Nick Foligno Autographed Card

Columbus Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno checked Colorado Avalanche winger Pierre-Édouard Bellemare with an elbow to the head last night, an action he himself described as having made him "sick to his stomach". Today, the verdict came in: he'll be suspended for three games.

That number seems right, considering Foligno's prior disciplinary record shows just a single fine in parts of 13 seasons in the NHL, and because Bellemare suffered a concussion and will also miss time due to the hit.

Foligno had a career year in 2014-15, posting 73 points when his career average had him oscillating between 35 and 45 points per season instead; he regressed to his mean (37) the following year only to bounce back with 51 in 2016-17, but has since been a 33-35-point player, playing second fiddle on left wing behind superstar Artemi Panarin.

That outlier season resulted in his signing a six-year, $33M deal averaging $5.5M per which expires next season; ironically, 35-40-point players now go for $4.5 to $5M, and his being captain can sort of account for the bonus money, so he's actually not all that overpaid this year, but the last two (and 2015-16 even more so) were disappointing by a cost-of-point measure.

Here he is paying tribute to his father's - Buffalo Sabres 19880s star forward Mike Foligno - goal celebration, on card #RH19 from Upper Deck's 2007-08 Series 2 collection and Rookie Headlines sub-set:

He signed it in blue sharpie in his final year with the Ottawa Senators, in 2011-12, tagging his uniform number (71) at the end, which is a perfect fit for my Sens Numbers Project.

Shea Weber Jersey Card

I've seen some of the all-time greats play, especially the top-six defensemen on the all-time powerplay scorers list (Ray Bourque, Al MacInnis, Rob Blake, Paul Coffey, Nicklas Lidstrom and Phil Housley), the next four a little less (Denis Potvin, Larry Murphy, Brian Leetch and Sergei Gonchar), and I've never seen the two best defensemen ever (Doug Harvey and Bobby Orr) play live, though I've seen old broadcasts, so I know for sure that Shea Weber isn't one of the ten best defensemen of all time.

But he certainly has one of the best point shots of all time, with MacInnis, Alex Ovechkin, Al Iafrate, Zdeno Chara, and Sheldon Souray.

His mighty slapper was on full display on Saturday as he scored a pair of goals with the man advantage to tie and pass Mathieu Schneider as the 11th most productive goal-scorer from the blue line in those conditions, as the Montréal Canadiens best the Los Angeles Kings 3-2.

The Canadiens captain is one marker from catching up with Gonchar (102) and might even catch Leetch (111) and Murphy (114) before the season's over, although that might be stretching it a bit. He's likely not going to continue producing at a rate that would bring him to 24 goals by year's end, and he might even get injured again; even putting aside the "what ifs", he has become a less effective defender, currently playing nearly three fewer minutes than his career average on the Habs' second pairing, so unless he starts playing all two minutes of every powerplay and coach Claude Julien doesn't mind trading in powerplay goals for the occasional short-hander going the other way, his offensive output will regress to his recent mean, 15-20 goals per 75-80 games. Which is nothing to scoff at.

And while his critics - among them myself - will point to the cost of his acquisition in a younger Norris winner on a shorter contract and the fact that his deal will take him until the end of time, he actually does bring a lot of leadership to that locker room, so much so that the captain that was in place when he got there (Max Pacioretty) was traded a year after his arrival because it became clear which player could best handle the pressure of wearing the "C" in a hockey-mad city and face critics every single day of the season.

Here he is wearing the letter with his previous team, the Nashville Predators and the worst jersey in the game, their yellow home uniform, on card #AF-SW from Upper Deck's 2013-14 SP Game-Used Edition collection and Authentic Fabrics sub-set:

It features a blue game-worn jersey swatch that probably comes from another uniform, though, either the blue alternate jersey of the blue home one that came before the yellow.

Also, because it becomes increasingly likelier to happen with each passing year, here is the breakdown per season of his cap recapture penalty, should he be bought out or retire early:

After this season, the Habs wouldn't be hurt at all, as only the Preds would be affected - more and more with each passing season.

Ruslan Fedotenko: Two Autographed Cards

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Bryan Little Two Autographed Rookie Cards

I like Bryan Little, so it pained me this summer when Patrik Laine came out and publicly requested to "play with better players" in a Finnish newspaper.

Little's been in the organization since its days as the Atlanta Thrashers and has filled every shoe they've asked him to, from first-line centre (earning a respectable 64 points in 2013-14), to second-line pivot - the position he's been in most often - to third-line checking centre when the Winnipeg Jets felt they needed an upgrade for the playoffs these past two seasons and traded draft picks at the deadline for a few months of Paul Stastny (with success) and Kevin Hayes (a dud).

All in all, he has five 20-goal seasons (with a high of 31 in 2008-09) and been above the 45-point threshold six times, and only failed to hit the 40-point mark once (2009-10) when playing a full season (which excludes his 48-game rookie year and the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign).

This season, he has 5 points in 7 games (a 55-point pace on a full season), although he will miss a considerable amount of time due to a pierced eardrum and ensuing vertigo. As someone who's been off-balance for the better part of the past 15 years, I can tell you that these symptoms are tricky and tend to linger on for s long time; it's also what I think stops Corey Crawford from playing like his usual self this year although he might feel physically fit.

I wish little a full and speedy recovery. He's still just 31 years old - he's technically got a couple of high-level hockey seasons left in him, and he's too young to be stuck in a sofa for the rest of his life.

He signed two rookie cards from his Thrashers days last season, and I'm starting to realize I really liked their colour scheme and logos; had it not been for the Reebok piping, the white (away) uniform would have been amazing, as can be attested from card #301 from Upper Deck's 2007-08 Victory set:

And Upper Deck did a great job of complementing the colours on card #103 from the 2007-08 Mini Jersey set:

Both feature a clean, blue-sharpied signature and his jersey number (10) tagged at the end.

Derick Brassard Quad Jersey Card

With the New York Islanders currently in the midst of a ten-win streak, a few things have become apparent for any would-be doubters:

- Barry Trotz is the best coach in the NHL, by far
- Mitch Korn might be the best goaltending coach/guru of this post-Allaire generation
- Hockey is a team sport, and losing a superstar sometimes is best for the group
- Depth behind a strong-but-not-elite top line, under the right coach, can produce better results than relying on some of the best players in the world

Lost in that whirlwind is the comeback performance of Derick Brassard after a sub-par performance for three separate teams last season, posting just 9 goals and 15 points in 40 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins, 1 goal and 4 points in 10 games with the Florida Panthers, and 4 goals and 0 assists in 20 games with the Colorado Avalanche. He was destined for a one-year deal, but falling on Long Island may have been the best thing for him.

He's had 5 goals in the Isles' win streak, putting him at 8 points in 60 games, a production that projects to decent 41 points over a full season, particularly considering the fact that he's technically the fifth centre on the team, behind Mathew Barzal, Josh Bailey, Brock Nelson and Anders Lee; in reality, Bailey and Lee play wing on the first line, meaning Brassard has played around 15 minutes per game, which is decent. Still, he ranks sixth in team scoring, something that many people didn't see coming for the 32-year-old.

I, for one, still trusted the seven-time 40-point producer to bounce back, but I did have doubts that the Islanders - a team no one has posted a point-per-game average on since the defensively-minded Trotz took on the coaching job - were the team where his statistics would pop enough for the hockey world to take notice.

I couldn't be happier to be wrong.

Here he is from his days with the Columbus Blue Jackets on card #QJ-BR from Upper Deck's 2009-10 Black Diamond set and Quad Jerseys sub-set:

He's shown wearing the team's dark blue (home) uniform, with four matching game-worn jersey swatches.

Jakob Silfverberg Autograph Card

It honestly feels like this could be Jakob Silfverberg's breakout year, where he starts putting together four or five consecutive point-per-game seasons, despite the lack of depth on the Anahein Ducks - and not just because he signed a five-year extension last winter.

He's going to get top-line minutes playing alongside Ryan Getzlaf and/or Adam Henrique all year, and one of Rickard Rackell (if he bounces back like he's seeming to) or a current rookie like Maxime Comtois or Sam Steel in the next few years, so he'll always have at least one and possibly two hot/quality line mates by his side, notwithstanding the Ducks' strong defence corps (when healthy).

He had been acquired from the Ottawa Senators with Stefan Noesen and a 2014 first-round draft pick (Nick Ritchie) for Bobby Ryan in the summer of 2013, possibly Bryan Murray's worst trade as Sens GM since Ryan - a four-time 30-goal scorer in Anaheim - has only painstakingly reached the 20-goal plateau twice in six full seasons in Ottawa.

Here's a card that associates Silfverberg with both clubs:

It's #RP-JSI from Panini's 2013-14 National Treasures set and Retro Phenoms sub-set, which includes a Senators-labelled signed white cloth (in blue sharpie), with a border that shows him wearing the Ducks' black (home) uniform.

I like to rag on Panini for the low quality of their expensive cards, but some of their insert sub-sets were imaginative and - dare I say - great.

Stan Smyl: Two Autographed Cards

Last month, the Vancouver Canucks introduced their new captain, Bo Horvat, and while I do not currently have any of his memorabilia, I did have a couple of signed Stan Smyl cards I could feature, so here we are.

By the time I got really interested and invested in following hockey - and I dove right in, learning the current and career statistics of every player in that era as well as those of a select few Hall Of Famers by reading the daily stats before going to school from 1987 until 1995 - Smyl was past is 60-, 70- and 80-point seasons and settling into the role of a checking elder statesman who ran into injury trouble, prompting three consecutive nominations for the Masterton Trophy, but also bringing his points-per-game average from the 0.85-0.90 range to a still-respectable 0.75.

He's the one from whom Trevor Linden learned to supplement his talent with the will and ability to also take on a leadership role, a skill set that enabled him to be the team's President of Hockey Operations for a little over four years.

"Steamer" also embodies the "classic Canucks" look, in my opinion, with the black "skate" logo uniform, pretty much with this pose and picture, on card #283 from O-Pee-Chee's 1989-90 O-Pee-Chee set:

And what about this picture, taken 20 years ago (notice the team's 20th Anniversary patch on the left shoulder), still playing close to the net in the danger zone at age 32, a year before retiring, on card #374 from Score's 1990-91 Score Canadian (Bilingual Edition) collection:

That's a young Mark Fitzpatrick he's about to come into contact with.

He sent me these two cards at an old address I forwarded my mail from about a year ago, and I just fell upon them last weekend.

Brian Lashoff Autograph Card

I have a fairly busy day today, so I can't do one of my usual weekend deep dives into someone's career, but I do have a few I'm eyeing for the future - including one in baseball. For now, however, let's talk about the Detroit Red Wings' ninth defenseman, Brian Lashoff.

Currently playing for the Grand Rapids Griffins - with whom he won the Calder Cup in 2013 (under head coach Jeff Blashill) and 2017 (under Todd Nelson) - for the 11th season, Lashoff only played one full year in the NHL, in 2013-14, under Mike Babcock, averaging 14:26 and posting six points (one goal, five assists), a -2 rating and 36 penalty minutes. The Wings made the playoffs that year.

Despite Detroit having replaced GM Ken Holland with Steve Yzerman, it seems they still value hard work, dedication and loyalty, as they rewarded the 29-year-old for his time in the organization with a two-year, two-way deal that pays him $700K in the NHL (they're tight against the cap) and $275K in the AHL but with a $325K minimum guaranteed salary, meaning even if he remains in Grand Rapids all year, he'll earn $50K extra as if he'd been called up for a month or so.

It's a fair deal, because, honestly, he doesn't look out of place on a third pairing, has experience winning - he has a gold medal from the 2010 World Juniors with Team USA in addition to his two Calder Cups - and can share his experience of bouncing around between first-class air travel and riding buses for entire nights at a time to young up-and-comers.

He's the type of guy who is good enough and has seen enough to be an AHL captain.

Here he is wearing the winged wheel red (now-home) uniform, on card #I-BLA from Panini's 2013-14 Contenders set and NHL Ink sub-set:

It features a blue-sharpied on-sticker autograph.

Sean Couturier Jersey Card

One shouldn't have to wait for a reason to write about Philadelphia Flyers star Sean Couturier, he of the most team-friendly contract in the NHL ($4.33M per until tne end of 2021-22), a consequence of coming out of his shell to reach elite level at age 25 instead of 23. Then-GM Ron Hextall knew exactly what he was doing at the time, even though some pundits viewed it as a gamble at the time.

Nowadays, Couturier's the Flyers' top-line centre, a point-per-game producer and Selke Trophy finalist who has revived captain Claude Giroux's career after a three-year stagnation period/slight dip in production.

He does all the little things that eventually lead to production, but he isn't just brains, technique and repetition - he can also be spectacular at times, as he proved last night by scoring a shootout goal using the patented Peter Forsberg technique:

The Flyers are neck-and-neck with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets fighting for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot and likely will be all year, but as long as Couturier gonna Couturier, they'll have a chance.

Here he is wearing the Flyers' white (away) uniform (and 1970s throwback) on card #GJ-SC from Upper Deck's 2015-16 Series 1 set and UD Game Jersey sub-set:

It features a bright orange (much brighter than on the scan) game-worn jersey swatch.

Internationally, Couturier has suited up for Team Canada four times, earning one gold medal (2015 World Championships) and three silver (2011 World Juniors, as well as the 2017 and 2019 World Championships).