John LeClair Swatch Card

Much has been said about inducting Eric Lindros in the Hockey Hall OF Fame - I'm against it. His numbers fall just short, and some of his teammates (Éric Desjardins, Ron Hextall, John LeClair) were just as important to his Philadelphia Flyers' success when he was in his prime, and his prime didn't last long enough. And he couldn't be an impact player on another team, either.

Desjardins and LeClair, for example, won the Stanley Cup with the Montréal Canadiens in 1993, Desjardins scoring a hat trick in the Final against the Los Angeles Kings, and LeClair netting two consecutive overtime game-winners in that same series. As a matter of fact, when it comes to having an impact, LeClair's 61 game-winning goals as a Flyer remain, to this day, the franchise record.

He was clutch, and had a knack of stepping up when it counted the most. It's no wonder he was a First Team All-Star five times and a Second Team All-Star for three more. He did, in fact, dominate the league at the left wing position for a long stretch, even after Lindros was traded.

What struck me the most about his play was that he played a very rugged, power forward-type of game, playing in high-traffic areas, hitting, getting hit, but he merely amassed 501 penalty minutes over 967 games, and received Lady Byng consideration three times, to go with the three times he got Hart votes and that one year he finished 12th in the Selke race.

Injuries started taking their toll as the millennium turned, limiting him to 16 games (with 12 points) in 2000-01 and 35 games (28 points) in 2002-03, but his production was still consistent. As a matter of fact, even in the twilight of his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2005-06, he still managed to surpass the 20-goal and 50-point marks.

Sure, it's a far cry from the three consecutive 50-goal seasons (and five consecutive of 40-or-more) and stretch of four straight seasons of 87 or more points (including consecutive 97-point seasons) in the dead puck era, but it's still notable production.

As a member of Team USA, LeClair won the silver medal at the 2002 Olympics, finishing third overall in tournament scoring. There again, he trumps Lindros, like he did when he led the Americans to the inaugural 1996 World Cup.

And to think he, Desjardins and Gilbert Dionne were part of the same trade package that sent Mark Recchi the other way to Montréal...

And so it's fitting that my first LeClair post has him wearing the Flyers' white (then-home) uniform, with a black game-worn swatch, from Panini's 2013-14 Totally Certified set (card #TC-JLC of the ''regular'' Red jersey sub-set):

I do have signed cards I'll get to eventually, though...

Alexander Frolov Autograph Card

Two weeks ago, after a year away from the game, Alexander Frolov announced he would come out of retirement and return to his former KHL club, Novgorod Torpedo Nizhny. His last KHL had been Moscow CSKA (i.e. the former Central Red Army team, now something closer to Central Athletics Team), and his last NHL team was the New York Rangers, in an injury-filled 2010-11 season.

However, in North America, he will mostly be remembered as the highlight-reel goal scorer and possession behemoth who spent 7 seasons with the Los Angeles Kings and only once outside of his rookie season had less than 50 points, in his 48-point sophomore season in 2003-04.

Internationally, he has suited up for Team Russia on seven different occasions, medalling 4 times, with gold at the World Juniors (2002) and World Championships (2009) and well as World Championship silver (2010) and bronze (2007). He has participated in the World Cup (2004) and Olympics (2006) as well.

Here he is wearing the Kings' black and purple home uniform, from Upper Deck's 2006-07 SP Authentic set, card #ST-AF of the Sign Of The Times sub-set, signed on-card in blue sharpie, with his uniform number (24) included:

I preferred it when players didn't have their numbers on their helmets, as shown here; I find it cheapens the overall look, whereas this old look was sleeker.

Mike Grier Autograph Card

For a good stretch spanning the late 1990s and the first couples of seasons of the 2000s, Mike Grier was one of my favourite players on the Edmonton Oilers. He reached the 20-goal mark twice with the team, and played a rugged, power forward-type of game to which he added a sound defensive game element relatively early on.

He was a leader on those teams, and I really didn't understand how they could ever let him go, particularly for two Washington Capitals draft picks (a second-rounder who became Evgeny Tunik and a third-rounder who became pugilist Zach Stortini). To me, he, Ryan Smyth, Shawn Horcoff and Ales Hemsky were the type of solid foundation up front that a team required to be perennial contenders.

He didn't stay long in Washington, soon traded to the Buffalo Sabres, with whom he would probably have his most gratifying seasons, including an Eastern Conference Finals in 2006. He did spend three seasons with the San Jose Sharks in the middle of his two stints in Buffalo, but I tend to not pay attention to players in teal - even my favourites.

It was during that second half of his career that he became tasked less with providing secondary scoring and more with continuing to bring a very physical style of play that would have felt right at home on his hometown Boston Bruins, but also shut down the opposition and lead the penalty-kill. He rarely took penalties despite his style of play, finishing with merely 510 PIMs in 1060 games.

He garnered some Selke votes in 4 of his final five seasons, despite being in the minuses for three of them - that's how valuable his work was, how thankless his job of facing the opposition's best players was. He also won a bronze medal with Team USA at the 2004 World Championships.

But mostly, I'll remember him as an Oiler, and a very good one at that. And so the first card of his I will feature is this one, showing him in Edmonton's blue (away) uniform with the oil driller shoulder patch, from Upper Deck's 2013-14 Edmonton Oilers Collection (it's card #FI-GR of the Franchise Ink sub-set, featuring a blue-sharpie on-sticker autograph):

He retired in 2011 and now works as a scout for the Chicago Blackhawks, though his heart is still with the Sabres. And he now represents #25 in my Oilers Numbers Project.

Clark Gillies Autographed Card

I was very happy to find this Clark Gillies autographed card when going through my ''unused'' cards, seeing as it features him sporting the New York Islanders' white (then-home) uniform from one of Upper Deck's best hockey sets ever, the 2008-09 Masterpieces collection, of which this is card #43:

I'd featured Gillies three years ago as a member of the Buffalo Sabres from UD's 2002-03 Foundations set, but it felt kind of wrong seeing as how he'd been such a huge part of the Isles' success, providing a power forward-type of presence for their run of four straight Stanley Cups, finishing with 663 points in 872 games with New York, making the end-of-season First All-Star Team in both 1977-78 and 1978-79.

His career plus/minus rating of +241 ranks in the top-40 among all NHL alumni.

I didn't remember how expensive his signatures were from my first meeting with him (honestly, I didn't even remember he charged for them), so it was a bit of a shock when I got to a store signing and he was charging $50 per item two years ago! That meant I didn't purchase of box of cards, but I did end up having him sign this card because, well, I wanted one of his with the Islanders, and it is a great card.

But apart from one jersey card I've yet to feature, this should be it when it comes to Clark Gillies.

Shea Weber Jersey Card

Despite being one of the best and most complete defensemen in the NHL, Shea Weber has yet to win a Norris Trophy (he was runner-up twice and in the top-4 five times). Oh, and he's the subject of intense trade rumours every single summer - and this year is no exception.

I'm more in line with On The Forecheck's take: the window for bold moves is pretty much closed for this summer, but next year, yeah, perhaps the Edmonton Oilers could offer up Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and make a deal happen, especially since Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will have each had a full season's experience added to their resumes.

I disagree with those who say Weber's entering a sharp decline, however, and instead think that injuries and a change of the Nashville Predators' style from all-defense to sustained offense are bigger factors than his nearing or reaching the age of 30, which is fine for defensemen, who usually remain at top level until they turn 35.

He'd also be a fine replacement for captain Andrew Ference, who might be on his final NHL contract, taking the mantle until McDavid's ready for it.

And so, here is Weber sporting the Preds' awful yellow (home) uniform, from Upper Deck's 2013-14 Artifacts set (card #FA-SW of the Frozen Artifacts sub-set), featuring two dark blue game-worn jersey swatches:

In addition to not being pretty, the fact that this is the team's ''coloured'' uniform means they wear it to play against teams in white, and I hate watching those games between two light-coloured teams. Also, they still have those terrible Reebok piping lines - in white, seemingly just to ensure we want to gouge our eyes out.