Lost Rookies: 1984-85 OPC Dave Richter

  At 6'5" and 220lbs, Dave Richter was a big man.  He was the classic clear the front of the net defender.  He was on the ice for his truculence and to stick up for his teammates, not speed or offense.  He played 365 games over 9 seasons but only got a single NHL card.
  Drafted by the Minnesota North Stars in the 10th round, 205th overall, only 5 players were drafted after Dave in the 1980 draft.  Dave graduated from Michigan University and made his NHL debut on March 13, 1982 against the St. Louis Blues.  He spent the majority of the 82-83 season in the minors but became a semi-regular with the North Stars in 1983-84. On December 12, 1983, he scored his first career NHL goal against Glen Hanlon (a previous Lost Card recipient) of the New York Rangers in a 6-4 loss.  Richter finished the season with 2 goals, 5 points, and 132 PIM in 42 games.  Richter had another semi-regular season with the North Stars, playing in 55 games, netting 10 points and was second on the team with 221 PIM.
  Ritcher, who misses games every season due to minor injuries, started the season injured but finally became a regular with the North Stars until he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers at the end of November, 1985.  The trade brought Todd Bergen to the North Stars, who was covered in a previous Lost Rookies.  Richter's style seemed like a perfect match for the Flyers, as he become the resident tough guy on defence.  Instead, his time with the Flyers was short.  Richter had 2 assists, and 138 PIM in 50 games.  The Flyers were the top team in Wales conference, 110pts, but were upset by the New York Rangers, 78pts, in the first round of the play-offs.  Richter was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in the off-season.
  Richter had a career year with the Canucks in 86-87, setting career highs in games, 78, assists, 15, and points, 17, while tying a career high in goals with two.  He also let loose on offensive by setting a career high with 35 shots, including a four shot outburst against the New York Rangers.  OPC took notice of the burly dman accomplishments and bestowed a rookie card upon Richter.
  Richter returned to earth the next season with 6 points in 49 games.  He did set a career high in PIM, with 224.  His season was cut short when he was suspended 10 games for leaving the penalty box to join a fight.  After getting into a fight earlier in the period, Richter was still in the box when the period ended with a skirmish breaking out in the Islanders end.  Richter joined the fray, instead of staying in the box or headed to his team's bench.  Richter got into a fight, got suspended and then got traded in the off-season.
  Richter was traded to the St. Louis Blues for defenceman Robert Nordmark and a 2nd round draft pick in the 1990 draft, which seems a lot to trade for a third pairing defenceman. Although the Blues were desperate to toughen up.  The 1990 draft pick later went back to the Blues in a multi-player trade that sent the Blues 1991 2nd round draft pick to the Canucks.  So they basically traded the Blues back their 1990 2nd rounder for the Blues 1991 2nd rounder.  The Canucks then traded the 1991 second round pick to the Montreal Canadiens for Jyrki Lumme.  So the Canucks basically traded Richter for Nordmark, and Lumme.   It's amazing how much, and the many ways, the Blues contributed to the Canucks 1994 Stanley Cup run.

1989-90 OPC Dave Richter

  Richter Played a season and two games for the Blues.  He made his final NHL appearance in the 1989-90 season and retired after spending 1990-91 in the minors.  He never had a card made of him during the 1990 junk wax boom.
  To rectify an OPC omissions of the Dave Richter, I mocked up this 1984-85 OPC Dave Richter Lost Rookie card.  I also made a 89-90 OPC card of Richter as a Blue above.  I couldn't find any reasonable Flyers pictures of Richter, so I wasn't able to add a Flyers card as well.

1984-85 OPC #403 Dave Richter

1984-85 OPC #403 Dave Richter

Lost Rookies: 1986-87 OPC Lee Norwwod

  Lee Norwood played 12 seasons in the NHL.  It took him six seasons and four franchises until OPC paid him some love with a rookie card in the 1988-89 set.  He didn't much more love after that though.  Norwood had a total of nine NHL cards during his career.  A career that included the junk explosion of the early 90s.
  Norwood was drafted 62nd overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft.  Norwood started the 1980-81 season with the Nordiques and had a point in each of his first two career games.  Pointless in his next eight games, Norwood was sent to the minors.  After playing a pair of game with the Nordiques the following season, he was traded to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Tim Tookey, who was previously featured on The Lost Rookies.  Norwood had 17 points in 27 games after the trade, including a four point night against the Philadelphia Flyers, in a 4-4 tie..
  It wasn't enough to keep Norwood on the Capitals.  After spending the majority of the 82-83 season in the AHL, he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Norwood never made the Leafs roster and spent a season with the Leafs AHL affiliates, the St. Catherine's Saints.
  Prior to the 1984-85 season, Norwood signed as a Free Agent with the St. Louis Blues.  He played the 1984-85 season with the Peoria Rivermen of the IHL.  Norwood was selected as the leagues top defenceman as he helped the Rivermen win the IHL Championship trophy, the Turner Cup.  Norwood made the Blues roster for the 1985/86 season and was part of the Blues 1986 play-off run.  The Blues played the maximum games in each of three series before losing to the Calgary Flames in the Campbell Conference Finals.  It was against the Calgary Flames in which the Blue performed their Monday Night Miracle.
  Norwood was traded in the offseason to the Detroit Red Wings.  He would play, and lose, in two more consecutive Campbell Conference Finals, both times to the Edmonton Oilers.  As a Red Wing, he would have a career year in 1988-89.  First, he received a rookie card in the 88-89 OPC set, and then he proceeded to set career highs with 10 goals, 32 assists, and 42 points.  Norwood played four and half seasons with Detroit and spent time as one of their assistant captains.
  Lee finished his career as an oft-injured journeyman.  He played for five franchises in his final four seasons, from 1990-1994.  The Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils, Hartford Whalers, St. Louis Blues and Calgary Flames.  He struggling to find ice time as on-ice injuries, and moving motorcycles out of Brendan Shanahan's garage related injuries, caused him to miss games. He retired after the 1993-94 season, but made a brief minor league comeback from 1995 to 1997.  He finished his career after having played 503 games over 12 seasons.
  I would have liked to have done a Lost Rookie of Norwood as a Nordique or Capital, but I could not find any usable pictures.  Norwood also did not have card issued of him as a Whaler or Flame.  If anyone can direct me to some quality pictures of Norwood in those uniforms, it'd be much appreciated.  He played with seven franchises and only had cards with three of them.  He played for the Blues twice but only got cards made during his second tenure.
  So the best I can do is a 1986-87 OPC Lost Rookie of Lee Norwood.

1986-87 OPC #271 Lee Norwood (RC)

1986-87 OPC #271 Lee Norwood (RC)

Lost Rookies: 1987-88 OPC Jocelyn Lemieux

  Jocelyn Lemieux, brother of Claude, was drafted 10th overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 1986 entry draft.  It was the Blues first 1st round selection since 1981.  The Blues traded away their first round picks in 1982 (8th - Rocky Trottier) and 1983 (6th - John MacLean) to the Colorado Rockies for Rob Ramage.  The Blues actually didn't pick a single player in 1983 as they boycotted the draft in protest.  Their 1984 (8th - Shayne Corson) and 1985 (12th - Jose Charbonneau) picks went to the Canadiens in two separate deals, which included a combined total of 14 draft picks trading hands, as well as the Blues acquiring Rick Wamsely and Mark Hunter.  Of interest, the Blues later traded Ramage and Wamsley to the Flames for Brett Hull.  Which basically works out to three first round picks (Trottier, MacLean, and Corson) for Brett Hull.  Yeah, I think I'd take that trade.
  As for Jocelyn, although he was unable to translate his draft pedigree to star status, he did play almost 600 career games over 12 seasons. Injuries plagued Jocelyn during his two seasons in St. Louis, a theme that would carry on for his entire career.  The Blues traded Jocelyn to the Montreal Canadiens.  In his first game as a Hab, Jocelyn played on a line with his brother Claude.  The brothers assisted on a goal by Bobby Smith.  Jocelyn, who never took to Pat Burns system, was rewarded with a demotion to the AHL.  He returned to the Habs the next season but was shortly on the move to Chicago.   Jocelyn would spend the bulk of his career as a Black Hawk, which included a trip to the 1992 Stanley Cup finals, before becoming a journeyman the last few seasons of his career, playing with four teams (Whalers, Devils, Flames, Coyotes) in his final three seasons.
  Jocelyn would benefit from the 1990 hockey card boon and had four rookie cards that season while he was with the Chicago Black Hawks.  Here's my Lost Rookie card of Jocelyn Lemieux as a St. Louis Blues.

1987-88 OPC #266 Jocelyn Lemieux (RC)

1987-88 OPC #266 Jocelyn Lemieux (RC)

Lost Cards: 1982-83 Glen Hanlon

  I will forever remember Glen Hanlon for his oddly shaped helmet, even more so than his crotch grab card, which I pulled out of a pack as a child.  One thing that many may not remember is Hanlon's time with the Blues.  Acquired from the Canucks at the 1982 trade deadline, the Blues had hoped Hanlon would provide support for starting goalie, and All-Star, Mike Liut.  Instead Hanlon quickly played his way out of St. louis, beginning with surrendering seven goals in his Blues Debut vs the Winnipeg Jets.  Hanlon was traded to the New York Rangers during the 1982-83 season.  Hanlon faired much better with the Rangers, and then Detroit Red Wings, where he led the league in Shutouts with 4 in 1987-88.  Hanlon retired from the NHL after being left unprotected and then passed over in the 1991 expansion draft.

1982-83 OPC #399 Glen Hanlon

1982-83 OPC #399 Glen Hanlon

_____________________________________

Update July 7, 2020

  Hanlon got into cards early in his career but had a few years left out of caught during warm-ups, so I am going to appease the legions of Hanlon fans by adding or updating several cards.

  Glen had a rookie card in 1979-80.  He also received cards in the 1980-81 and 1981-82 sets.  A common theme in the cards were inaction.  All pictures were from warm-ups.  So below are some action re-skins.  Hopefully the 1981-82 is familiar to you.  it was part of the 1981-82 OPC Goalie Reboot project.

1979-80 OPC Glen Hanlon

1980-81 OPC Glen Hanlon 

1981-82 OPC Glen Hanlon

  OPC omitted Hanlon in the 1982-83 set, a problem I rectified in the original post.  In 1983-84, OPC didn't have a single New York Rangers goalie in the set.  Starter Eddie Mio was traded to the Red Wings in the offseason and got airbrushed into a Red Wing for the set.  Hanlon did make an appearance in the 1984-85 set, but would disappear again until he resurfaced as a Red Wing for 1987-88.

1983-84 OPC Glen Hanlon 

1985-86 OPC Glen Hanlon

1986-87 OPC Glen Hanlon

  Hanlon made regular appearances on cardboard as a Red Wing, and other than 1989-90, they were in full gear.  Hanlon ended the 1990-91 season in the minors and never got a card in the 1991-92 sets.  Hanlon switched to the combo mask very late in his career.  it was actually hard to find a suitable picture of him in that mask for a 1991-92 card.

1989-90 OPC Glen Hanlon 

1991-92 OPC Glen Hanlon

Lost Rookies: John Wensink

  By 1976, Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito had both played their last games as Boston Bruins.  Being unable to replace that level of skill, the Bruins head coach, Don Cherry, went in another direction, they became big and bad.  While not the biggest, John Wensink may have been the baddest.
  Wensink was drafted  by the St. Louis Blues in the 7th round, 102nd overall, in the 1973 draft.  Wensink played a total of three NHL games with the Blues.  A back injury, suffered in the minors, during the 1975-76 season sidelined Wensink for a season and a half.  The Blues would not resign Wensink, allowing him to become a free agent in 1976.
  Wensink never had a card with Blues.  Here's my version of a John Wensink rookie.

1974-75 OPC #397 John Wensink (RC)

  Wensink signed with the Boston Bruins prior to the 1976 season.  He previously played in Rochester of the AHL under Bruins head coach Don Cherry, becoming one of Cherry's favourite players.  Wensink scored his first career goal against the St. Louis Blues on February 1st, 1977.  Interesting fact, HHOFer Bernie Federko also scored his first career goal in the same game.  Wensink's signature moment came the next season against the Minnesota North Stars on December 1st, 1977.  Check out the recent ESPN's 30 for 30 feature covering Wensink and the incident.

  As mentioned in the video Wensink started scoring more goals and getting into less fights.  He scored 16 goals in 1977-78, and 28 in 1978-79 but would only score 22 in the next 211 games before retiring.  Cherry claimed that since Wensink fought less, opponents feared him less.  The space that opened up while opponents feared him, had now closed and that Wensink could never regain that edge that made him so feared.
  Before the 1980 season, he was claimed off waivers by the Quebec Nordiques.  Wensink was often a healthy scratch while in Quebec.  This led to a peculiar deal during the 1981 preseason.  The Nordiques loaned Wensink to the Philadelphia Flyers.  He played two preseason games with the Flyers before NHL deemed it to be illegal.  Wensink would be released and signed with the Colorado Rockies. 
  Wensink played two years for the franchise; one year in Colorado, and then a second year as the team moved and renamed themselves the New Jersey Devils.  After retiring from the NHL, Wensink was a player/coach in the Netherlands. Today, he is active with the St. Louis Blues alumni and coaching youth hockey.  Here's what a John Wensink final year card may have looked.

1983-84 OPC #397 John Wensink

88-89 OPC Update: Ryan Miller

  Ryan Miller was finally traded this week, ending months of speculation.  Miller goes from the worst team in the league to playing on the 2nd best team.  Hopes are high in St. Louis for a deep Stnaley Cup run.

2013 Trade Deadline Update

  The 2013 NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone.  Let's use that an excuse to make some retro update cards for some of the players traded in the days leading up the deadline.


  Brenden Morrow is following up his second least productive season in the NHL, with his least productive.  Morrow had 11pts in 29 games this year with the Dallas Stars before being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins.  In seven games with the Pens so far, Morrow has one goal and one assist.  The Pens don't need Morrow for his scoring as much as they need him for his grit and toughness.










  The St. Louis Blues added a few veterans to its blueline at the trade deadline.  One of them was Jay Bouwmeester, whom the Blues acquired from the Calgary Flames.  While not expected to produce offensively, Bouwmeester had three assists in his first three games as a Blue









  Ryane Clowe was goalless in 28 games with the San Jose Sharks.  Hardly the type of player you'd think would create a buzz at deadline time.  The New York Rangers were interested and Clowe paid immediate dividends, scoring twice in his first game as a Ranger.








  The biggest name at the trade deadline was Jarome Iginla, who was reported to be traded twice in the same evening.  The first time to the Boston Bruins, and then to the Pittsburgh Penguins.  So far, Jarome has not lit up the scoresheets in Pittsburgh, having one goal and one assist in his first five games as a Pen.  Can Jarome win that elusive Stanley Cup this year with the Pens, or maybe he'll need to pull a Raymond Bourque and stick around for another year.






  There were two big name goalies on the block at the trade deadline, neither of them moved.  Roberto Luongo is still in Vancouver and Miikka Kiprusoff announced his plans for retirement, just so he could stay in Calgary.  That left Ben Bishop, the odd man out in Ottawa, to be the biggest name, and size, goalie to be moved at the trade deadline.  Bishop has started all four games for the Lightning since the trade, including a shutout in his Lightning debut.







  Marian Gaborik put up two 40 goal seasons in New York in the past three years but found himself in the doghouse in 2013 and eventually as a Blue Jacket.  For the first time ever, the Columbus Blue Jackets found themselves as buyers at the trade deadline and they made a splash by trading for Gaborik.  Gaborik has welcomed the move, scoring 5 points in his first 4 games for Columbus.








  The Philadelphia Flyers, a pre-season favourite to contend, are one of the biggest disappointments of the season.  Currently, sitting in 12th place in the East, it appears the Flyer won't even make the play-offs, but atleast they got tougher.  The Flyers acquired Jay Rosehill from the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Rosehill, who had not played in the NHL this season, joined the Flyers just in time for a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Rosehill made the Leafs pay, beating up Leafs tough guy Colton Orr and also scoring the game-winning goal as the Flyer won the game 5-3.





  Jaromir Jagr found himself on the move, joining his third team in two seasons.  In his Bruins debut, Jagr would score the lone goal in a 1-0 Boston Bruins victory over the New Jersey Devils.  Jagr, who turned 41 this season, is looking for that elusive third Stanley Cup, after winning two in his first two seasons. 









   Derek Roy is the third former Dallas Star to be included in this update.  Roy was traded to the Vancouver Canucks to help provide some scoring depth.  Roy, who has been a borderline point a game player in his best seasons, has started slow with the Canucks, notching one assist and four shots on goal in three games since the trade. 

1981-82 OPC Reboot: Blues and Nordiques

Quebec Nordiques

  The Nordiques were on the outside looking in as the end of January approached.  The team was 11-26-13.  Good enough for 35 points and a .350 winning percentage.  They were the second worst team in the NHL.  So on January 30th, 1980, the Nordiques traded for disgrunted Calgary Flames netminder Daniel Bouchard.  For the remainder of the season, they were the best team in the NHL.  Bouchard started 29 out of the remaining 30 games and the team went 19-6-5.  Good enough to go from 20th in the league to 10th. The Nordiques couldn't keep the heat up in the play-offs.  The got beat up by the Philadelphia Flyers, losing all three road games and the series 3 games to 2.

Rk          Player Pos Age GP  W  L T/O  GA   GAA SO  MIN
1     Dan  Bouchard   G  30 29 19  5   5  92  3.17  2 1740
2    Michel  Plasse   G  32 33 10 14   9 118  3.66  0 1933
3      Ron  Grahame   G  30  8  1  5   1  40  5.47  0  439
4      Michel  Dion   G  26 12  0  8   3  61  5.32  0  688
        Team Total          80 30 32  18 311  3.89  2 4800

1981-82 OPC #270 - Dan Bouchard

  Dan Bouchard was originally drafted by the Boston Bruins in 1970.  He never played for Boston, as he was selected by the Atlanta Flames in the 1972 expansion draft.  He was only original Atlanta Flame to stay with the team until they got transferred to Calgary.  During 1980-81, the Calgary Flames relied on rookie goalies, Reggie Lemelin and Pat Riggin, often leaving Bouchard off the playing roster.  Frustrated, Bouchard asked for a trade, and he was eventually shipped to the Quebec Nordiques.  Bouchard would play five seasons for the Nordiques before being traded to the Winnipeg Jets in 1985.  For the reboot, picking the better card is a toss-up.  I like the image on the reboot card better, but the original has a picture from the correct season and it does qualify as an action shot.  Narrow win for the original.

Bonus Nordiques

1981-82 OPC Michel Plasse

 Quick, and without looking at the picture above, name the first goalie to ever be selected first overall in the NHL Amateur draft?  In 1968, the Montreal Canadiens had the option to exchange their 1st and 2nd round picks for the 1st and 2nd overall selections, bumping the rest of the teams back.  The caveat was that the Canadiens would have to use those two picks to select francophone players.  The picks were known as "Cultural" selections.  Plasse would become the first NHL goalie to play for both Quebec Nordiques and Montreal Canadiens.

1981-82 OPC Ron Grahame

  Ron Grahame had his best success in the WHA, being the only two-time winner of the Ben Hatskin trophy, as best goalie in the league.  Impressive, since he only played three full seasons in the WHA.  His NHL career started out great.  He played 40 games for the Boston Bruins in 1977-78, going 26-6-7 with a 2.76 GAA.  Instead of keeping Grahame, the Bruins traded him for a first round pick, which turned out to be Raymond Bourque.  The Kings had lost Rogie Vachon as a free agent and hoped Grahame would become their number one goalie.  Grahame couldn't hold onto the #1 spot in LA and was eventually traded to the Quebec Nordiques, where he would finish his career.  He played  a total of 6 games for the Nordiques.  I couldn't find a coloured picture of him in a Nordiques uniform, so I had to go with the black and white shot.

St. Louis Blues

  The St. Louis Blues finished the season with the second best regular season record in the NHL.  In the play-offs they ran out of gas.  They almost never made it our of the first round.  They scored in double overtime of the final game to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins.  In the second round they lost in six games to the New York Rangers.  The were a very balanced team.  Offesively they had 10 players score 20 or more goals and overall they finished second in the league in goals scored.  In net, Mike Liut was a runner-up for the Hart Trophy, winner of the Ted Lindsay Trophy and a 1st team All-Star.

Rk          Player Pos Age GP  W  L T/O  GA   GAA SO  MIN
1        Mike  Liut   G  25 61 33 14  13 199  3.34  1 3570
2    Ed  Staniowski   G  25 19 10  3   3  72  4.28  0 1010
3       Rick  Heinz   G  25  4  2  1   1   8  2.18  0  220
        Team Total          80 45 18  17 279  3.49  1 4800

1981-82 OPC #289 - Mike Liut

  Mike Liut was one of the top goalies in the 1980s.  He led all goalies in games played, wins and shutouts in the 1980s.  1980-81 was his best season, as he won the Ted Lindsay trophy, was a 1st team All-Star and runner-up for the Hart Trophy.  He was Team Canada's goalie in the 1981 Canada Cup, although it did not end well.  Team Canada lost 8-1 in the final versus the USSR.  While Liut had several more solid seasons in him, he would never reach the elite level he as he had in 1980-81.  He played for the Hartford Whalers and the Washington Capitals before retiring in 1992.  Liut had one of the great masks of the early 1980s.  Although it was never painted, it had a sinister shape to it and it gives off the goalie-masked killer vibe.

Bonus Blues

1981-82 OPC Ed Staniowski (ER)

  Ed Staniowski comes in as the first error card of the reboot.  Notice the small caps "i" in his last name.  I guess in doing an OPC retro set, you have to include some errors or else it wouldn't feel like a 1980s OPC set.  In 1980-81, Ed almost reversed his numbers from the previous season.  He went from 2-11-3, 4.33 GAA in 79-80 to 10-3-3, 4.28 GAA.  Striking while the iron was hot, the Blues shipped Staniowski to the Winnipeg Jets in the offseason.  Unfortunately, the Blues would include Paul MacLean in the package and the two players they got in return played a total of 5 career games for the Blues.  Staniowski would play 2 1/2 season for the Jets while Paul MacLean would be a six time 30 goal man for the Winnipeg Jets.

1981-82 OPC Rick Heinz (RC)

  Rick Heinze never had a rookie card.  He played 49 career games over parts of five seasons.  He is best known for his career after the NHL, at the Rick Heinz Goalie School.  Some of his former students include Curtis Joseph, Manny Legace and Garth Snow. 

TTM Success: Tony Twist

  Tony Twist was one of the most feared fighters in the NHL during the late 1990s.  Twist never finished in the top 10 in PIM.   In 1991-92, Twist set a career high with 164 PIM in 44 games.  Twist was massive. Twist was 6-1 and tipped the scales at 245lb during the height of his career.  He was an intimidating figure with a heavy right hand.  His career was cut short in 1999 after suffering numerous injuries in a motorcycle accident.  I added a video below from youtube that feature some great quotes from a candid Tony Twist. 

TTM Success: Vincent Riendeau

  Vincent Riendeau played in 184 games over the course of a eight year career.  Riendeau's career was looking up after the 1990-91 season.  He was 29-9-6 while playing in 44 games with the St. Louis Blues.  In the play-offs he helped the Blues come back from a 3-1 deficit in the first round against the Detroit Red Wings.  In the second round, he had two bad games on the road in Minnesota and even though he allowed two goals in each of the final two games, the North Stars sent the Blues, along with 86 goal scorer Brett Hull, packing. 
  The following season, the Blues found itself with a glut of young goalies, along with Riendeau, the Blues also had Pat Jablonski, Guy Hebert and Curtis Joseph.  Jabonski and Hebert shared the James Norris Trophy the previous year, the IHL version, which is for the Lowest GAA.  Six games into the 91-92 season, Riendeau was traded to the Detroit Red Wings for Rick Zombo.  27 minutes into his first game as Red Wings, and while pitching a shutout, Riendeau suffered a knee injury that would force him to miss the next 70+ games.  Riendeau played a few more seasons as a back-up and would eventually finish his NHL career with the Boston Bruins in 1995. 
  He had a diverse career after the NHL, playing in Manitoba, Germany, Switzerland, Britan, Russia and Alaska.  As a rookie, Riendeau only played 1 game for the Montreal Canadiens.  I had to be a bit creative with making him a 88-89 OPC card.  The only decent picture of him I found in a Canadiens jersey had a plain white background.  I had to layer two pics together.  Riendeau is currently the goalies coach with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL.

TTM Success: Bernie Federko

  Bernie Federko was a star center with the St. Louis Blues from 1976 to 1989, before finishing his career with a final season as a Detroit Red Wing.  He is also generally known as the whiping boy for the HHOF lack of standards.  While Federko scored 1130 points in 1000 games, he was never considered a dominant player in his era, never won any post season awards and only once led the Blues past the second round of the play-offs.  In his 14 year career, he only played in the mid-season all-star game twice.  I am not sure if he was injured every year at that time but Brian Sutter or Rob Ramage would represent the Blues instead of Federko.

 

  So does Federko belong in the HHOF?  Many people say he is vastly underrated.  He played on a small market team who never achieved any post season success.  If you look at Federko's teammates, he never had a 1A type player.  In New York, there was Bossy-Trottier.  In Edmonton, Gretzky-Kurri.  In Montreal, Lafleur-Shutt.  In Quebec, Stastny-Goulet.  In St.Louis, Federko linemates were the like of Brian Sutter and Wayne Babych.  With Federko's help, Babych was a 50 goal scorer in 1981 and Sutter consistently put 30 goal seasons.  It wasn't until the mid 1980 when, fellow future HHOFers, Joey Mullen and Doug Gilmour proved the skill level to help Federko put together three straight 100 point seasons.  Unfortunately, both Gilmour and Mullen would suffer similar fates, being traded to the Flames, albeit in different seasons.  While the Blues didn't have any play-off success, Federko consistently found the scoresheet in the postseason.  Federko scored 101 points in 91 post season games.  Federko would eventually be traded to the Detroit Red Wings in a deal that gave the Blues Adam Oates.  Federko would play a single season in Detroit before retiring.
  What do you think?  Is Federko the poster boy for the HHOF low standards?  Or is he the poster boy for the under-rated small market superstar?

TTM Success: Garth Butcher

  Garth Butcher played 897 career NHL games in 14 seasons. A tough, stay at home defenceman, Butcher accumulated 2302 PIM in his career, good for 31st all-time. Garth was selected 10th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1981 draft. That winter, he helped Team Canada win its first ever Gold Medal at the World Junior Hockey Championship. After the tournament, Butcher would make his NHL debut, playing 5 regular season games and a single game in the Stanley Cup finals. Butcher would lead the Canucks in PIM for five consecutive seasons from 1984-85 to 1988-89. Butcher would spend a few seasons in St Louis before finishing his career after brief stops in Quebec and Toronto. Garth signed 4 of 4 and kept the extra copy of 1982 custom card, as offered.
  The custom was a 82-83 OPC design.  You can see the front and back of it on this post.

Group Break: My First Ever

  I have always been curious about group breaks.  The high end boxes are a high-risk, high reward proposition, so group breaks give collectors a chance to be involved in a high-end break without breaking the bank.  You pay the fee, and hope you get a good team for the break.  It's like watching the lottery live and praying for the instant win.  I had been eyeing them for awhile over at Clouts and Chara.  Eventually I took the plunge and got the Blues... literally.

  The break was a  23 box "Monster Break". The boxes are listed below.  So I took the plunge with both feet and sent over $140 to be part of the event.  It took a while to fill the group break and I was actually having supper when they created the random draft order.  I came back just in time for the picks to start.  So you can imagine my anticipation as the announced the current pick and next pick.  I had no idea where I was.  Of course I wanted top 5 but I would been happy with getting a chance to pick the Islanders.  But the top five past without my name.  Then the Islanders got drafted and then we went past the top 20 without my name being called.  Finally at pick #25, my name was called.  I had my choice of either the Blues or any team in the Southeast division.  As mentioned above, I got the Blues, both as my team and for my emotion.  My first group break ever and even before it started I lost interest.  Sure, I really like David Backes and the Blues have a great goalie tandem, but there is no Wow factor with the Blues.  There aren't even any great legends with the Blues.  Any HHOF who played with the Blues made the HHOF based on thier play with out teams.  Such as Gilmour, Plante, Hall, or Fuhr.  Can anyone name a top rookie from the Blues in the past two years, other than Cade Fairchild?  Huh, who?  Any ways, let's see what boxes will be broke and my bounty.

10-11 UD The Cup
11-12 Panini Prime x 8 (Sealed Case)
11-12 UD SP Authentic
11-12 Panini Titanium
11-12 Panini Limited
11-12 UD SPX
11-12 ITG Canada Vs The World
11-12 UD Series 2 Tin
11-12 ITG Between The Pipes
11-12 Panini Donruss Elite
11-12 ITG Enforcers
10-11 UD Artifacts
10-11 ITG Decades
10-11 Panini Luxury Suite
05-06 UD Series 2 Hobby
05-06 ITG Heroes Update

  The boxes above were broke in reverse order of the listing.  So it it took about 8 boxes before my first hit.  

 

Jake "22" Allen is a solid young prospect who moved up the depth chart after the trade of Ben Bishop.  I could have bought this on eBay for $6.57 including s/h.

  I didn't even see this one get pulled.  The only base we got was if it was high end.  Jaroslav Halak card #82, #/249.  The Prime base cards are really thick.  This card goes for $4-5 shipped on eBay.

  I finally got something to be excited about.  Brian Eliott and Jaroslab Halak patch card #/25.  I can count 5 colours in those patches.  Definitely a card to get excited about.  Too bad it won't get me even remotely close to breaking even on the break.  Past five auctions have ended between $20 and $26 including shipping. 

  At this point there is about 4 boxes of Prime left and a tin of the Cup.  The Blues threw up a shutout in the remaining boxes.  So in the end I paid about $140 for what I could have bought on eBay for under $40.  I don't even think that was the worst of it.  The worst was that I lost interest.  There was no big rookie or star I was hoping get pulled for me.  It was several boxes between hits and it was the freaking Blues.  So not only did I not get my value in cards, but I didn't get the excitement value either. 

  Will I ever do it again?  Probably.  The break was well run.  And what are the chances of me getting a bottom 6 pick again?  When will I ever learn?

TTM: Rick Zombo

  Rick Zombo played 652 career NHL games over 11 seasons.  As a kid I always had a soft spot for Rick Zombo since I thought he had the last name alphabetically in the NHL.. ever.  As a teenager I stumbled across Mike Zuke and eventually Alexei Zyuzin came along and took all the fun out of it.  Zombo played almost his entire career in the Norris division before finishing his career with the Boston Bruins.

TTM: Gaston Gingras

   Gaston Gingras had already played a season of professional hockey when he was selected by the Montreal Canadiens with the 27th overall pick in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft.  Gingras, previously undrafted, had played one season with the Birmingham Bulls of the WHA.  Gingras would play 3 1/2 seasons with the Habs before a midseason trade sent him to the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1982-83 season.  In what must have been the low-point in his hockey career, Gingras was sent to the AHL in 1984-85, where he spent the rest of the season.  During that low point, the best thing in his career happened, he was traded back to the Montreal Canadiens.  He would help thier AHL team, the Sherbrooke Canadiens, win the AHL's Calder Cup.  He finished the following season Montreal and helped them win the 1986 Stanley Cup.  Gingras would finish his career as a St. Louis Blues in 1989 before spending four seasons playing in Europe.  Gingras is still active coaching and teaching hockey at the youth level.  He has also made several trips to Nunavik to help teach hockey skills to Inuit youth.
  I had sent Mr. Gingras two cards to be signed.  Gingras did not have a card made of him during his second tenure with the Canadiens.  One of the cards I sent was a custom 1986-87 OPC of himself.  He kept the extra copy, as offered, and then also added another card and a over-sized card.  Great return from a member of the 1980s All-Star Moustache team.

TTM: Garry Unger

The Iron Man, Garry Unger, is best known for having the second longest consecutive game streak in the NHL. Garry played in 914 straight games from 1968 to 1979.  Mr. Unger started out as a top prospect for the Toronto Maple Leafs.  After a slow start to his NHL career, 2 pts in 15 games, Unger was traded to the Detroit Red Wings in a blockbuster deal, which involved HHOF Norm Ullman, and Frank Mahovlich and legends Carl Brewer and Paul Henderson.  In Detroit, Unger was put on a line with his boyhood idol, Gordie Howe.  In the 13 games after the trade, Unger had 15pts.

Expectation were high in the following season, 1968-69, but Unger struggled to meet them, scoring 44 points in 76 games.  The following season, Unger bounced back, as he focused more on shooting than passing.  He finished 2nd in the NHL with 42 goals.  For the 1970-71 season, the Red Wings had lured legendary NCAA coach, Ned Harkness to take over.  Harkness was a strict task master, whose demands included players having short hair.  The "Darkness with Harkness" era had begun.  Harkness and Unger butted heads throughout the season.  Unger was known for his blonde hair, flashy cars, flashy clothes and flashy women, he was dating Miss. America, 1969.  The Red Wings, occasionally known as the Dead Wings, struggled to a 12-22-4 record and Harkness was removed as coach, only to be promoted to General Manager.  Within a month, Unger was traded to the St. Louis Blues.

Unger would represent the St. Louis Blues in seven straight all-star games and score 30+ goals in each full season in St. Louis.  He would finish his career with stops in Atlanta, Los Angeles and Edmonton.  The once flashy playboy found religion near the end of playing days.  Unger tributes his consecutive game streak to his sister, who had polio.  “Back then it was difficult for me to complain about a sore ankle or leg when I knew that in two weeks it was going to fine, yet my sister was never going to be able to walk again,”

   Mr. Unger currently works at the Banff Hockey Academy.  He signed both cards I sent him, and also added a signed business card, two signed 8x10s and a Tim Horton 8x10.  I am not sure why he sent the Tim Horton picture.  Unger and Horton were teammates briefly in Toronto.  My guess is that he wants to remind people that Tim Horton was a hockey player, and not just a donut shop.  I really appreciate Mr. Unger's generosity.  I will be hanging the signed Blues picture on my wall.  Thank you Mr. Unger.