Oliver Ekman-Larsson Jersey Card

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At times, it's looked like the Vancouver Canucks' management team comprising of President Jim Rutherford and GM Patrik Allvin have been in over their heads with this team, which they took over in a different contending window from when they led the Pittsburgh Penguins to two straight Stanley Cups out of the gate, having missed out on one and now being cap-strapped with key building pieces like Thatcher Demko, Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller, and Quinn Hughes.

Former captain Bo Horvat was sent to the New York Islanders at the last trade deadline, and rumours abounded that the likes of Brock Boeser, Connor Garland and Oliver Ekman-Larsson would eventually follow suit.

In the absence of a market for OEL's contract, however, the Canucks found themselves left with the option of terminating and buying out his contract, which brings tremendous cap relief this upcoming season and the next but will impact the team until the 2028-29 season.

I expect him to find a taker on a one-year deal around $2M to play on a team's third pair when free agency opens up on July 1st, but anything over those two thresholds would be a risk in my opinion (except for a team looking to reach the cap floor, in which case he'd probably rake in a million more as an experienced former captain for a team like the Chicago Blackhawks or Anaheim Ducks, and maybe also serve as deadline bait, as a rebuilding team would look to trade him for a mid-round (third or fourth) pick to a contender for a playoff run.

He spent his best years with the Arizona Coyotes, where he was one of very few bright spots in his eleven seasons with the franchise, twice leading them in points despite being a defenseman; he captained the team from 2018 to 2021 and represented them in the 2015 and 2018 All-Star Games. Here he is sporting their mid-2010s white (away) unifrom, on card #TS-OE from Upper Deck's 2015-16 Artifacts collection (and Treasured Swatches sub-set):

Artifacts used to be one of the two sets I most looked forward to seeing every year, with Ice.

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.

Mark Scheifele Jersey Card

Mark Scheifele has been the Winnipeg Jets' first-line centre for five years at this point and, at 26 years old, barring a major injury, he'll be a point-per-game player for at least five more, so it's no surprise he scored his third career hat trick earlier tonight. The Ottawa Senators' Nick Paul had scored the opening goal, but Scheifele tied the game and gave the Jets the lead before the end of the first period and added the sealer with under two minutes left in the third, which was a very "Schiefele thing" to do.

It's no coincidence the Jets' alternate captain was selected in his second-straight All-Star Game earlier in the month: not only is he relatively consistent - tonight's game may have marked the end of a 12-game goal-less drought, but he had battled the flu for over a week and had gathered assists here and there - he also has a flair for the dramatic, displaying a level of clutch play that matches that of Stanley Cup-winning (former?) teammate Dustin Byfuglien and captain Blake Wheeler.

Winnipeg was always high on Schiefele, having selected him 7th overall in 2011, and if there was a do-over, he's one of the few who were selected in the top-10 who still would be, with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (1st), Sean Couturier (8th), Jonathan Huberdeau, Dougie Hamilton (9th) and possibly Gabriel Landeskog (2nd) and Mika Zibanejad (6th), but those guys would be joined by Nikita Kucherov (58th), Johnny Gaudreau (104th), Vincent Trocheck (64th) and maybe Phillip Danault (26th) and Jean-Gabriel Pageau (96th) instead of Ryan Strome (5th), Adam Larsson (4th) and Jonas Brodin (10th). He was the top centre in a left wing-heavy (Huberdeau, Gaudreau, Landeskog) draft class.

I was extremely happy to land card #TS-MS from Upper Deck's 2015-16 Artifacts collection and Treasured Swatches sub-set, showing him wearing the Jets' white (away) uniform and featuring a dark blue swatch:

Internationally, he's suited up for Team Canada at the U-18s in 2011 (gold medal), 2012 (bronze) and 2013 (4th place) World Juniors, the 2012 Russia-Canada Series (victory), and the 2014 (5th place), 2016 (gold) and 2017 (silver) World Championships, and Team North America (5th place) at the 2016 World Cup, playing alongside Gaudreau, Couturier, Trocheck, RNH, Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Drouin Jack Eichel, Seth Jones and then-Jets teammates Jacob Trouba and Connor Hellebuyck, among others.

Ilya Kovalchuk Jersey Card

For anyone who doesn't want to read a long analysis/tirade, the gist of it is this: after having his contract terminated by the Los Angeles Kings on December 15th, Ilya Kovalchuk signed a league-minimum two-way deal with the Montréal Canadiens for the remainder of this season.

Here's the thing: The Habs are desperate for offense. They are currently without point-per-game winger Jonathan Drouin, 30-goal scorer Brendan Gallagher, career-year right winger Joel Armia, 20-goal scorer Paul Byron and young mid-lineup guy Matthew Peca - all out with injuries. Max Domi's game isn't what it what in his career year last season. And the team is coached by Claude Julien, who historically coaches with the objective that a lucky bounce will net his team a 1-0 win because he does not understand creating offense.

Spoiler alert: Kovalchuk isn't the 50-goal player he was in his prime, nor the KHL points leader from a couple of seasons ago. He's slowed down a bit, but he still has that Alex Ovechkin-esque shot. He's a powerplay and shootout specialist.

Which brings me to this observation: Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin has a gambling problem. He's a functioning gambler in the same way that functioning alcoholics can still do what's asked of them and keep their jobs, because he's more afraid to spend than he is to take bets, but most of his moves have been long shots that are destined to fail, and he can't stop himself from making a ton of them:

His first two trades were one-for-one prospect swaps, a gamble in and of itself, but nothing major. His third deal was his first involving NHLers, and he sent appreciated veteran and current 30-goal scorer Erik Cole to the Dallas Stars for an over-the-hill former Canadien in Michael Ryder, a guy who in his prime could score 30 but was a negative in every other aspect of the game. Ryder played 27 games in his second stint in Montréal, had a surprising 21 points and was a -2. He retired after playing with the New Jersey Devils for two seasons. This counts as a salary dump as well as a "net loss".

He then acquired Davis Drewiskie from the Kings for a fifth-rounder. He hoped Drewiskie would be a third-pairing defender. The draft pick (Patrik Bartosak) never played for the Kings, Drewiskie played his final 9 NHL games for the Habs (producing a decent 1 goal, 2 assists and 3 points) before finishing his career in the AHL. That kind of works as a win, but it's a missed home run. If you're doing the math, that's one win, one loss and three failed gambles.

July 2013 brought actual hockey deals, starting with a swap of seventh-round picks (tie) and a trade of draft pick busts (Christian Thomas for Danny Kristo) - another failed gamble. He then managed to grab pugilist George Parros from the Florida Panthers for their own seventh-rounder from days earlier and a prospect who didn't pan out (Philippe Lefebvre).

At the 2013-14 trade deadline, he made a flurry of moves trying to get his team to the playoffs:

- He got veteran grinder Dale Weise for quick-skating young Swiss defenseman Yannick Weber. Win.

- He swapped unsigned rookies (Robert Czarnik for Steve Quailer) with the Kings. Failed gamble.

- He traded a fifth-round pick for veteran depth forward Mike Weaver in his fourth trade with the Panthers. Does he only have two GMs' phone numbers handy?

- He landed disgruntled free agent-to-be Thomas Vanek (and a fifth-rounder) for a prized prospect (Sebastian Collberg) and a second-rounder - his first true gamble win. Vanek had a good run to help the team make the playoffs then disappeared in the postseason and became a reason why the team didn't advance further.

- He acquired a spiralling Devan Dubnyk from the Nashville Predators as insurance as a third-stringer. Dubnyk would revive his career with the Arizona Coyotes the following season - they won their gamble, Bergevin lost his.

At the 2014 draft, he traded his third-rounder and a fourth for the Coyotes' third-rounder. None of them had a lasting impact in the NHL. Failed gamble.

In preparing for the free agent season, he then sent disgruntled forward Daniel Brière to the Colorado Avalanche for Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau and a fifth-rounder, a pure "hockey trade" that ended up even. After failing to sign anyone on the market, he sent veteran defenseman Josh Gorges to the Buffalo Sabres for a second-rounder who has yet to play in the NHL and is now in the Chicago Blackhawks organization, Chad Krys. Gorges played in Buffalo for four seasons. This one's a loss.

At the beginning of the 2014-15 season, to not lose goalie Peter Budaj in the waiver wire, he was sent to the Winnipeg Jets with fading prospect Patrick Holland for former prospect and AHLer Eric Tangradi. Pure loss, and failed gamble.

In early November, oft-injured hard worker Travis Moen was sent to the Stars for a fading Sergei Gonchar, who played his final 45 NHL games with the Habs. That's a win. Two weeks later, overpaid bottom-six forward Rene Bourque was sent to the Anaheim Ducks for overpaid third-pairing defenseman Bryan Allen, a tie even though Allen played only 5 games with the Canadiens and Bourque played for three more NHL seasons plus one year in Sweden. Addition by subtraction.

The trade deadline brought forth another avalanche of moves:

- Then-prized prospect Jiri Sekac was sent to Anaheim for Devante Smith-Pelly. Gamble loss: GSP brought too many problems along with his uneven game.

- He acquired the final couple of months of Jeff Petry's contract from the Edmonton Oilers for a second- and a fourth-rounder. Not only did Petry re-sign, but he's been a cornerstone of the Habs' defense ever since. Clear win.

- He also got fourth-liner Brian Flynn from the Sabres for another fifth-rounder. Win.

- Minutes later, same team, same kind of deal: he acquired Montrealer and fourth-liner Torrey Mitchell from Buffalo for a minor-leaguer and a seventh-rounder. Win.

Come July 1st, he sent beloved grinder Brandon Prust to the Canucks for Zack Kassian's alcoholism. Kassian a former Sabres first-round pick, never played a single game in Montréal, getting into a drunken car crash prior to training camp instead. Huge gamble, huge loss.

Remember Christian Thomas? He was sent back to Arizona during the Holiday period, for 12 games of a young Lucas Lessio, who now plies his trade in Germany after a few years in the KHL. Gamble and loss. Around that same time, Kassian was also sent packing - to the Oilers, for minor-league goalie Ben Scrivens. Don't get me wrong, he had to go, but he's now playing on Edmonton's top line with Connor McDavid. Another loss.

Two weeks after that, goalie Dustin Tokarski - the prospect acquired in Bergevin's second-ever trade - was sent to the Ducks for 23-year-old Max Friberg, who never played in Montréal and has been in Sweden for three years. This could either be a "gamble-and-loss" or "we're giving Tokarski away so he can play". Let's go with #2 and call it even.

A week later, Bergevin pulls a thee-team trade that lands him enforcer John Scott (from the Coyotes, for prospects Stefan Fournier and Jarred Tinordi) and Victor Bartley from the Preds (for the Coyotes' Stefan Elliott). He then refuses to let Scott play, creating a whole mess because Scott's named (sarcastically, via fan vote) to the All-Star Game, eventually being named MVP of the event. For some reason, Bartley suited up in 9 games with the Habs. Elliott is currently the only player in the list who has a shot of ever playing in the NHL again, having appeared in three games with the Ottawa Senators just last season, at 27 years of age. This is a loss, for sure, I'm not sure it's a gamble, though.

In late February, in a trade deadline move, Bergevin made his best very trade, acquiring centre Phillip Danault AND A SECOND-ROUNDER (Russian super prospect Alexander Romanov) for depth forwards Weise and Tomas Fleischmann (a free agent gamble of his own) as the Chicago Blackhawks made a push for a fourth Stanley Cup with their current core. Falling under the radar was the trade that sent Smith-Pelly to the Devils for Stefan Matteau.

The June 2016 draft was a busy time for GMMB, as he sent Lars Eller to the Washington Capitals for two second-round picks who have yet to develop and grabbed Andrew Shaw from the Hawks for two second-rounders including Alex DeBrincat. Ironically, I would have considered an Eller-for-Shaw trade equal, perhaps even slightly advantageous to the Habs; however, with the players selected in the draft, this becomes two losses for Montréal. The team also swapped second-rounders again, this time with the Jets.

Then the seismic trade happened. This could be Shea Weber's final season where his positives outweigh the negatives. He traded a thriving Norris Trophy winner and three-time nominee in P.K. Subban to get him. Of course, Subban hasn't really been the same since the trade, but that's because he's always only wanted to play in Montréal. He's lost. Meanwhile, Weber's under contract until he turns 42.

At the beginning of the 2016-17 season, Bergevin traded prospect Tim Bozon to the Panthers for Jonathan Racine, whom he sent - along with a sixth-round pick - to the Tampa Bay Lightning three months later for Nikita Nesterov, who would play all of 13 games with the Habs before leaving for the KHL... but not before essentially calling head coach Julien a racist and biased against Russians. Considering five of them didn't make it back to the team the following season (first-line forward Alexander Radulov, top-pairing defenseman Andrei Markov, top prospect Mikhail Sergachev, hard-hitting defenseman Alexei Emelin and Nesterov) and that another one didn't make it to the Holidays the following year (Nikita Scherbak), he probably had a point. That's one lost gamble and one loss, and it was the first instance of Julien rebelling against his boss' player selection.

Bergevin, trying to please his new bench boss, made another torrent of moves at the trade deadline, trying to build Julien a heavy team to work with instead of one built on speed and skill:

- First came a prospect gamble, acquiring Keegan Lowe from the Carolina Hurricanes for Philip Samuelsson.

- Then came a net win, acquiring #6-7 D-man Jordie Benn for stagnating prospect Greg Pateryn.

- There was a gamble-and-loss in giving David Desharnais away to the Oilers for Brandon Davidson, who never became the bottom-pairing defenseman it was hoped he would turn into.

- Former pest Steve Ott was acquired from the Detroit Red Wings for a sixth-rounder. Loss.

- Fourth-line grinder Dwight King was acquired from the Kings for a fourth-rounder. Loss.

- Grinder Andreas Martinsens was acquired from the Avs for young prospect Sven Andrighetto, who was a solid second-liner on that team for over two seasons. Loss.

After failing to make the playoffs once more, Bergevin pulled the trigger on the trade that brought Drouin (and a sixth-rounder) to Montréal for Sergachev (and a second-rounder). He got rid of a Russian for Julien - one who could win a Norris Trophy some day - for a Quebecer, whom Julien isn't much more fond of. It's too early to tell who will actually win that one, but for the second straight season, my opinion is that the GM went for exactly the right player but overpaid to get him - and should have held onto the piece he gave away.

Later that summer, he sent Nathan Beaulieu to Buffalo for a third-rounder (loss) in a move to shield himself from losing him to the expansion draft, sent the Kings a fifth-rounder for David Schlemko (even) to compensate, and once again swapped seventh-rounders, this time with the Philadelphia Flyers (this one looks like a home run, because it netted him goalie Cayden Primeau).

At the beginning of the 2017-18 season, Bergevin pulled the trigger on a bunch of other small moves, sending Zach Redmond to Buffalo for local kid Nicolas Deslauriers (win), sending Martinsons to Chicago for failed prospect Kyle Baun (gamble loss), Mitchell to the Kings (because youcan't have too many local guys on your team) for a fourth-rounder (even) and grabbing veteran depth guy Adam Cracknell from the New York Rangers for Holland (even).

After New Year's, backup goalie Al Montoya was sent to the Oilers for a fourth-rounder (even), and at the trade deadline, defenseman Jakub Jeřábek went to Washington for a fifth-rounder (loss), veteran Tomas Plekanec and Baun made their way to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a playoff run in exchange for Kerby Rychel, Rinat Valiev and a second-rounder (gamble fail), Joe Morrow was sent to the Jets for a fourth-rounder (even), and what should have been a steal sent the Minnesota Wild a fifth-rounder for potential powerplay quarterback Mike Reilly (gamble fail).

The summer of 2018 was once again shock-full of roster moves:

- Bergevin's very first first-round pick, Alex Galchenyuk, was sent to the Coyotes for their own struggling former first-rounder, Max Domi. Habs win this on following production, age and salary on the following two seasons.

- The Oilers grabbed Hayden Hawkey - a quality NCAA goalie - for a fifth-rounder. This one's even for now.

- At the draft, the Habs and Calgary Flames swap... fourth-rounders. They also exchange fifth-rounder with the Hawks, seventh-rounders with the Flyers, and add picks with trades with Edmonton (receiving a third and a fifth for a second, a net loss in quality) and San Jose (receiving fourth- and fifth-rounders for a fourth, essentially a slight step back for more volume, a win).

- A week later, on the eve of July 1st, Bergevin makes his third-best move as Habs GM, sending prospect Simon Bourque to the Jets for Armia, a 2019 seventh-rounder, a 2020 fourth-rounder and Steve Mason's cap hit, which he buys out immediately.

Bergevin's pre-season is also overloaded with moves:

- Rychel is sent to Calgary for another first-round disappointment, Hunter Shinkaruk (gamble loss).

- In Bergevin,s second-best trade (he just may be improving!), he sends disgruntled captain Max Pacioretty to the Vegas Golden Knights for prized prospect Nick Suzuki, dependable two-way forward Tomas Tatar and a second-rounder. In pure hockey terms, any two of these would have been a win for the Canadiens - landing all three was spectacular, especially since Pacioretty actually wanted out.

- In what could very well be Bergevin's fourth-best trade, he sent Valiev and depth veteran Matt Taormina to the Flames for Brett Kulak, who has turned out to be better than the use Julien makes of him.

- Will Bitten was also sent to the Wild for Gustav Olofsson (gamble, even).

 The 2018-19 trade deadline was once again fertile ground for minor moves involving the Habs:

- The team sent defensemen Schlemko and Byron Froese to the Flyers for Weise and rugged defender Christian Folin (even).

- Taking advantage of a Kings fire sale, the Habs grabbed Nate Thompson and a fifth-rounder for a fourth-rounder, then re-signed the third-liner.

- In order to shed another local kid from the roster, the Canadiens send young grinder Michael Chaput to the Coyotes for veteran grinder Jordan Weal. The Habs lose on age, gain experience. Slight net loss here.

Then the 2019 draft came along, and with it its numerous pick swaps so that Bergevin can justify his yearly $6M salary: a swap of fourth-rounder with the Sharks, the yearly swap of seventh-rounders with the Flyers (no joke), a swap of fifth-rounders with the Panthers, and a trade-down move that gave the Kings the Canadiens' second-rounder in exchange for their third- and fifth-rounders.

The end of June 2019 was also a busy time for the GM, as he sent Shaw back to the Hawks with a seventh-rounder for a second, a third and a seventh-rounder (he really loves to move those around!), meaning that, essentially, he got three years of Shaw - a solid, proven playoff performer - two of which were not playoff seasons, by trading down a second for a third pick and losing out on DeBrincat, a 40-goal scorer.

Oh, and he got rid of Deslauriers, a local kid, for a fourth-rounder (even).

Which brings us to this week, where he sent Reilly to the Sens for ECHLer Andrew Sturtz and a fifth-rounder (loss) and got local kid Marco Scandella for a fourth (win).

That brings us to his free agent signings: Prust (UFA move), Francis Bouillon (return to original team, 35+ deal), Colby Armstrong ("no-risk" $1M deal, didn't pan out), Douglas Murray (one-year "no risk" deal, didn't pan out), Tom Gilbert (didn't pan out as second-pair defender but played ok), Manny Malhotra (didn't work as fourth-line centre), Sekac (traded out after 50 games), Drayson Bowman (minor-league move), George Holloway (minor-league move), Mike Condon (prospect/backup goalie gamble), Joey MacDonald (backup goalie gamble, didn't pan out), Joel Hanley (prospect gamble, didn't pan out), Alexander Semin ("no-risk" one-year, $1M deal, didn't pan out), Fleischmann (didn't pan out, traded out mid-season), Radulov ("mid-risk" for his salary, coming off a KHL scoring title on a "show-me" one-year deal, left as a UFA for greener pastures), Chris Terry (former prospect gamble, didn't pan out), Bobby Farnham (minor-league move), Montoya (depth goalie signing), Karl Alzner ($5M per, five-year bust, currently buried in the AHL), Mark Streit ("no risk", $1M, one-year deal for returning veteran after Cup win, didn't last a month before getting terminated), Ales Hemsky ("no-risk" one-year, $1M deal, didn't pan out), Morrow ("no-risk" one-year, $650K deal, didn't pan out), Antti Niemi ($1M backup goalie deal, didn't pan out), Keith Kincaid ($1.75M backup goalie deal, didn't pan out).

Some of his most important players have been waiver wire grabs, like Byron.

To recap, on the trade market, Bergevin has 19 wins, 24 losses, and 12 even "hockey" trades, and has gambled 36 times, winning/hitting home runs on exactly 3 of them. He rarely gives up a roster player and has yet to trade a future first-rounder, so it's normal that the returns have been underwhelming - you can't receive while never giving. In terms of free agent signings, only one gamble (Radulov) has paid off out of 14, and most non-gambles haven't worked out well either - Prust, his first signing, may be his most valuable. And one of his most consistent goal scorers, Byron, comes from waivers.

All of this to say that when Bergevin comes out saying disrespectful things about Kovalchuk like "he has to buy into the system" and "he knows it's his last chance", he does come from a place he is familiar with: he has given a boatload of players a chance that has ended up being their last, perhaps if only because if someone can't stand out on a team that keeps missing the playoffs, then other teams feel their value has dropped and their time is up.

Kovalchuk had other options - apparently with better teams like the Caps and Boston Bruins; Bergevin should be a little more thankful that #17 (after a nice gesture toward Kulak) chose Montréal and its apparently open spot on the powerplay to attempt to salvage his North American career.

Here he is during better times, sporting the Atlanta Thrashers' white (then-home) uniform on card #TS-IK from Upper Deck's 2007-08 Artifacts collection and Treasured Swatches sub-set:

It features a blue game-worn jersey swatch.

Internationally, the Russian star captained the Russian Athletes' Delegation for their gold medal run at the 2018 Olympics, where he was named the tournament MVP. He also has a bronze Olympic medal (2002), gold (2001) and silver (2000) from the World U-18s, and World Championship gold (2008, 2009), silver (2010, 2015) and bronze (2005, 2007 and 2019) medals with Team Russia.

Ales Hemsky Dual Jersey Card

The Montréal Canadiens' big free agent acquisition this summer, Ales Hemsky, was the recipient of two big hits in the last game against the Anaheim Ducks, a booming one by Josh Manson and a dirty check from behind by Corey Perry, the latter of which left him with concussion-like symptoms.

Hemsky's already had multiple shoulder injuries throughout his NHL career, and missed most of last season after a hip operation. Now, at 34 years old, we'll have to add "head injury" to his long list of ailments.

His injury history is the biggest reason why I disproved of Habs GM Marc Bergevin offering Hemsky this deal, but there was also the fact that I was afraid people would expect him to replace first-line winger Alex Radulov, who had signed with the Dallas Stars the day before.

There was a time when Hemsky's production was close to elite-level, in his early days with the Edmonton Oilers;

from Hockey-Reference

Even then, however, as you can see in regards to games played, he was already having trouble suiting up in every game. The 2012-13 season was limited to 48 games due to a lock-out, and he still managed to miss 10 of them...

Scoring in general has gone down, league-wide, since 2010, in part due to refereeing becoming increasingly lackadaisical, and in part due to the sophistication of defensive systems, but Hemsky's decline is even more steep than the league average; point-per-game players have regressed to the 60-point mark on average, but in two seasons in Dallas, he's been producing around 40 points per 82 games.

With the disappointing Habs, he flat-lined like the rest of the team, with no goals, no assists, no points and 10 penalty minutes in 7 games so far. Surprisingly, at -1, defensively, he's the best on the team, tied with Jordie Benn. His Corsi For stands at an even 50%.

Here he is wearing the Oilers' classic white (now-away) uniform, on card #TS-AH from Upper Deck's 2013-14 Artifacts set and Treasured Swatches sub-set:

It features two game-worn orange jersey swatches made from different materials, therefore from different parts of the jersey. Here's wishing him a full recovery.

Semyon Varlamov Dual Jersey Card

Everything went wrong for the Colorado Avalanche last season, and I predict more of the same this year, with a second-straight last-place finish. This time, though, they will even be surpassed by the Vegas Golden Knights, an expansion team that had a grand total of two players before the expansion draft in late June.

GM Joe Sakic opted to protect Semyon Varlamov instead of Calvin Pickard in a bizarre move, considering the Golden Knights were extremely unlikely to pick a 29-year-old veteran goalie with health issues who has two years left with a $5.9M cap hit when Marc-André Fleury and Petr Mrazek were also available, to say nothing of talented unproven quantities like Philipp Grubauer and Antti Raanta.

It's not like Varlamov doesn't have the tools to succeed; after all, we're talking about a former first-round draft pick (23rd overall, Washington Capitals, 2006) who once finished second in Vezina and fourth in Hart Trophy voting. And goalies using mostly a butterfly style tend to have their hips and groins act up as they enter their 30s, but with proper care can get operated on and continue playing at a high level, so there's the high probability that last season's procedure will give him five more years at elite status.

It's just that Pickard had shown to have similar potential should he find consistency and is young enough to not have had that patch of injury-related hard luck, while Varlamov had been on a four-season slide, statistically-speaking. Of course, a huge chunk of that falls on the Avs being a terrible, terrible team with no defense to speak of during the entirety of Sakic's tenure with the club - and perhaps one can qualify its depth during the Greg Sherman years as questionable as well.

That being said, I've been waiting for years to feature this beautiful card, #TS-SV from Upper Deck's 2013-14 Artifacts set and Treasured Swatches sub-set:

It shows Varlamov wearing the Avs' white (then-away) uniform in a holding position, either while play is in the offensive zone or waiting on a face-off, and features two matching game-worn jersey swatches.

Jimmy Howard Dual Jersey Card

This summer, the Detroit Red Wings surprised a good number of onlookers and pundits by protecting Jimmy Howard and offering Petr Mrazek as bait for the Vegas Golden Knights expansion draft; Vegas ended up plucking Tomas Nosek from the Wings instead, after the Pittsburgh Penguins added a draft pick to entice them to pick Marc-André Fleury.

We now know that it had much to do with Mrazek not being a good team player, having requested Howard be traded despite not performing well enough to be slotted as the #1 goalie himself.

But what of the merits of Howard? Hasn't be been on a straight decline ever since he signed his extension in 2013? Not exactly.

He has been injured quite a few times and hasn't suited up in 60 games or more since 2010-11, but part of that is also linked with platooning with Mrazek, who'd been groomed to be the Wings' next #1 since the day he was drafted.

Injuries notwithstanding, Howard has had a GAA below 2.50 in five of his eight full seasons in the NHL, and below 2.30 in four; his save percentage was below the .910 mark in just two of those, and he finished with GAAs of 2.79 and 2.80 those two years as well, including in 2010-11, when a .908 save percentage was near the average for an NHL starter.

Last season, before missing three months with a sprained knee, he ranked in the top-3 for wins, save percentage and GAA; he finished with a 2.10 GAA and .927 save percentage, because the Team USA alumnus's skill set has his well-equipped to deal with the current trend of players shooting from any angle to boost their Corsi rankings. He didn't finish twice in Vezina top-10 voting for naught.

Now, I'm not saying I'd pick him in the first round of my office pool, nor that he's become one of the 15 best in the world*, but if Carey Price is worth $10.5M per year, having the $5.9M Howard in net is a decent value and bang for your buck. Unless, of course, you factor in Marc-André Fleury at $5.75M, Ben Bishop at $4.917, or Braden Holtby at $6.1M...

Here he is sporting the Wings' white (now-away) uniform, on card #TS-JH from Upper Deck's 2013-14 Artifacts set and Treasured Swatches sub-set:

It features two game-worn jersey swatches.

*For the record, my top-15 this year would read: Holtby, Sergei Bobrovsky, Cam Talbot, Devan Dubnyk, Matt Murray, Jonathan Quick, Corey Crawford, Price, Pekka Rinne, Tuukka Rask, Fleury, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Robin Lehner, Martin Jones, and Henrik Lundqvist (out of respect for his past and for when he's on, such as in last year's playoffs). I think the Vezina nods will go to Bishop (winner), Dubnyk, and Talbot.

Matt Stajan Jersey Card

Matt Stajan appeared in his 900th career NHL game last night against the Edmonton Oilers, a feat made all the more important when one realizes the plights he's been through, from being a fan-criticized star with the Toronto Maple Leafs to losing his newborn son three years ago to being a buy-out candidate this summer after a disappointing 2015-16 season with the Calgary Flames (17 points in 80 games), and a possible expansion draft candidate next summer.

46 games into 2016-17, he's already just about matched last year's production (4 goals, 12 assists, 16 points) and he's found a comfort zone playing on the third line of a playoff contender. In my opinion, the Flames are one big-name goalie from securing a postseason berth for only the second time since their failed Stanley Cup run in 2003-04 - and the market's flooded with them, from Jaroslav Halak to Ben Bishop to Marc-André Fleury to Steve Mason to perhaps just taking a flyer on Keith Kincaid.

I live Stajan and I've always liked the Flames, so of course I wish them well.

Here he is wearing their red (home) uniform, on card #TS-MS from Upper Deck's 2013-14 Artifacts set and Treasured Swatches sub-set:

It features two game-worn jersey swatches, one white and one red.

Thomas Vanek Dual Jersey Card

Thomas Vanek with the Buffalo Sabres... those were the days!

Many criticized his play with the Montréal Canadiens in 2013-14, particularly come playoff time, but without his 15 points in 18 regular-season games, who's to say the Habs would even have made it to the postseason?

But Minnesota Wild fans were certainly expecting much more than 21 goals (a career low in a non-lockout season, as he'd scored 20 in 38 games in 2012-13) and no back-checking from him when GM Chuck Fletcher shelled out $19.5M and a no-trade clause for the exclusive rights to have him wear the uniform and loosely redefine the meaning of the words ''play'' and ''compete''.

But with the Sabres, Vanek was a star, a nearly point-per-game player with two 40-goal seasons on his resume, the role of captain for that final year, a true leader. I'm fairly confident he can return to that level if paired with players who do, actually, play at both ends of the ice and let him be creative and help them rack up points.

Here he is looking good in the retro-modern white garbs, from Upper Deck's 2013-14 Artifacts set, card #TS-TV of the Treasured Swatches sub-set:

It featured a yellow and a dark blue game-used jersey swatches, seemingly from the ''turd burger'' jersey, but not so. Honestly, the Sabres and the Vancouver Canucks should just return to their 1980s or 1990s uniforms and stick with them instead of trying to "innovate" every other year by coming up with worse atrocities every time.

Ryan Johansen Jersey Card

After holding out in training camp in a game of chicken against the Columbus Blue Jackets, I was almost planning on rooting against Ryan Johansen this year, but he came to reason with his contract demands and then proceeded with what he does best: play hockey. Very well.

At 22 years old, he has 17 goals and 43 points in 45 games so far with the injury-depleted Jackets this year, after leading the team in points last season. He even made the All-Star Game this year, and proceeded to steal the show at the Breakaway Skills Competition.

As it stands now, he's got a good enough hockey sense to be used on the penalty kill (an impressive feat at that young an age), and his speed, passing ability and good shot make him a very good first-line center on a decent team, but once he grows more comfortable and experienced with his 6'3'', 220-pound frame and starts knocking people over, he might even become dominant.

Perhaps not on the level of Evgeni Malkin, who's been there from his first season and might have a decade of it left in him, but probably on a level comparable to that of Eric Lindros, Keith Primeau, and Eric Staal - a very good run.

He already has a silver medal with Team Canada from the World Juniors (2011), but my guess is he'll play in the Olympics before long (provided the NHL keeps sending its players), the World Cup, and maybe a few World Championships in the years where the Jackets fail to reach the playoffs in what is already a very difficult division in the NHL.

I landed on this card last year, showing him in the Jackets' white (away) uniform, with matching dual jersey swatches, each with stitching:

It's card #TS-RJ of Upper Deck's 2013-14 Artifacts set, part of the Treasured Swatches sub-set.

Marty Turco Jersey Card

Upper Deck seems to really like their ''two jerseys on one card'' idea, because they're doing it on another collection, this time, 2008-09's Artifacts label, the Treasured Swatches subset, with the tagline that reads 'authentic jersey swatch'...

Limited and serial-numbered 157 out of 199, this card (#TSD-MT) features former All Star goalie Marty Turco of the Dallas Stars, who has fallen on hard times of late.

I also have to add that I really hate the Reebok Dallas Stars jerseys, with the large-font DALLAS and player number on the front like a bad football jersey. And Turco's golden equipment wasn't his best idea ever, either.