TTM Success: Sean Burke

  Sean Burke played 820 NHL over 18 NHL seasons.  He also played in two Olympics,earning a Silver medal in 1992.  Burke bursted onto the scene in 1988.  After helping Team Canada win a Silver medal at the Olympics, Burke would create a major buzz in the NHL while playing for the New Jersey Devils.  At the time, the Devils had only made the play-offs once in the franchise's existence.  An existence that included 2 seasons as the Kansas City Scouts and six as the Colorado Rockies.  As  Wayne Gretzky once said, they are "running a Mickey-Mouse operation on the ice." But things were looking up for the New Jersey Devils in 1987-88.  They had just come off a franchise record of 64 points the season before, and they were still in the play-off race in March.  Cue Sean Burke.  Burke went 10-1-1 in 13 games for the Devils.  Burke would win his final 7 starts, including two against the Pittsburgh Penguins and one against the New York Rangers, teams they were chasing in the standings.  On April 3rd, 1988, the Rangers beat the Quebec Nordiques, forcing the Devils to either win or watch the playoffs on tv.  The Devils played the Chicago Black Hawks and the regular season ended in a dramatic fashion.  John MacLean nets the winner in over time and the Devils were going to the play-offs.  A playoff run that would bring the Devils all the way to the Stanley Cup semi-finals before being bowing out to the Boston Bruins.  While Burke would go onto a lengthy career, he never did live up to the expectation set as a rookie. 

  Mr. Burke signed 5 of 4.  He signed and returned the extra copy of the Team Canada picture.  He personalized every card, but he did it with care.  Sometimes personalizations push the actually auto off of prime real estate, but in each of these cards, they share the limelight, with the personaliztion, never overpowering the auto.  I really liked how the Ice card turned out.  I was worried it wouldn't hold the auto, but it looks killer in person.

88-89 OPC Tribute: Smith, Backstrom and Gilmour

  In 2006-07, Mike Smith was named to the All-Rookie Team.  In 2007-08, Mike Smith, played his rookie season.  Having only played 23 games in 06-07, Smith was still eligible as a rookie the next season.  Another spot on the All-Rookie team looked like a possibility until he was traded to Tampa Bay and his season took a turn for the worse.  Smith has found his way out of Tampa and things are now looking sunny in Phoenix for Mr. Smith.  Niklas Backstrom's first NHL season was also in 2006-07, a year in which he led the NHL in GAA and save percentage.  Why didn't Backstrom make the All-Rookie team instead of Smith?  The answer: Sergei Makarov.

#82 - Mike Smith 

#83 - Niklas Backstrom

  Behold Leaf Nation! Your savoir has commeth!  Oh, the good old days.  Back when it looked like the Leafs had a shot at Lord Stanley and before Darcy Tucker & company made the Leafs the biggest whiners in the league.  Doug "Killer" Gilmour was the face of the Leafs in the early-mid 1990s and Don Cherry's man crush.  A HHOF inductee in 2011, Gilmour is best remember as a Maple Leaf, but won his only Stanley Cup with the Calgary Flames in 1989.  In 1986, Gilmour, then with the St. Louis Blues, led the NHL in Play-off scoring, despite being eliminated in the semi-finals.  

#118 - Doug Gilmour

88-89 OPC Tribute: Richards, Doan and Read

  Mike Richards time as captain of the Philadelphia Flyers was a tumultuous one.  He helped the Flyers reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 2009 but had feuds with the media, including a verbal boycott on his behalf, and was accused of partying to excess.  In the 2011 off-season, Richards, along with fellow accused-party bud, Jeff Carter, were shipped out of Philadelphia.  Richards was sent to the Los Angeles Kings, where he has had a solid start with 10 points in 10 games.

#58 - Mike Richards

  A 7th round pick in 1995 by the Winnipeg Jets, Shane Doan has become the face of the franchise, the franchise of the Phoenix Coyotes that is.  Doan played one year in Winnipeg before the team moved to Phoenix.  Doan is one of three current NHLers to have played for the originally Jets franchise.  Doan has had a solid career including a Memorial Cup win, playing in the 2006 Olympics, winning 2 Gold medals at the World Hockey Championships and beating the Mantracker.

#59 - Shane Doan

  Undrafted free agent, Matt Read, made the Flyer roster after a strong training camp.  Read had spent the last four seasons with the Bemidji State Beavers of the NCAA.  Read signed the Flyers at the end of the NCAA season in March 2011 and played the the Flyers AHL affiliate, the Adirondack Phantoms, scoring 13pts in 11 games.

#126 - Matt Read

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