Justin Williams Jersey Card

It's unclear what Justin Williams had in mind this summer when he signed a two-year deal with the Carolina Hurricanes, who will likely not be making the playoffs during that time.

Perhaps he was chasing the money, as he'll be making an average of $4.5M on a 35-year-old (i.e. "un-buyout-able") contract when he made $3.25 in his previous deal with the Washington Capitals. Maybe the pressure of being nicknamed "Mr. Game 7" got to him, as the Caps once again fell in the second round last season; not to worry, Williams will now be appearing at World Championships under the Team Canada banner during the NHL postseason from now on.

He'll find these Canes are a far cry from the team he won the 2006 Stanley Cup with, despite Cam Ward still plying his trade in nets and the likes of Ron Francis (GM), Rod Brind'Amour (assistant-coach), Glen Wesley (defensemen development coach), Sergei Samsonov (player development coach), Jeff Daniels (scout manager), and Ray Whitney (pro scout) still around the team after retiring.

Then again, at least he's found work. I'm currently unemployed, as are the likes of NHL free agents Dennis Wideman, Milan Michalek, Thomas Vanek, David Pastrnak, Brooks Laich, Drew Stafford, Nick Schultz, Mike Ribeiro, Jakub Kindl, Nikita Zadorov, Jiri Hudler, Teddy Purcell, P.A. Parenteau, Chris Neil, Boyd Gordon, Scottie Upshall, and former captains Jaromir Jagr, Shane Doan, Jarome Iginla, and Brian Gionta.

Williams should, in my opinion, be designated as the team's captain for the couple of years that the team still plays its games in Raleigh and when it's unclear which of the next generation of players will be able to take on that responsibility and lead the team back to respectability.

Which is why I chose to feature him today wearing the Canes' former red (home) uniform, hints of which will be found on their new Adidas uniforms:

That's card #UA-JW from Fleer's 2008-09 Fleer Ultra collection and Ultra Uniformity sub-set, manufactured by Upper Deck, featuring a white game-worn jersey swatch. The team's 10th Anniversary patch is on full display in the picture.

Radek Bonk Jersey Card

Ah, Radek Bonk.

Sure, when he was chosen third overall at the 1994 NHL draft, expectations were high on the Czech center. Chosen after Ed Jovanovski (1st) and Oleg Tverdovsky (2nd) and ahead of the likes of Jason Bonsignore (4th), Jeff O'Neill (5th), Ryan Smyth (6th), Jamie Storr (7th), Brett Lindros (9th), Jeff Friesen (11th), Mattias Ohlund (13th), Ethan Moreau (14th), Éric Fichaud (16th), Wayne Primeau (17th), Dan Cloutier (26th), Stanislav Neckar (29th), José Theodore (44th), Mathieu Dandenault (49th), Patrik Elias (51st), Fredrik Modin (64th), Sheldon Souray (71st), Chris Drury (72nd), Milan Hejduk (87th), Vaclav Varada (89th), Marty Turco (124th), Daniel Alfredsson (133rd), Roman Vopat (172nd), Shane Hnidy (173rd), Frédéric Cassivi (210th), Tim Thomas (217th), Evgeni Nabokov (219th), Tomas Vokoun (226th), Steve Sullivan (233rd), Richard Zednik (249th), Mike Peluso (253rd), Sergei Berezin (256th), Tomas Holmstrom (257th), Dick Tarnstrom (272nd), and Kim Johnsson (286th).

Among those chosen in the top-5, it's hard to argue he shouldn't have been in the top-3. In retrospect, when considering the players drafted in every round, he's still a definite first-rounder, and still a top-10 pick for me, as my order would probably be:

1. Alfredsson
2. Hejduk
3. Smyth
4. Elias
5. Theodore
6. Tverdovsky
7. Thomas
8. Vokoun
9. Drury
10. Bonk
11. Jovanovski
12. Souray
13. Ohlund
14. O'Neill
15. Nabokov

And he may not have become a leading scorer (though he did have a 70-point season as well as a couple where he put up 60 and 59, part of a streak of four consecutive 20-goal seasons), but playing alongside Marian Hossa on the Ottawa Senators for seven seasons really cemented his abilities as a two-way center, which led to his earning Selke Trophy consideration five times, including twice with nearly the same number of votes as Hossa.

However, there came a point where the expectations of high production in Ottawa became too lofty, and he was part of a three-way trade that sent him to the Montréal Canadiens, where head coach Claude Julien was quick to cast him into a defense-first role where 10 to 15 goals and 25 to 30 points were going to be acceptable, and for a couple of seasons he thrived in Montréal. So much so that he eventually signed a free agent contract with the Nashville Predators, before a one-year stint in the KHL and a return to the Czech Republic.

Here he is wearing the Habs' white (now-away) uniform, from Fleer's 2006-07 Fleer Ultra set by Upper Deck, card #U-RB of the Ultra Uniformity sub-set, featuring a red game-worn jersey swatch:

You might remember him from his mullet in his early years, but this is him as he is ingrained in my brain.

Nik Antropov Jersey Card

So it looks like the Toronto Maple Leafs are combining their yearly pre-playoff meltdown with a half-planned tanking to get in on the McEichel sweepstakes along with perennial bottom-feeders Carolina Hurricanes, Arizona Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres and Edmonton Oilers.

I, for one, hope Buffalo finishes last - which will ensure them of at least picking one of Jack Eichel or Connor McDavid, and that the Oilers or Colorado Avalanche win the lottery to get the first pick. I'd hate to see one of the two blue-chip prospects save a dwindling franchise when fans from other markets have been supporting their crappy teams through thick and thin.

The Leafs just haven't been the same since the days of Mats Sundin and Nikolai Antropov, where the two towering and tough centers plowed through the opposition and helped build the Bay Street Bullies identity that former GM Brian Burke loved so much.

Antropov was the only Leaf I liked, so I collect his cards even though he's mostly shown with a team I'd rather avoid, like here, where he's sporting their classic white (then-home) uniform, with a matching game-worn jersey swatch:

It's from Fleer's 2008-09 Fleer Ultra set (card #UA-NA of the Ultra Uniformity sub-set) by Upper Deck.

He's currently in the final season of a two-year contract with the KHL's Astana Barys club, so maybe he'll cross back to this side of the pond eventually - he is, after all, a Canadian citizen now, though he still plays for Team Kazakhstan internationally.

Kari Lehtonen Jersey Card

Dallas Stars head coach Lindy Ruff said last weekend that Kari Lehtonen had to step up and steal some games; he did just that in his very next outing.

Many observers were counting on the guy who finished 8th in Vezina voting last year to once again display the dominant and consistent form he's been known for (provided he stay healthy, I added), and while he hasn't been downright awful so far this season, his .906 save percentage ties his career-worst from his rookie year, and he had never been below .911 since, usually hovering between .916 and .919, with a career-high of .922 in 2011-12 (his 4 games in 2003-04 notwithstanding).

His 2.95 GAA is reminiscent of his days with the lowly Atlanta Thrashers though. I had featured him in Atlanta's white (then-home) uniform years ago, and thought I could do so again today with their so-awful-it's-hilarious alternate blue jersey, with pastel equipment:

It's card #UU-KL from the Ultra Uniformity sub-set of Fleer's 2009-10 Fleer Ultra set, by Upper Deck, featuring a dark blue game-used jersey swatch which could be from any of the three uniforms they wore then. I kind of dig the mask, too, what with the ''iced Thrasher'' logo on the forehead.

His masks usually feature a film, TV or video game character, and they're fun to watch evolve from one year to the next.

The second-overall pick of the 2002 NHL draft has also had a successful run representing Team Finland, perhaps the country with the best top-4 goalies in the world in the past decade. He has gold (2000) and silver (2001) medals from the U-18 World Championships, Olympic bronze (2014), World Championship silver (2007), World Cup silver (2004), and World Juniors silver (2001) and bronze (2002 and 2003).

And yet, on the verge of turning 31, he has perhaps 4 or 5 more good seasons in him.

Pierre-Marc Bouchard Jersey Card

The curious case of Pierre-Marc Bouchard... drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the first round (8th overall) of the 2002 NHL draft (ahead of Cam Ward, Alexander Semin, Keith Ballard and Duncan Keith, among others) after winning Top Prospect honours in both the QMJHL and CHL, Bouchard was expected to be the same type of player Mike Ribeiro turned out to be: an adept playmaker with great deking hands who can lead his team in scoring once in a while.

Combined with Mikko Koivu, he was supposed to be the beginning of the Wild's change from a defense-oriented team to more of an offensive threat.

Unfortunately, it took him until the 2006-07 season to reach the 20-goal barrier, and until 2007-08 to gather more than 60 points (63, off 13 goals and 50 assists). And just when it looked like he was getting there, he had a sub-par season in 2008-09 (16 goals, 30 assists, 46 points in 71 games) before suffering a concussion in the very first game of the 2009-10 season - from which he has yet to recover. He only started skating again - lightly - this week.

Very few players come back from a year-long injury to reach elite levels; it's even rarer when it comes to concussion victims. But he claims he's 90% recovered, we'll just have to wait and see.

This beautiful card (#U-PB) is from Fleer's 2006-07 Fleer Ultra set, the Ultra Uniformity sub-set. It sports a gorgeous dark green patch, probably from the jersey's waist line. I used to not like the Wild's jersey colours, I found them ''un-hockey-like'', but I've gotten used to them and find them ok now.

Robyn Regehr Jersey Card

If the Calgary Flames end up making the playoffs, Robyn Regehr is one guy they'll be glad to have on their blue line. He is the prototypical shut-down defender, huge and quick, able to move the puck and armed with a decent shot, both speed-wise and for accuracy.

But what he has the most is determination. He is the youngest-ever winner of the Bill Masterton trophy, which he won at age 19, after making his NHL debut in 1999-2000 despite having broken both legs in a car crash in the summer of 1999 - doctors even said it was unlikely he would walk before the end of the year, yet he was on the ice on October 28th for a game against the Ottawa Senators, after having played 5 games with the AHL St. John's Flames.

That's just what he does, defy the odds; born in Brazil and raised early in Indonesia where his brother Richie was born (their parents were Mennonite missionaries, preaching Jesus' Word through nonviolence), he only started playing hockey in Saskatchewan when he was 7, three years behind the other kids. But by the time thw WHL went into the bantam draft in 1995, he was the Kamloops Blazers' first-round pick. By the 1998 NHL draft, he was the Colorado Avalanche's first pick (19th overall), but he was traded to the Flames in the deal that sent Theoren Fleury to Denver.

Throughout his career, he was injured more times than just about any of his teammates: rib, abdominal and wrist injuries in 2002-03; torn ligaments in his foot in the Stanley Cup final in 2003-04; a knee injury in 2005-06; another knee injury in the 2006-07 playoffs; a puck to the face and a dep bruise on his foot from blocking a shot (that was believed to be a broken foot for some time) in 2007-08; yet another knee injury in 2009-10 to end his season at 75 games.

And yet, he is as effective as he's always been, despite the numerous knee injuries, two of which could have ended his career. Don't ever tell this guy he can't do something, unless you actually want it done is all I'm saying. That's why he wears an "A" on his jersey.

And although he didn't participate in the 2010 Winter Games, he has represented Canada numerous times before: at the 1999 World Juniors (a second-place finish); 2000 and 2005 World Championships (fourth and second place, respectively); the 2004 World Cup (gold) and the 2006 Turin Olympics (a disappointing seventh place that shocked the nation).

He follows in his parents' footsteps, as he is very active in helping the less fortunate, both in his community and around the world; he made a trip to Mozambique for the Right To Play foundation, and co-heads (with his wife) the Impact Foundation that helps kids deal with ''the challenges of growing up'' in Calgary.

This card (#U-RR) is from Fleer's 2006-07 Fleer Ultra set, subtly produced by Upper Deck (the address on the pack and cards barely states ''UDC'' and that the cards are ''by permission of Fleer LLC) and bears the Ultra Uniformity trademark as well; it incorporates a black piece of a Flames jersey, most likely from the dark, away jersey. Viewed as a ''common'' jersey card, it usually fetches around or less than $20, but I, for one, am glad to have a Regehr in my collection - what a guy!