.A., Vegas and the Carolina Hurricanes.

He did put up 33 goals and 54 points in 64 games with the AHL's Charlotte Checkers in 2017-18, but translating that extra "oomph" to NHL success has proven to be difficult, as is often the case for power forwards.

Here he is from his high-scoring Juniors days with the LHJMQ's Baie-Comeau Drakkar on card #65 from In The Game's 2013-14 Heroes And Prospects set:

I got this one in a trade last year from fellow collector BG, who got the autograph in-person. He's shown wearing the Drakkar's red (away) uniform, which does well to mostly use the Calgary Flames' colour scheme but avoid the trapping of copying their uniform design.

Michael Rasmussen Autograph Card

A lot of Detroit Red Wings fans are quick to push the panic button on their first-round prospects if they aren't as quick as Dylan Larkin to have an impact in the NHL, but these people need to realize Larkin took a major step back in his second and third seasons; Anthony Mantha also needed some grooming, and it too a stint playing for Team Canada for him to fully develop the confidence that he could be as dominating with adults as he was in Juniors.

At 6'6" and 221 pounds, it's quite possible that Michael Rasmussen's development path will follow that of a power forward, and he could become a dominant player only at age 24-26 - it's a bet all GMs make when they select a giant in the first round. He's producing at a point-per-game average with the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins this season, but again, people need to let him develop at his own pace, and not place undue pressure on him if he regresses or stagnates or goes pointless in ten straight games - these things happen to all players, particularly young ones.

Wings fans should remain optimistic that they will have a very good team in two or three years, and that perhaps at that moment or right afterwards, Rasmussen may very well be an important part of the core, either as a middle-six centre or as a net-crashing and board-busting playmaking winger.

Here he is wearing the WHL's Tri-City Americans' white (home) uniform on card #BA-MR1 from Leaf's 2016-17 Leaf Metal set:

Oddly, it bears the In The Game logo on the back but not the front, possibly because they hold the license for CHL cards, but Leaf doesn't want to give them a second life after having purchased their vault a few years ago:

The all-silver foil card features a blue-sharpied on-sticker autograph.

Rick Nash, Henrik Lundqvist & Chris Kreider Jersey Card

A guy who had a good run. A Hall of Fame goaltender who for a brief period (3-5 years) was the best at his profession on the planet. A guy who has a habit of running into goalies:

That's Rick Nash, Henrik Lundqvist and Chris Kreider on an all-New York Rangers jersey card, although the Nash swatch looks like it's from his Columbus Blue Jackets days. It's #PT3-NLK from Upper Deck's 2015-16 Premier set, Premier Teammates sub-set, and is numbered 79/99.

Nash was the NHL's first-overall draft pick in 2002, and despite a slew of injuries that took him from team captain and Rocket Richard Trophy winner elite player to depth checker, he still has a good chance of finishing first in career points of his class even if he never plays another game: his 805 points are nearly 200 more than his closest pursuer, Alexander Steen, who himself has slowed down to a 35-to-40-point pace at this point. Duncan Keith is probably the only Hall Of Famer of that draft year.

Lundqvist "only" has one Vezina Trophy to his name, but his dominance and consistency is something I never witnessed from any other goalie in my lifetime - and I saw almost every game of Patrick Roy's career, most of Martin Brodeur's and possibly half of Dominik Hasek's. Like Roy, he elevated his game under pressure, but not to the point of winning a Stanley Cup by himself. He needed all the might of Team Sweden to win Olympic gold in 2006.

Kreider is an asshole. He has the size, grit and overall talent to be on the same level as Blake Wheeler or Brad Marchand, but instead seems to rest on his laurels when the situation would require him to step up. He rarely scores less than 20 goals but has never reached the 30-goal plateau; he rarely gets fewer than 40 points but has never reached 55. His first two playoff goals were game-winners, but it seems like that's where he stopped putting any effort in.

He's delivered a ton of dirty hits to opposing players (those on Scottie Upshall and Elias Petterson come to mind), but even dirtier, he specializes in dangerous contacts with #1 goaltenders, among them Jaroslav Halak, Marc-André Fleury, Craig Anderson, and Carey Price.

He's the type of player I wouldn't mind never hearing of again, like Marchand.

Erik Gudbranson Signed Cloth Card

All summer long, NHL bloggers and pundits were blaming the Pittsburgh Penguins' salary cap woes on Erik Gudbranson's contract, attacking his salary and every team that's ever given him north of $3M per season, but the truth of the matter is that so far, he's been the most solid defender on their blue line - still playing below 50% in "possession" stats, but far better than the rest of his teammates, including one I predicted a Norris Trophy to, Kris Letang.

I'll give the point to those who say a third-overall pick position may have been high for a defensively-minded, robust leader - all things that range between "intangible" and "not worth their weight in statistics" by proponents of pretend-analytics hockey, but there is such a thing as locker room chemistry, and having someone like Gudbranson on your team is better than not having him, for starters, and even more so when he proves to be more dependable than what you've already got.

And so I'll never regret trading a couple of Titanium/Game-Worn Gear cards for this great-looking Phenoms signed cloth card showing him wearing the best Florida Panthers logo - the third from the turn of the millennium:

It's #233 (and numbered 178/299) in Panini's 2011-12 Limited set.

Johnny Gaudreau 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)

(As per years past, this is a twin-post with my "regular" blog, where I predicted the Calgary Flames would finish second in the Pacific Division in 2019-20).

Back when he was nicknamed "Johnny Hockey", Johnny Gaudreau was already a force among players in his age range, winning the USHL championship with the Dubuque Fighting Saints and being named the league's Rookie of the Year, which led to his bring drafted 104th overall by the Calgary Flames.

He then did even better with the Boston College Eagles, leading all rookie with 44 points in 44 games and helping his team win the National Championship, scoring a highlight-reel goal in the final game and earning MVP honours while he was at it, a title he also won when BC won the Beantown Tournament (for the third year in a row).

He improved on those totals by posting 51 points in 35 games in his sophomore season, but his team failed to win NCAA titles, although it did win another Beantown Tournament. Gaudreau himself got a Player Of The Year award and added a World Juniors gold medal to his resume over the Holiday period, however, as Team USA beat Team Sweden in Ufa, Russia.

His third season at BC came with another Player Of The Year award, with 80 points in 40 games, earning the coveted Hobey Baker Award.

Upon making the move to the NHL,m he scored in his first game on his first shot, and played in the All-Star Game while he was at it, recording two assists. He finished third in Calder Trophy voting, behind Aaron Ekblad and Mark Stone.

His career trajectory has been upwards almost without fault, with seasons of 64, 78, 61, 84, and 99 points; that 61-point outlier includes 10 games missed dur to finger surgery and four months of playing through pain resulting from one too many slashes to the hands, a situation decried by Calgary brass at the time, who felt - with reason - like too many adversaries were given too many liberties in hindering their star player's talent.

The only thing missing in his case is to keep on producing in the playoffs, as his Flames were too easily in 2016-17 (4 games) and 2018-19 (5 games), during which he only totalled 3 points.

Here he is sporting the Flames' red (home) uniform, on card #GJ-JG from Upper Deck's 2018-19 Series 1 set and UD Game Jersey sub-set:

It features a yellow game-worn jersey swatch, a colour that is not dominant in any of Calgary's three uniforms, so it's a tad rare. I got it in a trade earlier this summer, giving away five jersey cards for it.