88-89 OPC Tribute: Alfredsson, Lidstrom, and Forsberg

#38 - Daniel Aflredsson 

  In 2010-11 Daniel Afredsson was limited to only 54 games due to back injuries and posted his lowest points total, 31, and points per game, 0.57, of his career.  The team mirrored Alfredsson's decline as the Senators posted thier first losing season since 1995-96 - Alfredsson's rookie season.

  Alfredsson had back surgery in the off-season and both he and the team are looking forward to making improvements over last season.

  Alfredsson is 11 goals away from 400 career goals.  In 2010-11, Alredsson registered his 1000th point of this career.  Is Alfredsson HHOF worthy?  Unless he does something spectacular in the next year or two, I think he falls short.  Not coming to the NHL until, he was 23 really hurt his career totals.  Although did anyone really want to play for the Senators in the early-mid 90s?

#39 - Nicklas Lidstrom

  Speaking of the HHOF, Niklas Lidstrom will be in on the first ballot.  A seven time Norris Trophy winner and 12 consecutive 1st or 2nd All-Star team selections, Lidstrom is often mention as one the top 5 defencemen of all-time.  Lidstrom also has 4 Stanley Cups and an Olympic Gold Medal.  Previously Lidstrom won a gold medal at the 1991 World Hockey Championship, making him a member of hockey's Triple Gold Club.

#105 - Peter Forsberg

  I didn't mean to go a Swede run, but it just happened.  Peter Forsberg rounds out this update. full of Swedish hockey stars.  Forsberg re-retired in 2010-11 after a 2 game comeback.  He retired a few hours before what was to be his home debut, leaving many fans disappointed.  It is unfortunate that injuries had to play such a significant role in Forsberg career.  Forsberg only once played more than 78 games in a season and that was in his sophomore campaign.  Forsberg sat out the entire 2001-02 regular season in to heal from a rupture spleen and the culmination of previous injuries.  Forsberg returned for the play-offs and led all players with 27 points.

  Forsberg is 10th all-time in points per game with 1.25.  A remarkable accomplishment considering his prime was during the years of the Trap.  Did Forsberg do enough with the time he played to make it to the HHOF?  When healthy, I think he was the dominant all-round player of 90s and will in on the first ballot.

eBay: Star Lot

  Every now and then, I play the role of the sucker, and I am a sucker for those random lots.  Sometimes I am such a sucker, I will buy 5 or how ever many it takes to get the bonus card.  This lot was for 6 star cards.  No game-used or inserts promised.  It cost me about $2.50 with s/h.  So what did I get?

Star Lot from eBay

• 99-00 Be A Player Patrik Stefan
• 00-01 OPC Ed Belfour
• 97-98 Pacific Revolution Mark Recchi
• 99-99 Topps Gold Label Eric Lindros
• 01-02 UD MVP Peter Bondra
• 99-00 SPA Martin Brodeur

  I really like the Lindros Gold Label card.  It fulfills the shiny quota.  The Recchi Revoltion card has a funky design, so I liked that one too.  I used to be a Brodeur collecting during my first hockey phase so it's always nice to get a Brodeur.
  But why was Patrik Stefan included in a Star lot? Yes, it is his rookie card but seriously, it's Patrik Stefan.  If he is a star then Alexander Daigle, Brian Lawton and Greg Joly must be in the Hall of Fame.

  Oh, I almost forget about the last card.  

  You're welcomed.

88-89 OPC Tribute; Ovechkin, Lundqvist and Hawerchuk

#36 - Alexander Ovechkin

 A four time 50 goal scorer and 2 time Hart Trophy winner, Alexander Ovechkin hopes to regain that form in 2011-12 after his worst statistical season of his young career.  Ovechkin set career lows in goals (32), points (85), and shots (367).  His shot total was still good enough to lead the league, a feat he has accomplished every season he has been in the league.  Ovechkin holds three of the top 6 single season shot totals of all-time.
  Ovechkin is also an all-star off the ice.  Here's a video highlighting his top 10 off-ice moments.  It is from 2009, so there should be a part 2 and 3 to this already.

#37 - Henrik Lundqvist

  Henrik Lundqvist has been a model of consistency for the New York Rangers.  In his six year career, Lundvist has won over 30 games every season and his GAA has ranged from 2.43 down to 2.23.
  For this card I was torn between two pictures.  I like the picture I used since the colour really popped on it and it is a nice action shot.  The other photo I liked was also a great action shot.  It was a play were Henrik lost his helmet and it would have been quite different from any of the other cards I made for goalies to date.  The reason I didn't use it was due to the quality of the colour.  The picture doesn't look as vibrant or fresh.

#104 - Dale Hawerchuk

  Dale Hawerchuk's best years were spent with the Winnipeg Jets.  He had five straight years of 100pts and never scored at less than a point per game foe the club.  Unfortunately, largley due to playing in the same division as the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, team success did not follow.  In his nine years as a Jet, the team only won one play-off round, were swept 5 times and had a combined record of 9-29.
  At odds with management, Hawerchuk asked for a trade and in 1990 he was traded to the Buffalo Sabres, and the play-off woes continued.  The Sabres won one play-off series in five years.  Hawerchuk never found any play-off success until he joined the Philadelphia Flyers.  In Hawerchuk's final season, 1996-97, the Flyers made it to the Stanley Cup finals...  where they got swept.
  Hawerchuk, forced to retire at age 33 due to hip injuries, finished his career with 518 goals and 1409 points.

There isn't much for tribute videos for Dale Hawerchuk.  This video is from his 2001 Hockey Hall of Fame induction and is followed by his acceptance speech.  The sound isn't very good.  You may need to turn down the volume first.

88-89 OPC Tribute; Heatley, Jagr and Lafleur

#34 - Dany Heatley

  With these additions to the 88-89 OPC Tribute set, there are now 49 cards released.  Only 83 more to go.

  Dany Heatley is the first player with a new team to be included in the set, unless you count Dustin Byfgulien becoming a Winnipeg Jet.  Heatley had back-to-back 50 goal season in 2005-06 and 2006-07.  Since then, Heatley's goal totals have declined each season, from 50 to 41 to 39 two years in a row and then 26 goals in 2010-11.  In the offseason Heatley was traded from the San Jose Sharks to the Minesota Wild for Martin Havlat.

#35 - Jaromir Jagr

  After spending 3 years playing in the KHL, Jaromir Jagr decided to make a comeback in the NHL.  Jagr, a future first ballot HHOF, is 9th all-time on the career points list and needs 23 goals to move into the top 10 for goals.  During the summer is was widely believed that Jagr was going to return to Pittsburgh, but in a surprising twist, Jagr spurned Pittsburgh Penguins offer and signed with the rival Philadlphia Flyers instead.  While Jagr's mullet won't be making its return, Jagr's return to Pittsburgh should be an event.

#103 - Guy Lafleur

  Guy Lafleur retired in 1985, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1988 and then re-retired in 1991.  Lafleur had retired in 1985 due to issues over ice-time and offensive/defensive responsibilities under coach and former teammate Jacques Lemarie.  After the Montreal Canadiens refuse to act on Lafleur's trade request, Lafleur retired.
  After being inducted into the HHOF, Lalfeur signed a one year deal with the New Yrok Rangers and the played his final two years back in the province of Quebec with the Quebec Nordiques.

TTM: Daniel Briere

   I can't really call this my first TTM success since it was actually my girlfirend who wanted to try to get Daniel Briere's auto and wrote the letter, but I supplied the cards, got the address and first introduced the idea of TTM to her, so I still consider this a TTM success for me as well.
  We live in the Arctic circle, and on our holidays in May, we planned it around going to see the Flyer play.  For our trip, we were in Philadelphia for Game 5 of the Bruins-Flyers series.  And that was a problem since the Flyers were swept in the series and they never made to a game five.  One thing that amazed me was that we couldn't even find game four on TV, and the few bars we tried were showing a Bulls-Hawks basketball game over the hometown Flyers.  It was almost like the city had mailed in it just like the team did in that series.  (Oh no, I'm not bitter.) On the flip side, I couldn't believe how many Phillies jerseys and shirts I saw.  It must be crazy there during the baseball play-offs.
  Shortly after leaving Philadelphia, my girlfriend wrote the letter and told Mr. Briere how we went the Philadelphia just to see him player but never got the chance.  Did he read the letter?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  The SASE only contained the two cards we sent him.  They were signed and what a beautiful signature he has.  The Pinnacle card has a corner ding but my girlfriend was over the moon when she got these back.  She already plans on sending out more TTM.

88-89 OPC Tribute: Toews, Perry and Modano

#32 - Jonathan Toews

  The 3rd overall pick in the 2006 entry draft, Jonathan Toews, had an incredible 2009-10 season.  First he won an Olympic Gold Medal and then he won the Stanley Cup, as well as the Conn Smythe Trophy.  While 2010-11 didn't bring the same kind of team success, Toews set a personal best for points with 76.

#33 - Corey Perry

  Corey Perry not only looked like monster is 2010-11, he also played like one.  Perry won the Hart Trophy as league MVP and also won the Maurice Richard Trophy as top goal scorer.  Perry finished the season strong by scoring 19 goals in his final 16 games to vault himself into the goal scoring lead and he hit 50 in style by netting a hat trick.
  Perry's tear helped Anaheim to go 12-4-0 and to go from the outside looking in, to the #4 spot in the conference.

#103 - Mike Modano

  Mike Modano recently retired after a 21 year career.  He finished his career as 22nd on the career points list, with a total of 1374 points.  His 561 career goals is good for 23rd overall.  In 1999-2000, he was a key member of the Stanley Cup Champions, Dallas Stars.  Modano was also a member of the 1996 World Cup winning USA team, that shocked the Canada side and provide a new "Miracle on Ice" for a younger generation.

  Modano provided consistent production throughout his career, and was a lock for 80+ points for the majority of his career.  Modano never scored 100pts, and only once got 50 goals, but he lead his team in scoring 11 times over a 13 year stretch.
  Modano played 4 years with Minnesota, leading the team to the Stanley Cup finals before the team relocated to Dallas for the 93-94 season.  For this card, I had to have Modano in a Minnesota North Star.  It's actually the way I will remember him.

  There is no hockey legend for Mike Modano, perhaps in a few years there will be one.  Instead I will share this really well produced tribute video.

2008-09 OPC Legends Retro

  I had seen some of the 2008-09 OPC retro on eBay and I thought they looked great.  Then I saw that there was a Legends subset that had the retro design and I decided that I would go after that subset.  The Retro design is based off the 1979-80 OPC set.  The set that had Wayne Gretzky's rookie as well as the final season cards of Grodei Howe, Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita.  I am really excited about trying to collect these.  I got my first batch in from my new favourite site, Sportlots.com.  I am going to track my progress on this blog.  The link is under pagers on the right side of the page.

#600 - Bobby Orr

#577 - Mike Bossy

88-89 OPC Tribute: Byfuglien, Duchene, and Greening

#30 - Dustin Byfuglien

   In 2010-11, Dustin Byfuglien switched teams, converted to a full-time defenceman, played in the All-Star game and had his best season of his young career.  The following summer Byfuglien has been in the news for other reasons.  On August 31st, Byfuglien was arrested under suspicion of boating under the influence.   Criminal charges have been pressed.  What was also unearthed was Byfuglien's weight of 286lbs!  40lbs over his playing weight of  the previous season.

  The irony of all this is his Panini Sketch card.  The card on which Byfuglien drew a boat.  That same card sold for over $120 on ebay.  I thought it was a joke, but the card is real.  The details of the sketch cards can be found on the Panini Blog.

#31 - Matt Duchene

   A first-time All-Star in 2010-11, sophmore Matt Duchene led the Colorado Avalanche in scoring during the 2010-11 season.  After finishing third in the Calder Trophy voting in 2009-10, Duchene increased his totals for goals, assists and, therefore, points the following season.
  With the return of Peter Mueller, another season of increase across the board, would not be considered a bold prediction.  That would call for a celebration dance.

#121 - Colin Greening

  Colin Greening is the first 2011-12 rookies to make the set.  Greening played 24 games for Ottawa last year so he still qualifies as a rookie this season.  A player has to play 25 games before losing his rookie eligibility   He also had no rookie cards in 2010-11, so that also still qualifies him for as a rookie for this set.
  In 24 games last season, Greening had 13 points.  Although the more important stat is that he was born in Newfoundland.  On Feburay 1st, 2011, Greening became the 28th player born in Newfoundland to play in the NHL.  Why is this important?  Because my Dad is from Newfoundland and he collects their cards. So here is one more card for my Dad to get.

10-11 Pinnacle Mike Modano Draft Card?

Is this a real card?  I saw this on the Panini Blog, The Knight's Lance but I can't find it anywhere else.  I didn't see it on eBay.  The card is shown on the right side of thier pages with the heading "Sweet Card" and the caption "The legendary Mike Modano Retires".  Was this card or insert set ever produced?  I have to agree, it is a sweet card.

The Legendary Mike Modano Retires

88-89 OPC Tribute; Lucic, Malkin and Messier

#28 - Milan Lucic

 I don't think cards should show the back of the player's jersey, but this shoot of Milan Lucic mocking  Alexander Burrows is too good to pass up.  In game one of the 2010-11 Stanley Cup finals, Burrows bites Patrice Bergeon finger. In game 3, Lucic invites Burrows to have some finger food.  I think the action in this card justifies the back of the jersey shot of Lucic.
  Lucic had his first 30 goals season in 2010-11.  Lucic is expected to be one of the premier power forwards in the game for years to come.  Just like another Bruins legend, Cam Neely.

#29 - Evgeni Malkin

  The  2008-09 Art Ross and Conn Smythe trophy winner, Evgeni Malkin, will be looking for a big year in 2011-12.  Last season, injuries limited Malkin to 43 games and it was the first season he has not scored at a point a game pace.  I had a hard time picking a picture for Malkin's card.  The problem was that there were a few really good candidates.  I picked the one below since it is a different perspective than any other cards I'd made so far.

#101 - Mark Messier

  Mark Messier has won 6 Stanley Cups but will likely be most remember for leading the New York Rangers to a Stanley Cup in 1993-94.  It was his team and his now famous guarantee helped propel Messier into a hockey legend.
  For his career, Messier scored 694 goals and 1887 pts and is second all-time in points.  He is also second all-time in games played, 1794.
  Mark Messier already has a trophy named after him, The Mark Messier Leadership Award.

  I couldn't find a Legends of Hockey video for Mark Messier and the best Messier video I found did not allow embedding.  So instead, even though he is featured in a Rangers jersey in this set, we'll take a closer look at his career as an Edmonton Oiler.

88-89 OPC Tribute: St. Louis and Leafs

  Trying out a new format.  Is it better or worse?

#26 - Martin St. Louis

  2003-04 was a very good year for Martin St. Louis.  Martin won the Art Ross trophy as top scorer and then won the Stanley Cup.  St. Louis started his career in Calgary and over two seasons, scored 20 points in 69 games.  The Tampa Bay Lightening signed Martin St. Louis as a free agent in 2000 and he has been almost a point per game (0.96) player ever since.  Smooth move, Calgary.

#27 - Dion Phaneuf

  Dion Phaneuf's card marks a major improvement in the 88-89 OPC Tribute set.  No silly, it's not because it's the first Leafs cards.  It's the first photo used from the 2011-12 season.  That's right, we're so on the cutting edge here at The Cardboard and Me that we are immortalizing hockey moments into cardboard mere hours after they happened.  I bet Tim Conboy (Tim who?) still doesn't know what hit him.  

#100 - Johnny Bower

  Now here's a card for Leafs fans to enjoy.  Johnny Bower was a 29 year old rookie in 1953-54.  He played 77 games for the New York Rangers over three seasons before getting a chance to don the Maple Leaf in 1958.  His career with the Maple Leafs was highlighted by four Stanley Cups including the 1966-67 season.  Johnny Bower made the Hall of Fame in 1976 and is the only hall of famer to play more games in the AHL, 592,  than the NHL, 552.

Ouch.  Puck in the face at 2:25.

eBay: John Leclair Lot

A sample of my John LeClair Lot

  How many times have you bought something off eBay and when it finally arrives, you wonder, "Why did I buy this?"  For some reason last month I had a thought that I didn't have many John LeClair cards and that getting more would be a good idea.  I bought a 30 card lot for $5, including S/H, and now that they have arrived, I don't know what I am going to do with them.  There a few cool looking cards and I guess I could try to send a couple out TTM to get signed.

  Nothing against Leclair, he was a 3 time 50 goal scorer at a time when the "Neutral Zone Trap" was starting to be a household name.  He also won a cup with the Montreal Canadiens in 1993.  A star of the 90s, he finished with 406 career goals.  LeClair was a 1st or 2nd team all-star from 1995 to 1999.  Leclair is best known by some as a Eric Lindros' wingman on the Legion of Doom line.

The Legion of Doom, with cameos by the Hartford Whalers and some god awful NY Islander jerseys.

88-89 OPC Tribute: Yandle, Rinne, and The Great One

  Keith Yandle scored finished 3rd in points by a defenceman last season and appeared in his first all-star game.  A star in the making Yandle had increased his points total in every season he has player so far.

#24 - Keith Yandle

  Pekka Rinne starts his 4th season as the starting goalie of the Nashville Predators, can this be the year he breaks into the elite tier of goalies?  While you ponder, check out some of his past work.

#25 - Pekka Rinne

   Wayne Gretzky.  The Great One.  The only player to score over 200pts in a single season.  894 career goals.  2857 career points.  4 Stanley Cups.  9 Hart Trophies.  10 Art Ross Trophies.  A 2 part Legends of Hockey video.  The Great One.  Wayne Gretzky.

#99 - Wayne Gretzky

Part 1

Part 2

 

88-89 OPC Tribute: Staal, Callahan, and Howe

  The 2nd overall pick the 2003 draft, Eric Staal had his best season in 2005-06 scoring 100pts, leading the league in play-off scoring and winning a Stanley Cup.

#22 - Eric Staal

  The captain of the New York Rangers, Ryan Callahan, was 2nd on the team goals, 23, and hits, 224.  Callahan would have led the team in both categories if he hadn't missed 22 games with injuries.  His best game of the season came against the Philadelphia Flyers when he scored 4 goals and added an assist in a 7-0 win on March 6th, 2011.

#23 - Ryan Callahan

 Mr. Hockey, Gordie Howe, played his final NHL game at the age of 51.  Then at the age of 69, he laced up the skates to play for the Detroit Vipers of the IHL.  While Howe is 2nd overall in career goals scored in the NHL, he has the most career goals, 1071, when combining the regular season and playoffs for the NHL and WHA combined.

#98 - Gordie Howe

Legends of Hockey - Mr Hockey, Gordie Howe

88-89 OPC Tribute; Getzlaf, Green, and Hull

  The captain of the Anahiem Ducks, Ryan Getzlaf, led his team in hits in the regular season and the play-offs. This card likely captures one of his 189 hits from last season.  Can't you just see #11, Danny Cleary, on his ass a second from now.  Even though Getzlaf missed 16 games, he still ended up in the top 15 in points last season.



#20 - Ryan Getzlaf

  This card is for the Sidney haters, Mike Green mauling Sidney Crosby during the 2010/11 season's Winter classic.  The offense seems to dropped out of Mike Green's game last season as he dropped from a point per game player in 2009-10, to average less than half a point per game in 2010-11.  Having trouble scoring, Green contributed in other facets, by increasing his block shot total while playing 26 less games compared to the previous season.


#21 - Mike Green



  The Golden Jet, Bobby Hull, once had his slap shot clocked at 118.4 MPH.  He has 610 career NHL goals, along with 303 WHA goals.  When Bobby Hull left the NHL to play for the Winnipge Jets in the WHA, he gave the fledgling league instant creditably.



#97 - Bobby Hull

I love how he talks about the fans and signing autographs.  I should put something together to try to get an auto TTM.



Remember to check out the updated checklist.  The link is on the right side of page, or you can view the 88-89 OPC Tribute Checklist here.

88-89 OPC Tribute; Brodeur, Tavares and Orr

  A contender for the title of best NHL Goalie ever, Martin Brodeur's name is attached to a few career records for goalies, such as Wins and Shutouts.  Did you also know that Brodeur holds the record for most saves and shot against in a career?

#18 - Martin Brodeur

  With #1 overall pick in the 2009 Entry Draft, the New York Islanders selected John Tavares.  Fortunately Mike Milbury was already long gone, so Tavares will be on the Island for a while, especially after signing a 5 year, 33 million dollar deal this week.

#19 - John Tavares

Don Cherry's favorite hockey player, Bobby Orr, is the next legend in the set.  There are arguments for Bobby Orr being the greatest player in NHL history.  He revolutionized the way defencemen played and introduced a level of offense from his position that was never seen before and possibly since.  The Hockey Hall of Fame waived the three year waiting period for Bobby Orr and he was inducted the summer after his retirement.

#96 - Bobby Orr

  The return of the Legends videos.  This is a fantastic series.

Hitting Captains

  Ryan Callahan has been named the 26th captain of the New York Rangers.  Which is exciting news for me.  Another power forward making the rank of captain   It was just earlier in the week that David Backes was named captain of the St. Louis Blues.  I also got to give a shout out to Dustin Brown, captain of the Los Angeles Kings.  All three players have the potential to be part of the 200 and 30 clubs this year.  That's hits and goals.
  In 2010-11 there were three member of the 200 and 30 club, Backes, Brendan Morrow and Alexander Ovechkin.  In 2009-10 there were no players in the 200 and 30 club.

Dustin Brown, Ryan Callahan and David Backes RCs

88-89 OPC Tribute: Sedins and Coffey

  Which Sedin twin would you rather have on your team?  Henrik or Daniel?  Both have won an Art Ross trophy.  Henrik won a Hart Trophy as league MVP but Daniel won the Ted Lindsay trophy, which the leagues most outstanding players as voted by the players.  Can't decide?  Why not have both?

  Henrik Sedin won the Art Ross and Hart Trophy in 2009-10 and has led the league in assists the past two seasons.  If had watched the 2010-11 play-offs, you may remember this moment.  The Vancouver Canucks had finished off the San Jose Sharks and were advancing to the Stanley Cup Final, and some genius decided it'd be great to dumped confetti on the ice.  All the Canucks were tip-toeing around, trying not to fall, while trying to salute the fans.  If you don't remember that moment, you are likely thinking that Henrik has thrown his arms up and is about to beg, "Please don't hit me!" to some member of the opposing team.

#16 - Henrik Sedin 

  Daniel Sedin was the second Sedin twin to win an Art Ross Trophy.  In 2010-11 he won the Art Ross and Ted Linsday trophies.  After I originally finished the card, I had to change it.  The problem was the goalie, Pekka Rinne, was staring at me and giving me the creeps.  It doesn't look like he is watching the puck.  I changed the centering of the card so atleast Pekka's evil glare wouldn't be dead center of the card.  I bet Daniel scored on this shot since the goalie was too busy looking at the camera.

#17 - Daniel Sedin

  The next Legend to be added is Paul Coffey.  Paul Coffey has a long list of records and accolades.  He is a 3 time Norris Trophy winner, 4 time Stanley Cup winner, holds records for most goals, 48, in a season by a defenceman, most goals (12), assists (25) and points (37) in a single play-off season, and the longest point scoring streak (28 games) by a defenceman.  He also holds the record for most career shorthanded goals by a defenceman with two career SHG.  He also holds the record for most teams played on (9) by a hall of famer.  Considering his best years were with Edmonton, you'd think it'd be easy to get a good picture of Coffey in an Edmonton jersey.  You'd think wrong.  I only found two pics that could have made the front of the card and I searched much longer compared to any other card so far.  I had to settle for this picture, but at least it shows off the classic Oilers jersey of their dynasty years.

#95 - Paul Coffey

  I wanted to add a Legends of Hockey video to the end of each Legend but once again, there is no Legends of Hockey for my selected Legend.  Not only that, there are videos that make the cut to be added to this post.  It is amazing that such a great player and arguably the second best offensive defencemen ever, gets so little love from the internet community.

Pack Break: 2010-11 Zenith

  Had a big mail day yesterday.  I had orders from eBay, D&A Cardworld, SportLots and Sportscardforum all come in.  Cards that came in ranged from personal collection, set building needs, boxes and rummage sale inventory. 

  One of the items from D&A Cardworld was a pack of 2010-11 Panini Zenith.  It was the last item I ordered.  It was a impulse buy.  I believe I added it since I saw some Zenith cards on eBay and I liked the design.  I really wished I hadn't.  Here's what I got.

  I really do like the design of the base cards.  The background is very simple and clean, it really draws your eyes to the player image.  I just wish I got some better cards.  I am indifferent to the players I got. (Yes I am indifferent to Brad Marchand.)  The Belfour in a Sharks jersey is sight you don't see often, but it's only a novelty to me.  The pack hit, the one in a box insert, was the Red Hot Parallel of Niklas Backstrom.  It is the only semi-interesting card of the pack.  It might be useful as a trader or to get a buck or two from eBay.
  Anytime you buy a $10 pack of cards, you are taking a gamble.  From a resell perspective, I lost.  These 5 cards can be bought for $2.29 + S/H on Sportlots.  From a personal interest perspective, I lost as well.
  So I guess I'll never do that again.  Although we all know I will.

88-89 OPC Tribute; Backes, Nash and Dryden

  David Backes was recently names the team captain by the St. Louis Blues.  A first time All-Star in 2010-11, Backes is a regular on the hits leaderboard.  He has back-to-back 200+ hit seasons.  He likely has more than just back-to-back but I can't find a website that show player stats for hits prior to 2009-10.  Does anyone know of such a site?

#14 - David Backes

  Oh, Rick Nash, what could you do if you ever had a 1st line center to play with?  Nash has been the Blue Jackets leading scorer for past 4 years,and has led the team in goals for the past seven.  No other Blue Jacket has had over 27 goals or 64 pts since Nash's Rookie year in 2002-03.  But life isn't all bad for Rick Nash.  He won an Olympic Gold Medal in 2010 and he bears a striking resemblance to myself.  Looking good, Mr Nash!

#15 - Rick Nash

  As a certain song says, it's better to burn out than to fade away.  Ken Dryden won 6 cups in 8 years and numerous accolades before retiring at age 31.  But I don't think he was burnt-out, perhaps just bored.  In his retirement years Dryden has surmounted other challenges including broadcasting, writing a few books, and winning a few elections.  We could only imagine what kind of career stats Dryden could have had if he had player another several years, or how many more Stanley Cups the Canadiens would have won.
  This is the first card that I actually edited the player image.  The original image struck me as the perfect image but the background had to be fixed.  It was a small job but I think it came out pretty good.

#94 - Ken Dryden

  I couldn't find a Legend of Hockey video for Ken Dryden.  It's like trying to find a Ken Dryden Upper Deck card, it must be out there somewhere, but where? So I found these instead.  If you are fan of Indian music, then this then check out this Ken Dryden tribute video, otherwise we'll check out how the legendary NHL career of Ken Dryden began.

September 11th Tribute

In tribute to the brave men and women from the Fire Department of New York, who risked their life on September 11th, 2001.

Fire Department of New York City