The Islanders other Potivn

  No, not Jean.  Its Felix Potvin.  Felix "the Cat" spent two half-seasons playing for the Islanders.  During the 1990s, Potvin was a fixture between the pipes for the Toronto Maple Leafs, leading the league in GAA in 1993 and helping the Leafs reach back-to-back conference finals in 1993 and 1994.  Although by the end of his tenure with the Leafs, he led the NHL is losses in back-to-back seasons.  The Leafs made two major moves in the summer of 1998, hiring Pat Quinn and signing free agent Curtis Joseph.  Potvin was regulated to back-up.  Frustrated by rarely playing and no news on the trade front, Potvin walked out on the team in December.
  It took over a month before the Leafs were able to deal Potvin.  His destination was the New York Islanders.  Potvin's days on the island were forgettable.  He lost his first five games and injured his groin in his eighth, forcing him to miss two months.  The following season was no better.  He struggled on a poor Islanders team and the back up was the Islanders goalie of the future, who was fast tracking himself to the starting gig.  A week before Christmas, Potvin was traded to the Vancouver Canucks.  (Milbury would later trade goalie of the future Roberto Loungo that summer to make room for the future goalie of the future, Rick Dipietro.  WTG Mike!)  With the exception of a spectacular late season run and play-offs in 2001 after being traded to the Los Angeles Kings, Potvin played out his career as a journeyman goalie.
  During his time with the Islanders, Potvin played 33 games, won 7, lost 21, and tied 4.  I barely remember Potvin as an Islander, but those were dark days indeed.  Although once I saw this card, I had to have it.  I was randomly searching different players when I found it on eBay.  I have always liked Potvin and I loved that his card had a swatch that appears to be from an Islanders jersey.  I also have a fondness for stick cards.  The only thing I don't like is that the stick seems like it from the middle of the stick, meaning the inside of the stick.  It seems to be a theme for the SPX cards of that year.  Next on the list is a Joey MacDonald New York Islanders jersey card.  Anyone?

Mystery Pack, Mystery HHOFer?

  I had a great time at the Toronto Sportrscard Expo and I use that for material for future posts.  Another thing I try to do on my holidays is to hit the Dollar Stores and grab some mixed packs.  I usually stay strong and keep my spending restricted to the $1 mixed packs but every now and then I double down and get the $2 Surprise Box.

  The Surprise Box usually has 3-4 smaller packs of 4-5 cards, and sometimes a sealed pack of cards or supplies.  In this particular pack, it included a mixed pack that claimed  "1 Guaranteed Hall of Famer".  Perhaps you can check out the cards and help me find the Hall of Famer.

    Out of these five players, none are currently in the HHOF.  So who does Prestige consider a guaranteed HHOFer?  First off, we can eliminate Wayne Presley and Anatoli Semenov.  Presley, a one time 30 goal scorer, spent the majority of his career on the checking line and never won any awards.  Semenov didn't come to the NHL until he was 28 and proceeded to play for six teams in seven years.  Jonathan Quick has had a great start to his career, with a Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe, but it is way too early to even think about Quick in the HHOF, let alone issue a guarantee.  Quick still needs several great years to get into the HHOF talk.  Remember how hot J.S. Giguere was at one time?
  Pat Verbeek scored 522 goals, good for 34th all-time.  Verbeek retired in 2002 and has yet to be elected to the HHOF.  Verbeek was never a dominant player during his era and accumulated his career totals while playing 1424 games over 20 seasons.
  That leaves Curtis Joseph.  Joseph retired in 2009 but was passed over in his first year of eligibility for the HHOF in 2012.  While Joseph has some impressive career numbers, including 454 career wins, he has never been truly great.  Joseph has never won any major individual honours nor has he won a Stanley Cup.  A win the 1996 World Cup could have helped his cause, but instead Joseph, and Team Canada, lost their last two games in huge upset by team USA in the final.  I never thought of Joseph as an elite goalie.  Unless there really is a "Toronto Bias", then I can't see Joseph being called to the Hall.
  What do you think?  Was there a guaranteed HHOFer in that pack?

2012-13 Panini Classics Box Break

  There are times when the buyer remorse sets in immediately after you click that Buy It Now button, and this was one of those times.  I was really drawn in by the base cards.  An odd assortment of retired superstars, stars, veterans and forgottens.  I fought off the first urge to buys a box at $180 plus s/h, but then I saw a box at $170 with free shipping, and I did dumb. 

   The fronts of the base cards didn't disappoint.  I love the design and the fonts used.  I can see myself trying to fill out a set and then getting extras for TTM.  After one box, I had the set 9% complete.  That's right, I got 18 base cards out of the box.  It did register at some point before I bought the box that I would only get a very small portion of the set but it didn't hit home until I finished opening my packs.  As for the photos, the set seems hit and miss.  In the three above, I really like the Nicholls picture.  The picture is really clear and he jumps out from the background.  On the other hand, when did Brent Sutter play?  Was it the 80s or 90s, or was it the 40s or 50s.  Seriously, a black and white photo??  Totally unacceptable for a player who wasn't Original Six.

   At first glance I like the backs of the cards.  I'll take the brief bio of the player as opposed to complete stats.  I can get season-by-season stats for any of these players on Hockey Reference.  I actually found the bios to be interesting.  Milt Schmidt's first paycheque, the runner-up to Bobby Orr for the Calder, Marty McSorley building up his credits for his IMDB page by making appearances in Bad Boys and Con Air.  No, there isn't a hyperlink on the card itself.  I wonder if IMDB paid for that ad?  The only thing I'd like to have added is the first and last year of the players career.  It' be nice to have, especially for the obscure players.  I am looking at you Bruce Shoebottom.

Dear Mr. Shoebottom.               Please don't punch me in the face.  I loved you in Zamboni Rodeo.

  In each pack there is a Retired Numbers Banner card.  I didn't realize they came one per pack.  They suck.  I am not even going to scan one.  "Hey, I got a banner card in this case of beer"  "Awesome!"  "Hey, I got this banner card in a $30 pack of cards"  "You're a sucker!" 

   Speaking of being a sucker, let's look at my auto haul.  Craig Hartsburg, a three time all-star, as in all-star game, not 1st or 2nd team.  Geoff Courtnall, a one-time 40 goal scorer.  Brent Sutter, one time 100 points and one all-star game.  I actually passed up on the Geoff Courtnall auto on eBay, it went unsold at 97 cents + s/h.  I have nothing against these three players, they are just not $30 a pack material.  But that must mean something good is still on its way..

  Errrr..... no.  Anton Stastny, one all star game.  Darren Pang, perhaps the worst player out of the six autos but the most famous due to his tv appearances.  John Ogrodnick, a 50 goal scorer and a 1st team All-Star in 1984-85.  (Goulet was injuried, Messier moved to center, and also got injured)  Again, a trio of players I like, but nothing that justifies paying $170 for the box.  Hell, I couldn't see myself paying $30 combined for all six autographs.  I would have preferred a Bruce Shoebottom autograph.  Although, I do think Pang has a sweet signature.

  So in the end I regret getting this box.  I wish it had 24 packs instead of 6, but kept the 6 autographs and 6, or preferably less, banner cards.  I have a feeling this set will follow the path of last year's Donruss Elite, which was originally around $120, but in a little over 6 months, is now a $60 box.  Once this hits $90, or less, I might be tempted to try my luck again.  It can't be much worse. 

  Did you know; Panini has produced more Bruce Shoebottom NHL licensed cards that all other card companies combined?    Panini 5 - Pro Set 1

Sportlots Oddball Buys

  I love using Sportlots for my base card needs.  Whether for set building, TTM needs, or for finidng cards needed in various projects.  One of the drawbacks cited for this website is that shipping is calculated for each seller, as opposed to one charge, like Check Out My Cards.  So to minimize shipping and handling charges, you need to find a single seller who has enough cards to make the S/H worth your while.  Personally, I never find this to be an issue.  I usually pick a seller who has good s/h rates to Canada and a half decent amount of cards.  I start an order and it usually takes me 3-7 days to finish it filling it.  Sometimes when I start nearing the end of the order, I pick out an oddball item or two.  Here three oddball items I snagged at 27 cents each, including the S/H.

1994 Hockey Wit #91 Alexandre Daigle

   1994 Hockey Wit is a set of 108 cards.  Each card has trivia question on the back.  I never heard of this set as a kid, so I am not sure of where it was sold.  The set was made up mostly of active players, but also had a number of retired HHOFers. 

1983 Vachon - #83 Dan Daoust

  In 1983 Vachon put out a 140 card set made up exclusively of player from Canadian teams.  They came in panels of 2 cards.  In case you were wondering, Wayne Gretzky was teamed up with Alan Jere.  Don't remember Alan Jere?  For some reason, Vachon used Jere Gillis'  first and middle name, reversed them and then used it for the card.   

1984 Kellogg's Accordian Hockey Disc - Rick Kehoe

This Rick Kehoe is the first of the truly oddball items.  The other two card were both standard size.  This Kellog Accordian Disc from 1982, measures approx 2 inches in diameter.  This card originally came attached with 5 other cards.  The cards folded on top of each other in a accordian like manner and came in plastic puck.

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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?

Whoops, I did it again

  Every now and then I'll buy a card without seeing it.  Sometimes it's just base cards from Sportlots.com but other times I buy cards off of SportsCardForum without seeing a scan.  When the cards come in the mail, it's like ripping into a wax pack, except you know what you're getting, but you still don't know what they look like.  I bought a 2003-04 Topps Pristine Marty Turco autograph as part of a lot purchase from a member on SportsCardForum.  A week later, I saw an awesome looking Turco autograph on eBay and my opening bid won the auction.  The card in the auction?

  The nice thing is that this is a great looking card.  A scan does not do it justice.  Its shininess can only be appreciated in person.  Also, I spent a little over $5 total on the pair, so it is an easy mistake to swallow.  Unfortunately Turco's return to the NHL has not been as pleasant.  He sports the worst save percentage of any goalie who has played over 100mins this season. His return to the NHL has actually cost him 3 spots on the all-time career GAA leaders, dropping him down to 17th overall.  The only good thing that could occur if the Bruins repeat, will be if Turco gets his name on the Cup.

  Update:  Argh.  After posting this, I found out Turco is not eligible to play in the Stanley Cup Finals.  Since he was signed after the trade deadline, he cannot play in the play-offs.  That sucks.

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.

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.

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.