Chandler Stephenson: Two Autographed Cards

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Chandler Stephenson had decent statistics in Juniors, nearly a point per game going into the 2012 draft, a point per in 2012-13 after the Washington Capitals made him their third-round pick (77th overall) and 89 points in 69 games in 2013-14, before making the leap to the AHL with the Hershey Bears, where he also improved yearly from 14 to 28 to 38 points, but it was still a toss-up whether he'd end up being a third-liner or on one of the offensive lines, and whether he'd be a winger or a center. He was a full-time NHL rookie in 2017-18 (18 points in 67 regular-season games and 7 points in 24 playoff games) when the Caps won the Stanley Cup.

The Capitals were disappointed with his next season and a half, and he was moved to the Vegas Golden Knights - ironically the team they beat in the Cup Final - midway through last season, and his performance to close out the 2019-20 campaign (8 goals, 14 assists, 22 points and a +19 rating in 41 games) was obviously part of the decision-making process when it was decided the Knights would trade Paul Stastny to the Winnipeg Jets to make room under the salary cap to sign Alex Pietrangelo. With 20 points in 32 games, he's well worth the $2.75M cap hit.

The 2012 draft featured a terrific crop of hardware collectors; among those selected before Stephenson are Tom Wilson (16th, Stanley Cup), Teuvo Teravainen (18th, Cup), Andrei Vasilevskiy (19th, Cup and Vezina Trophy), Olli Maatta (22nd, two Cups), and Tanner Pearson (30th, Cup), and among those selected after him are Oskar Sundqvist (81st, Cup), Matt Murray (83rd, two Cups), Colton Parayko (86th, Cup), Cédric Paquette (101st, Cup), Connor Hellebuyck (130th, Vezina) and Christian Djoos (195th, Cup), as well as a bunch of Cup finalists in Filip Forsberg (11th), Malcolm Subban (24th), Pontus Aberg (37th), Colton Sissons (50th), Chris Tierney (55th), Esa Lindell (74th), Matt Grzelcyk (85th) and Colin Miller (151st), and a dominant Jaccob Slavin (120th).

But the Golden Knights will have to make do without their seventh-leading scorer for the next three games after he was suspended for elbowing Los Angeles Kings defenseman Tobias Bjornfot. This punishment comes on the heels of fines to Connor McDavid (for elbowing forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi of the Montréal Canadiens) and Nathan MacKinnon (throwing a helmet at Conor Garland of the Arizona Coyotes), signaling that star players have started retaliating to the myriad of uncalled questionable shots they themselves have received for the past few years.

Here he is from his Juniors days with the WHL's Regina Pats, first with the white (home) uniform on card #236 from In The Game's 2011-12 Heroes And Prospects Update boxed set:

And here he is wearing their blue (away) uniform, on card #138 from ITG's 2012-13 Heroes And Prospects collection:

He signed them in black sharpie while playing with the Bears in the Capitals organization, adding his jersey number (22) and trying to blend it in with the uniforms.

Michael Grabner Autographed Card

The NHL is a thankless and ungrateful work environment.

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

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

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

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

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

Joel Edmundson Autographed Card

Yesterday - four days after acquiring his rights from the Carolina Hurricanes for a fifth-round pick - the Montréal Canadiens signed defenseman Joel Edmundson to a four-year deal worth $14M, or $3.5M per season.

That is an extremely reasonable deal for a Stanley Cup-winning top-four defenseman who had just signed consecutive team-friendly $3M one-year deals to give the Canes and St. Louis Blues cap flexibility with an understanding that his payday was forthcoming; had it not been for Covid-19, he likely would have fetched $4.5M per season on the open market, likely for six or seven years.

At age 27, he's just entered his prime, a fact attested by his career-high 7 goals and 20 points with the Canes last year, despite the shortened season that saw him appear in just 68 games. Last season, the Hurricanes' top four defensive zone pairings all included Edmundson on the left side, either with Brett Pesce, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Jaccob Slavin and Haydn Fleury; that means everyone except Dougie Hamilton was mandated to get some d-zone time, but they all needed Edmundson's supervision.

At 6'4" and 215 pounds, Habs fan who are not yet familiar with his work will get to know a slower-footed version of Ben Chiarot, last year's free agent signing who has integrated the team's system extremely well. Expect him to play alongside Jeff Petry, in the same role he filled playing with Alex Pietrangelo in St. Louis - the straight man who handles defensive duties and allows his partner to run free and take more risks.

Here he is wearing the WHL's Moose Jaw Warriors' black (away) uniform on card #75 from In The Game's 2011-12 Heroes And Prospects set:

He signed it in black sharpie nearly two years ago after a Blues game in Montréal. He tagged his jersey number (3) at the end.

Kelly Hrudey: Two Autographed Cards

I was about a month old when Kelly Hrudey started playing as a rookie for the WHL's Medecine Hat Tigers, a season in which he'd appear in 57 games for the team that went 15-50-7, which explains why his goals-against average was 6.17; he brought it down to 4.17 the following season, posting a winning record (25-23-4) and convincing the New York Islanders to select him in the second round (38th overall) at the 1980 draft.

The following season, he was named to the WHL's Second All-Star Team after bring his GAA down to 3.97 and keeping an .895 save percentage, on his way to the professional ranks; he spent four seasons with the Central Hockey League's Indianapolis Checkers where he would hone his game to besome an eventual NHL starter in lieu of Isles star Billy Smith, winning the league's Best Goalie ("Terry Sawchuk") trophy twice, earning First Team All-Star status twice, winning the playoff MVP for the 1981-82 season and regular-season MVP the next year.

He split the 1983-84 season between the CHL and NHL and got to the Big Show full time in 1984-85, playing 41 games to Smith's 37 and Roland Melanson's 8, on an Isles team that iced no fewer than three 100-point players: Mike Bossy (58 goals, 117 points), Brent Sutter (42 goals, 102 points) and John Tonelli (42 goals, 100 points).

He would appear in more and more games each year, cementing his position as the #1 goalie up until and including the 1988-89 season, where he was a trade deadline after appearing in 50 games to the Isles, and sent to the Los Angeles Kings where he would appear in another 19 and be a fixture for eight years, culminating in a 1993 Stanley Cup Final appearance.

He would finish his career by spending two seasons with the San Jose Sharks alongside two other veterans - Ed Belfour and Mike Vernon - before retiring to Calgary and joining the Hockey Night In Canada/Sportsnet analysis teams for Calgary Flames games but also the national telecasts.

But today I want to focus on the earlier part of his career. This is an artist's rendering of what he looked like wearing the Tigers' Philadelphia Flyers-inspired uniform, on card #138 from In The Game's 2013-14 Heroes And Prospects set and Hockey Hero sub-set:

And this is him wearing his classic Jofa helmet-and-grid with the Islanders' blue (then-away) uniform, on card #123 from ITG's 2013-14 Between The Pipes set and Greats Of The Game sub-set:

That was his look when he set a record that would last 33 years, that of making 73 saves in a single playoff game - the seven-period "1987 Easter Epic", which stood until hours ago when Joonas Korpisalo of the Columbus Blue Jackets stopped 85 Tampa Bay Lightning shots in a bitter eight-period Game 1 loss.

And Hrudey took it well, as you can see here:

He seems humble, genuine and nice, which is the same feeling I had when I received those cards from him in the mail a few years back. I had written him a fan letter and joined those cards care of HNIC and they came back in roughly eight months. He signed them in black sharpie.

He's also been an advocate for mental health for a few years now, and even more so during the pandemic.

Travis Hamonic Autographed Card

Travis Hamonic is a very good defensive defenseman who has been among the best second-pair defenders in the NHL for the better part of the past decade while suiting up for the New York Islanders and Calgary Flames.

He will not be accompanying his team to Edmonton to take part in the play-in and playoffs, however, due to a family matter: his daughter suffered a severe respiratory illness earlier this winter and her life would again be at risk if he were to bring Covid-19 home. He is the first NHLer to publicly announce his decision not to go.

He was a huge part of helping the Flames to third-place in the Pacific Division with 79 points in 70 games; he himself had accumulated 3 goals, 9 assists, 12 points, 27 penalty minutes and a -3 rating in 50 games, battling injuries earlier on. He was a +21 (with 7 goals, 12 assists, 19 points and 33 penalty minutes) in 69 games in 2018-19.

Because he has a valid reason to skip the summer tournament, if I were the Flames' GM, I would find a way to keep him in contact with the team, be it via pre-game videoconferencing in the dressing room as motivation or another way, and I would petition to have his name included on the Stanley Cup if the team were to win it.

Here he is from his days in Juniors, wearing the Moose Jaw Warriors' terrible Buffaslug-inspired black jersey (and the assistant-captain's "A") on card #131 from In The Game's 2009-10 Heroes And Prospects set:

He signed it in blue sharpie back when he was playing on Long Island, between 2012 and 2015.

The 53rd-overall draft pick from the class of 2008 was named to the Memorial Cup All-Star Team in 2007 and has won silver with Team Canada at the 2010 World Juniors (the United States won gold thanks to a 6-5 overtime win).

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.

Cale Fleury Autographed Card

Cale Fleury's ascension has been quite impressive: from Hayden Fleury's little brother to third-round draft pick to Kootenay Ice captain to rookie first-pair AHLer to, now, full-time NHL-er with a professional jersey number.

Yet it hasn't really been surprising, with Laval Rocket head coach Joël Bouchard saying that if he keeps "doing the little things that make a professional on and off the ice", there was a good chance he wouldn't be seeing the 20-year-old rearguard for long.

It was also clear from the beginning of rookie camp that he and Nick Suzuki were going to get every chance to make the opening nights roster, which they did, with the younger Fleury facing his older brother.

I'll be following his progress all year, but let's all keep in mind a few facts: he was never a point-per-game defenseman in Juniors, so he's not likely to be Shea Weber's replacement to eventually quarterback the powerplay; defensemen reach their prime around the age of 25 - the reason for that is they're playing in the best league in the world, at the hardest skating position, playing against some of the fastest and most talented forwards of all time who all likely have more experience than they do, so they'll need to learn from a few mistakes a few times before the experience sets in and they can deploy their own talent fully while being the most dependable they'll be in their own zone.

Here he is sporting the Ice's white (home) uniform with the alternate captain's "A" on card #44 from Upper Deck's 2017-18 CHL Hockey set:

He signed it in black sharpie at the Montréal Canadiens' rookie camp in Brossard in July and August.

Brandon Sutter Autographed Card

Mark this one as the biggest success story of the evening: Vancouver Canucks second-line center Brandon Sutter scored the game winner in his return from a 21-game absence due to a lower-body injury.

The former first-round draft pick (11th overall, Carolina Hurricanes, 2007) has only reached the 40-point mark once in his nine-year NHL career so far, but I do feel like he's a fine #2 center on a playoff team or an excellent #3 on a Stanley Cup contender; he is good at keeping and retrieving the puck, won 54.3% of his faceoffs last year (but realistically should hover around the 52% mark most years), draws penalties and takes very few, leading some to speculate that he may have been the Canucks' most useful player last year. Then again, the Canucks were a tire sale last year.

But he does fall into the third tier, below the elite stars (Sidney Crosby, Ryan Getzlaf, Patrice Bergeron) and the dependable veterans who are sometimes award-worthy (Tomas Plekanec, Ryan Kesler).

Still, it's nice to see him get his legs back. Welcome back!

Here he is from his WHL days, wearing the Red Deer Rebels' burgundy (away) uniform, on card #118 from In The Game's 2006-07 Heroes And Prospects set (and Prospect sub-set):

He signed it in blue sharpie during the 2014-15 season.

Liam Liston Jersey Card

When he first started playing for the WHL's Brandon Wheat Kings, goalie Liam Liston was viewed as a top prospect - he even suited up in the 2011 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. After all, he spent most of his minor-league hockey with GAAs under 2.25 with decent save percentages. Sportsnet even asked him to pen a few blog posts ahead of the 2011 Draft, about player expectations and one piece mentioning his concussion issues.

We'll never know for sure what weighed heavier in Liston's never getting drafted, not just in 2011, but 2012 as well, but it's fair to say that the concussion that ended his 2010-11 postseason may have had an impact. His abysmal statistics the following year as well:

From HockeyDB

Here's what it looked like in comparison to his teammates, first with the Wheat Kings, a team that included future NHLers Mark Stone, Micheal Ferland, and Ryan Pulock:

Now let's have a look at how he fared with the Lethbridge Hurricanes (he did get the team's only shutout):

He's worst or second-worst by any metric, be it save percentage, wins percentage or goals-against average.

And his 20-year-old season with the Vancouver Giants was even worse:

I can relate, in a way, because I too was a star goalie in Bantam and Midget, and I too was brought into Juniors with some level of expectation, but Liston had the courage to play his chance out, whereas I was seen by the Laval Titan as not being a "team player" (they had two sayings: "every Titan has to always be ready to fight, especially the backup goalie", and "we all shave our heads into a Mohawk come playoff time", which would have been a shame, what with my rock star coif), leading to their sending me to the Halifax Mooseheads, who had a certain Jean-Sébastien Giguère in nets already and no available school where I could continue my post-secondary/not-university education, at which time I opted to retire.

Liston had the balls to take it as far as he could, and studied law later to boot. He has a stable life. I'm an independent musician and freelance writer/translator who lives paycheck-to-paycheck. He clearly has the better life and made the best choices, although we do have in common that we both teach youth hockey in our spare time.

Here he is wearing the Giants' white (home) uniform on card #M-42 from In The Game's 2012-13 Between The Pipes set and Game-Used Jersey sub-set:

It features a game-worn swatch from the 2011 CHL/NHL Prospects Game, according to ITG:

It's the Silver Version, too.

Duncan Siemens Jersey Card

Duncan Siemens is a 24-year-old stay-at-home, 6'3", 210-pound defenseman who is probably on the verge of breaking out and earning a regular spot on the Colorado Avalanche, or at least it would seem so since the team extended him a qualifying offer last summer. He was their second first-round pick (11th overall) in 2011, after they chose Gabriel Landeskog with the second-overall selection.

Back in Juniors, starring with the WHL's Saskatoon Blades, Siemerns was viewed as a smooth skater with a good first pass and a punishing mean streak - which remains true. That being said, he didn't make Patrick Roy's Avs squad because his stick-handling was problematic (and the team had enough trouble coming out of its own zone, Roy didn't want to risk it further by having one guy be susceptible to turnovers if opponents put enough pressure on him), and while he looks good skating for a big guy, making big strides, he's not the fastest skater.

I do feel that he can still develop into a sort of Marc Methot-type, which is very good in and of itself, although it lacks justification for having been selected ahead of the likes of Sven Baertschi (13th), Oscar Klefbom (19th), John Gibson (39th), Brandon Saad (43rd), Markus Granlund (45th), Xavier Ouellet (48th), Nikita Kucherov (58th), Vincent Trocheck (64th), and Jean-Gabriel Pageau (96th).

Here he is wearing the WHL's All-Star uniform on card #SSM-38 from In The Game's 2012-13 Heroes And Prospects set and Game-Used Jersey sub-set:

It features a huge red game-worn jersey swatch from his uniform in the 2012 Subway Super Series. It's the "Black" version of the card.

Graham Black Jersey Card

We're still technically still in the midst of free agency season, but the huge July 1st fun and anticipation has long died off, despite the fact that "name" players such as Jaromir Jagr, Jarome Iginla, Shane Doan and Thomas Vanek are still available.

One player who shouldn't be in this position but seemingly failed to make an impression on his new team after a trade is 24-year-old Graham Black, who went from being a New Jersey Devils prospect after they drafted him 135th overall in 2015 to the Florida Panthers last summer (with Paul Thompson, for Marc Savard's contract and a 2018 second-rounder).

Black was a decent two-way center who posted near point-per-game statistics with the WHL's Swift Current Broncos until he exploded for 97 points as a 20-to-21-year-old in 2013-14, but he could never replicate that production in three injury-riddled seasons in the AHL, be it with the Albany Devils (14 goals, 9 assists and 23 points in 98 games) or the Springfield Thunderbirds (4-4-8 in 33 games).

Still, I'm told he's good in the face-off circle and shadows opponents' top lines very well. Here he is repesenting the WHL in the 2012 Subway Super Series, on card #SSM-29 from In The Game's 2012-13 Heroes And Prospects set and the "Black" Game-Used Jersey sub-set:

It features a huge red game-used swatch.

Curtis Lazar Autographed Card

After trading for him earlier this spring and protecting him in the expansion draft, the Calgary Flames followed the expected route with prospect Curtis Lazar by signing him to a two-year "show me" contract whose cap hit is just below the $1M mark.

For a while there, we were using his achievements in the minors as promises that he'd likely be able to produce at the NHL level as well (with feats such as breaking Steven Stamkos' and Sidney Crosby's Canada Winter Games points records, winning a 2012 Ivan Hlinka tournament gold medal with Team Canada and captaining the Canadian team to gold again at the 2015 World Juniors on home soil in Montréal and Toronto), but after the trade, he did accumulate three points (a goal and two assists) in four games with the Flames, as well as suit up for one game in the playoffs.

It can be hard for youngsters to come in and learn a new system and get acquainted to new teammates in just a few weeks and make their mark enough to dress over guys who've been there all year.

He'll be a regular next season, in a line-up that will include such high-profile young forwards as Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau, Mikael Backlund, Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, Spencer Foo, Micheal Ferland and Freddie Hamilton, as well as veterans Troy Brouwer, Matt Stajan and Kris Versteeg.

He'll be 24 by the time his contract expires, about to enter his prime, and considering he was drafted to be a cross between Milan Lucic and Mike Fisher by the Ottawa Senators (17th overall in 2013) following a fine WHL career with the Edmonton Oil Kings, that could be a huge deal for the newly-rebuilt Flames.

Speaking of the Oil Kings, here is what their white uniform looks like, on card #92 from In The Game's 2011-12 Heroes And Prospects set and CHL Rookie sub-set:

He signed it in blue sharpie during the 2014-15 playoffs.

Tavis Hansen Autograph Card

Tavis Hansen was born in Saskatchewan, but playing Junior Hockey with the WHL's Tacoma Rockets (now the Kelowna Rockets) in the early-to-mid-1990s paved the way for his moving to Seattle upon retiring from hockey in 2007.

Between that, the Winnipeg Jets third-rounder played 34 NHL games with the Jets (1) and Phoenix Coyotes (33), but mostly toiled with the AHL's Springfield Falcons, even climbing the ranks to become their captain.

He also played sparsely for the Hershey Bears after suffering an injury against them that plagued him for much of the 2000-01 and 2001-02 campaigns, before moving onto the San Jose Sharks organization and playing with their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Barons.

During the 2004-05 lockout, Hansen made his way to the Asia League (nine teams split between Russia, Japan and China, mostly), playing for the Oji Eagles, scoring 21 goals with 18 assists for 39 points in 39 games, then suiting up for two seasons with Austria's Innsbruck HC Tiroler Wasserkraft, who play at the OlympiaWorld Innsbruck complex, site of the 1964 and 1976 Olympics as well as the 2005 World Championships. Today, HC Tiroler Wasserkraft currently employ former NHL prospects Andy Chiodo and Jared Spurgeon, among others.

Here is Hansen from his days in Tacoma, on the signed version of card #14 from minor-league set 1995-96 Draft Day by Signature Rookies, with the team's logo airbrushed out:

It's a card I got in a repackaged box that guaranteed autographs, probably at the beginning of the decade; he signed it in blue sharpie, and it's numbered 2436/4500.

Jared Cowen: 2 Autographed Cards

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tyson Barrie: Two Autographed Cards

Good news for Colorado Avalanche and Tyson Barrie fans: the two sides have agreed to a four-year contract that will average $5.5M, after which the then-29-year-old will be a highly sought-after (and highly-paid) free agent.

The two sides had gone to arbitration and signed their deal while awaiting the arbiter's decision between the Avs' two-year $4M per offer and Barrie's $6M one-year rebuttal. The agreement is pretty much a down-the-middle compromise in terms of salary that goes a tad on the player's side, who in turn gives away a year of UFA status.

He will therefore make slightly less than teammate Erik Johnson for the next few seasons, but will likely make a lot more four years from now, possibly in the $8-9M range, barring a career-altering injury.

Barrie won gold with Team Canada at the 2015 World Championships with then-Avs teammates Ryan O'Reilly and Matt Duchene; O'Reilly now plays for the Buffalo Sabres, and Duchene might eventually get traded so that the Avalanche can improve their blue line, which is widely considered to be the team's Achilles heel - and the main reason why the team has failed to make the playoffs for the past two seasons after winning their division in 2013-14.

In the WHL, he had captained the Kelowna Rockets, after leading them to a Memorial Cup appearance; he set the team record for most career points, with 228 (in 256 games). Here he is wearing the Rockets' black (away) uniform, on card #128 from In The Game's 2009-10 Heroes And Prospects set:

And here is he manning the point with the Avalanche, on card #126 from Panini's 2013-14 Score set:

He signed both cards in black sharpie, adding the jersey number corresponding with each - 4 with the Rockets, 41 with the Avs, though he has switched to 4 with Colorado as well now.

Doug Bonner Autograph Card

There's been a lot of talk concerning which goalies would be made available for the future Las Vegas NHL team to choose from at next June's expansion draft, and although I have been one of those who spent a lot of ink and saliva on the subject - even going so far as to email the team to suggest GMs, coaches and perhaps myself as goalie scout - today I want to look forward to the next expansion... to Seattle.

They have yet to build an arena and no owner wants to take on a team, despite interest from nearby Portland and their own billionaire Paul Allen. But it got me thinking about Doug Bonner, a native of Tacoma, Washington who played his junior hockey just over a half an hour North, for the WHL Seattle Thunderbirds.

He was drafted in the sixth round (139th overall) in 1995 by the Toronto Maple Leafs, and spent five seasons in their organization, splitting his time at first between the ECHL and AHL, but mostly the former, and entirely so for the final two, with the now-defunct New Orleans Brass.

In 2000-01, he attempted to rise through the ranks of pro hockey by signing a free agent contract with the UHL's Missouri River Otters, but despite similar numbers, only appeared in 18 games to Benoit Thibert's 46.

He does appear in the ECHL's record books, albeit for a reason that has little to do with his skills: at one point, he had made the third-fewest saves in a playoff game in league history.

Here he is wearing the Thunderbirds' white (home) uniform, albeit with the front logo airbrushed out for copyright reasons, from Signature Rookies' 1995-96 Draft Day set (card #5 in the series, numbered 927/4500, signed on-card in blue sharpie):

He currently works in selling educational tools for the company Amplify in Lafayette, where he played from 1997 until 1999, for the ECHL's Louisiana IceGators (not the same as the current version of the team, which plays in the SHL).

Colton Sissons: 2 Signed Cards

Lost in the pre-trading deadline frenzy was the fact that Colton Sissons signed a brand-new three-year deal with the Nashville Predators in late February.

At 22 years of age, the former Kelowna Rockets captain is looking to parlay a successful stint in juniors and decent AHL run with the Milwaukee Admirals (including a captaincy there as well this season) into a permanent third-line center role in the NHL, not unlike Phillip Danault, now of the Montréal Canadiens.

I thought it was a good time to show these two cards, which are essentially different signed versions of the same card from In The Game's 2012-13 Heroes And Prospects set:

On the left is the regular-issue card (#124 in the series) which he signed in person in silver sharpie after a game against the Ottawa Senators in 2013-14; on the right is the signed insert version of the card (#A-CSI in the Autograph sub-set), featuring a black-sharpied on-sticker autograph. It's the same design, and the same picture of the Rockets' red uniform with the captain's "C" on his chest.

I also like that his signature is identical, down to the tagged jersey number (15) at the end, which shows that he takes even the at-times tedious obligatory card company signings as seriously as face-to-face encounters with fans. In this day and age, I find it impressive that a young sports star isn't jaded.

The backs were also different, in the same order:

Also fitting: as the go-to call-up for the Preds this year, he was brought back two days ago to fill in for the injured Paul Gaustad, who, like Sissons, is also a face-off beast.

Jake Virtanen Autographed Card

I couldn't attend the Montréal Canadiens game against the Vancouver Canucks on November 16th because I was in Las Vegas with my brother and mother, so I gave my ticket to a friend of mine who was tasked to do one thing: get this 2012-13 Heroes And Prospects card of Jake Virtanen with the Calgary Hitmen (#45 of the set from manufacturer In The Game, part of the CHL Rookie sub-set) signed in blue sharpie, which she did:

He was a -1 in the game, and he stands at one goal and 3 assists (4 total points) in 19 games at the NHL level in his rookie season but is fourth among rookies with 53 hits; he was loaned to Team Canada for the World Juniors in an attempt to win back-to-back gold medals for his home country, this time in Finland, where his father and grandfather were born.

The sixth-overall pick of the 2014 draft will thus have a chance to gain some confidence as the Canucks enter the stretch run to try to make the playoffs in what is so far considered to be the ''worst'' division in the NHL, where only three teams may make the final cut.

Mathew Dumba Jersey Card

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Mathew Dumba did a really classy thing yesterday: he contacted Derek Boogaard's family to ask if it was ok to use their son's former #24 jersey, meaning he'll forgo the star-worthy 55 in favour of a more classic number. Boogaard may have been an enforcer, but he resonated deeply with fans and teammates.

A year ago, Dumba was about to enter his actual rookie year as a 20-year-old defenseman, and Minnesota Wild fans were expecting to see his hard hits, hard shot and offensive prowess on full display, but the team decided to work him in slowly, giving him third-pair minutes (he averaged less than 16 per game in 58 games) and asking him to develop a sound, mistake-free defensive game before trying to light up the league.

He had nearly as many points in the NHL level (16 in 58 games) as he did in the AHL (14 in 20 games), but his average with the Iowa Wild was closer to what he'd shown he could provide in the minor leagues.

Then again, it's not every year than an Aaron Ekblad comes in and dominates as a rookie on the back end, and even those who do later take a few years of constant criticism while polishing their game, like Tyler Myers. I think the Wild will play it smart with him and let him develop on his own timeline, as the Montréal Canadiens have done with P.K. Subban and now Nathan Beaulieu.

One thing's for sure, as he gathers confidence and learns to properly gauge the speed at which plays occur, he will lay some bruising hits in his own zone and scare the other team's defenders in the offensive zone with his shot.

He has the tools to dominate for a decade, it's up to him to use them properly, and to the Wild to develop them.

In the meantime, here he is from In The Game's 2011-12 Heroes And Prospects set (card #SSM-05 in the Game-Used Jersey sub-set, the Black Version variant), wearing the WHL All-Stars' white (home) uniforms as they faced off against a group of talented Russian Juniors stars in the Subway Super Series, with a matching game-worn jersey swatch:

Derrick Pouliot Jersey Card

Every time he was called up from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this season, showcasing this card was an option; now that the Pittsburgh Penguins are in danger of missing the playoffs altogether, I guess I have to ''take advantage'' of his injury to talk about the impressive prospect on their blue line, Derrick Pouliot.

The Pens chose Pouliot 8th overall in 2012 knowing full well they had another player just like him in Kris Letang - smooth-skating, booming shot, good hockey vision and great passes, standing at around the 6'0''and 200-pound mark, and somewhat needs to work on his defensive game - but he was so good that they just couldn't pass him up.

He's already suited up twice for Team Canada at the Juniors level, and has made the Memorial Cup All-Star Team, and has played in the CHL's Subway Super Series, as can be attested by this card from In The Game's 2012-13 Heroes And Prospects set (card #SSM-31 in the Game-Used Jersey sub-set):

He's shown wearing the WHL All-Stars' white (home) uniforms as they faced off against a group of talented Russian Juniors stars; Pouliot participated in both the 2012 and 2013 editions of the tournament that is usually played in November as a prelude to the World Juniors.

He also played in this year's AHL All-Star Game, as he led his team in scoring (as a defenseman) despite having been called up to the NHL for a good chunk of December; all told, he's played 34 games with the Pens so far this year, though he's out for their next game.

There'll be knocks on his game for a while because of his ''defensive failings'', but like Letang or P.K. Subban, he will ultimately produce far more points than be responsible for goals going in, and the differential between one and the other will determine whether he will be a top-4 defenseman or a top-pairing left-hander like Erik Karlsson. He's just 21 and has already scored on Roberto Luongo (on his first shot, no less), so I'm fairly confident we'll be talking about him as an NHL player for the next 15 years.