Canada wins Gold! Best Olympics ever!!!

Congratulations to Canada's Olympic Hockey Team--and their fans--for winning the gold medal on Sunday.

Yes, I wanted USA to win. And they came close. Very close. But in the Olympics, close gets you the silver...

Nonetheless, it was a great game. It was a great tournament. Many close games. Many upsets. Many competitive teams. Borrowing from my Star Trek metaphor, if the 2002 tournament was "Wrath of Khan," then this was "First Contact" all the way.

1963-64 Parkhurst #84 - William Hicke

I've been a bit slow in my acquisition of old Parkhurst cards so far this year. But I did manage to snag this beauty for under $4, shipped. William Hicke is the 22nd card in my ever-growing 1963-64 Parkhurst set. Hicke has two cards in this set; I purchased his other card back in November.

Card of the Week: Mike Eruzione

"Do you believe in miracles?" It was 30 years ago today that announcer Al Michaels asked us that question, when the United States Olympic hockey team upset a vastly superior Soviet Union squad.

Indeed, a miracle had happened. On February 22, 1980, Mike Eruzione and the United States Olympic team pulled off one of the greatest upsets in hockey history, as explained on this card...(Full story)

Career in Cards: Tony McKegney

In honor of Black History Month, today we will take a look at the career of Tony McKegney. He was not the first black hockey player--or second, or third--to play in the NHL. Rather, McKegney was the first black hockey player to make an impact in the NHL. Here are some of his trading cards issued during his 13-year NHL career.

1978-79 - McKegney played 52 games during his rookie season, scoring 22 points.

1979-80 - No, no card for Tony yet. In his first full NHL campaign, he scored 23 goals and 29 assists in 80 games.

 

1980-81 Topps #144 - After two seasons in the NHL, McKegney finally got his rookie card. During the '80-81 season, he scored 37 goals.

  

1981-82 Topps #76-East - McKegney tallied 23 goals this year. His card only appears in the "East" version of the Topps set.

  

1982-83 O-Pee-Chee #29 - An interesting photo of McKegney, sitting on the bench and smiling. In his 5th year in the NHL (and with Buffalo), he'd eclipse the 30-goal mark again by scoring 36 goals.

  

1983-84 O-Pee-Chee #296 - During the summer, McKegney was traded to the Quebec Nordiques. Thus, the card company attempted to recolor his jersey. They didn't do a very good job. Tony, on the other hand, would, as he netted 24 goals that year.

  

1984-85 O-Pee-Chee #283 - McKegney played 30 games for Quebec, before getting traded to the Minnesota North Stars. Between both teams, he scored 23 goals.

  

1985-86 Topps #156 - In a full season with Minnesota, McKegnney would only score 15 goals.

  

1986-87 O-Pee-Chee CUSTOM - After 11 games with the North Stars, McKegney was traded for the third time in his career, going to the New York Rangers. Neither Topps nor O-Pee-Chee issued a card of McKegney this year. He also never had a card showing him with the Rangers. So, I made this nifty custom card to right those wrongs. This season, he scored 31 goals.

1987-88 Topps #172 - McKegney was on the move again, getting traded over the summer to the St. Louis Blues. Another offseason trade, and thus another airbrushed card. Topps almost did a good job of making McKegney actually look like he was with the Blues when this picture was taken. I say almost because they got the neckline right (more or less), but they forgot to airbrush out the Rangers logo on his helmet. By the way, this would be his best season offensively (40g, 38a, 78pts).

 

1988-89 O-Pee-Chee #4 - In his 2nd season with the Blues, McKegney scored 25 goals. Despite having 2 productive seasons with the Blues, he'd be on the move again over the summer...

  

1989-90 Topps #4 - Wow! What are the odds that McKegney would be card number 4 in last year's set and this year's set? Anyway, due to being traded again over the summer, McKegney's photo got the "airbrush treatment" a third time in his career. I think that's some sort of hockey card record. His career with the Detroit Red Wings lasted 14 games, before getting traded AGAIN to the Quebec Nordiques....AGAIN!

  

1990-91 Upper Deck #340 - After starting out strong with the Nordiques (17-16-33 in 50 games), McKegney got traded to the Chicago Blackhawks, where he'd spend his last 9 games (no goals, 1 assist). He also played 2 playoff games for the Blackhawks. I remember watching that playoff series. Though McKegney was scoreless during the playoffs, he still worked hard every shift he took. 

  

1991-92 Stadium Club #281 - This year, McKegney appeared in six different hockey card sets. Ironic, since at the time he was playing in Italy. He also played 3 games for the Canadian National Team, scoring 2 goals and 2 assists.

1992-93 - McKegney finished his pro career with the San Diego Gulls of the "old" IHL.

Looking back, McKegney had a very good career. Sure, he was traded 7 times. But on the right teams, he was a formidable scorer, netting 30-plus goals a season. And it can be difficult to get into a groove when you are changing teams every two years--or two times in one year--like he did in the latter half of his career. Imagine if things had been a bit more stable...

In 13 NHL seasons, McKegney played in 913 games, scoring 320 goals and 319 assists for a total of 639 points. And in 9 of those seasons, he topped the 20 goal mark.

Thanks, Mike

Today, I'd like to give a special thanks to Mike G. of Taunton, MA for hooking me up with a bunch of hockey cards from my want list, including...

 

...the last card that I needed from the 1994-95 Upper Deck SP set...

 

...the last 3 cards that I needed for my 1998-99 Pacific set...

...2 shiny cards from the 2002-03 Topps "Own the Game" insert set...

 

...and a bunch of Upper Deck cards from last year and this year.

And some MVP cards too!

Mike, thanks for helping me out in my collection quest.

War Room - Feb. 10, 2010

In the February 10, 2010 installment of  Got 'Em! Need 'Em!, we talk about the 2009-10 Upper Deck Black Diamond. (Pictures of some current Black Diamond cards can be seen here.) We also chat a bit about autographs (sticker vs. hard-signed), redemption cards and serial-numbered cards.

This week's clip is about 15 minutes long, so you might want to hit the bathroom before you hit "play".


If the above player does not work, you can get the clip here. Just right click on the link, and select either "Save As..." or open it in a new tab or window.

Thanks to the guys of "The War Room" for sending me the clip.

2002 Olympic Hockey Photos

(Steve Yzerman, Chris Chelios, Brett Hull and Brendan Shannahan at the 2002 Olympics)

Ever since the NHL decided to let it's best players fully participate in the Winter Olympics, there seemed to be a sort of even / odd "Star Trek" paradigm going on here.

You see, the 1998 Olympics was very much like the first "Star Trek" film--highly-anticipated, but failing to live up to the hype. Of course, I say this from a North American perspective, because I'm sure hockey fans in the Czech Republic thought the '98 games were just fine.

And like "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," the 2002 Olympics was all it was supposed to be and more, culminating in a final showdown between the United States and Canada. Expectations were met, and then some.

The 2006 Olympics? Totally "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock." Yawn.

That makes 2010 the "Star Trek IV" of Olympic Ice Hockey. In other words, good. Or so we can hope. I'm crossing my fingers, 'cuz I'll be dammed if I have to sit through "Search for Spock" twice.

With the Men's Ice Hockey tournament starting today, I thought it would be fun to look back at some pictures from the 2002 games.

 

Here we have Mario Lemieux and Joe Sakic celebrating their gold medal win. 

  

Steve Yzerman, Mario Lemieux, Paul Kariya and Joe Sakic. How's that for a power play unit?

The U.S. bench: Chris Drury, Adam Deadmarsh, Doug Weight, Mike York and Jeremy Roenick.

Photo of Team Canada after winning the gold. Click on the photo to enlarge, and see the enviable and unmatched level of talent.

Let's hope that the 2010 games are as good as they were in 2002. 

Card of the Week: Canada's Captain

Hayley Wickenheiser is similar in many ways to former women's hockey mainstay Cammi Granato. For numerous years, Granato was the dominant player for - and considered the face of - women's hockey in the United States. The same is true in Canada for Wickenheiser, who is the team captain of the 2010 Canadian Women's hockey team. Coincidentally, both women have NHL ties. Cammi's brother Tony played in the NHL, as did Haley's cousin Doug. (Full story)

Blackhawks TV show - Episode #2 today

After today's Chicago Blackhawks game, viewers in Chicago can see episode 2 of "Blackhawks TV." Basically, it is a bunch of video clips from the Chicago Blackhawks website, as well as some of the feature/filler type stuff that they show on TV during intermissions. You know, stuff like Patrick Sharp playing pranks on his teammates, or "comedic" out-takes from a commercial shoot. Must see TV indeed.

Today is Valentines Day. Coincidentally, the previous episode of "Blackhawks TV" aired on Christmas day. In other words, the show seems to air when no one is home watching TV.

Bye-bye Barker

Would you trade Cam Barker for Kim Johnsson and Nick Leddy?

Well, the Chicago Blackhawks did just that in a trade with the Minnesota Wild on Friday, and I'm left scratching my head.

Yes, the team will need to reduce its payroll before next season begins. But why trade away a quality defender like Barker now? Why not wait until after the playoffs--and hopefully a Stanley Cup championship--before making a big change like that?

Barker was the third overall draft pick in the 2004 NHL Draft. And while his NHL career has not progressed as far as the team--and fans--would have liked, Barker has proven himself to be a capable defenseman. He scored 40 points in 68 games last season, but has only scored 14 points (4-10) in 52 games this year. Part of the reason may be because he is number four on the depth chart--behind Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Brian Campbell.

Johnsson is almost an opposite to Barker. He was the last player drafted (266th overall) in the 1994 NHL Draft, but has since put in 10 years in the NHL. Is he being brought on to help lead a young Blackhawks team? That seems unlikely, as the team already has veteran leadership in Brian Campbell and Brent Sopel.

Barker is on his way up; Johnsson is at his peak, and can only go down from here.
 
The 'Hawks still have to slash their payroll between now and next season. And though Johnsson makes more than Barker, his contract is up at the end of the season, and most likely will not be re-signed .This is only a baby step towards the goal of reducing payroll. 

According to Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman, the 'Hawks actually tried to trade up to get Leddy in last year's NHL draft. So maybe this kid is really good, especially if the 'Hawks are willing to give up a quality player like Barker.

Free hockey cards at Detroit & Colorado games this weekend

This weekend, two NHL teams will be giving out an exclusive trading card set of Upper Deck trading cards.

• Detroit, February 11, 2010 - Set includes Chris Osgood, Johan Franzen, Brain Rafalski, Pavel Datsyuk, Cleary and Zetterberg
• Colorado, February 12, 2010 - not sure who will be included

The cards more or less resemble the 2009-10 Upper Deck hockey cards, but with subtle differences, and will be given to the first 10,000 fans who attend the game.

If anyone picks up an extra set of either that they would not mind trading, please drop me a line.

Thanks to DFG for sharing info about this.

War Room - Feb. 3, 2010

We kick it old school this week on Got 'Em! Need 'Em!. Mick Kern and I discuss the 1979-80 Topps and O-Pee-Chee Hockey sets. Sure, those are popular sets because of Wayne Gretzky's rookie card--but they are also great sets for many other reasons that we talk about.

So, go grab a sandwich and give this a listen. The clip is just shy of 14 minutes long.


If the above player does not work, you can get the clip here. Just right click on the link, and select either "Save As..." or open it in a new tab or window.

Thanks to Mick, Pete and NHL Home Ice (XM 204) for providing me with the audio clip.

2009-10 Fleer Ultra blaster break

 

After buying a single pack, and later a rack pack, of this year's Fleer Ultra, I have to admit that the set has grown on me. That said, I bought a blaster box at Target last week. Yes, we all know that blasters suck harder than 36-count "retail" boxes...but I had a 10% of coupon, and figured that, you know, maybe this blaster would be special.

Yeah right. (Well, it did happen to me once.)

I don't wanna scan all the cards I got. I'm not even going to scan the best card from each of the 12 packs, but rather just the best "type" of each card.

Here is what I got:

  

43 base cards. You can practically see the Gatorade dripping off of Sidney Crosby's face in this pic.

  

11 Gold Cards: All these do is take the place of a "real" card, which makes completing a set 20% harder. So, I might just mix and match gold and regular cards in my set build, just to piss off Upper Deck. By the way, another great horizontal shot--notice the puck in the upper right corner.

  

2 Ultra Rookies. I've heard of Yannick Weber. The other one I got was of some kid on the Tampa Bay Lightning named Brandon Segal.

  

1 Gold Ultra Rookie: I guess in a way, I "beat" the odds by getting THREE (and not TWO) Ultra Rookies. Though when I pulled this one from a pack, the first thing I muttered was "this better not count as one of the two rookies I get." Why do I hate parallels so much?

  

2 Scoring Kings: These look like a lame insert set that could be in ANY low-to-mid end Upper Deck set. Just slap a Victory or Collector's Choice or UD logo in the corner

  

1 Crowning Achievements: Why? Oh right--because they CAN. Anyone else tired of Martin Brodeur yet? No, I am not bitter that he set his all-time-wins record in a game against the Blackhawks. That actually makes his record cooler to me. 

Dare I say it, but I might actually try to buy a hobby box of these cards. I've got about 90 or so towards the 200-card base set, plus another 4 short-prints. The pictures in this set are pretty good, and there's room for up to 20 years of stats (more on that here).

That was MY card dealer on the Super Bowl

Photo by Sal J. Barry
Did anyone who watched the Super Bowl yesterday remember the Miller High Life commercial, where they featured four small business owners?

Well, that baseball card shop owner is my "dealer"! I have been a customer of Tim's Baseball Card Shop since he opened his store in my neighborhood in Chicago. Tim Herron is a friendly guy, he prices his stuff very fair and he's very patient with kids.

Tim's Baseball Card Shop, along with 3 other small businesses, were picked by Miller High Life to be featured in a Super Bowl commercial that touts the "little guys" for a change.

Needless to say, all of his customers were very happy for Tim. He's a nice guy, and my number one source of hockey cards. Hell, I watched some football game just so I could see him on TV.

In addition to the commercial, Tim was featured on several news programs, including Fox News. It isn't every day that a baseball card store owner gets to be on TV, let alone the Super Bowl.

Anyone going to the Blackhawks game this Friday?

Is anyone who reads this blog going to the Chicago Blackhawks game on Friday, February 5 against the Phoenix Coyotes?

If so, the first 10,000 people at the game will get a free 5-card mini "team set" of Chicago Blackhawks trading cards by Upper Deck.

That said, I will buy (or trade) you for this set. I wanted to go to the game, but the only tickets they had left were standing room only. Needless to say, no one wanted to go to the game with me, so I figured I'd try and buy the set off of someone instead.

If you have a set for sale or trade, please contact me I will make it worth your while.

Card of the Week: Miracle Man

Herb Brooks will forever be remembered best as the coach of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team that accomplished the "Miracle on Ice" and won a gold medal. He almost won a gold medal as a player, too, with the 1960 Olympic squad.(Full story).

Career in Cards: Mike Bossy

Today we take a look back at the career--in cards--of Hall of Fame right wing Mike Bossy. In 10 seasons, Bossy scored 50 or more goals in all but his last one, which was cut short by injuries. A bad back forced him to retire at age 30.But he accomplished more in 10 seasons that what most players do in 20.

1977-78 - In Bossy's first year in the league, he scored 53 goals and won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL rookie of the year. No card was issued of him during this season.

 

1978-79 Topps #115 - Bossy's rookie card. In his 2nd year, he netted 69 goals

  

1979-80 Topps #161 (Record Breaker) - In his 3rd season, Bossy scored51 goals. He also scored 23 points (10-13-23) in the playoffs, helping the New York Islanders win their first of four consecutive Stanley Cup Championships.

  

1980-81 O-Pee-Chee Super Photos #12 -  This year, Bossy netted 50 goals in 50 games, and 68 goals altogether. In the playoffs, Bossy scored almost 2 points per game, getting 17 goals and 18 assists in 18 games.

  

1981-82 Topps #125 East (Super Action) -  A nice game-action photo of the Boss-man, who scored 64 goals and 83 assists for a career high of 147 points. In the playoffs, Bossy won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Stanley Cup MVP.

  

1982-83 O-Pee-Chee #199 - Another season, another 60 goals. Oh, and his first Lady Byng Trophy for being the NHL's most gentlemanly player.

  

1983-84 O-Pee-Chee #3 - Bossy would net 51 goals and 67 assists in 67 games for a total of  118 points. He'd also win the Byng for a second time in a row.

  

1984-85 Topps #91 - Yet another "over 50" season, Bossy got 58 goals that year.

  

1985-86 Topps #130 - 58 goals for Bossy, who would win his third and final Lady Byng Trophy.

  

1986-87 O-Pee-Chee #90 - Due to injuries, Bossy played in 63 games.Despite missing 17 games, he'd score 38 goals and 37 assists for a total of 75 points.

  

1987-88 Topps #105 - Bossy retired at the end of the following season, so he did not play any games in 1987-88.

1987 to 1990 - Bossy was a broadcaster for the Quebec Nordiques.

1991  - Bossy was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

1992 - The New York Islanders retired Bossy's jersey number 22. Considering all his accomplishments, it makes you wonder why the Isles waited so long to do this.

Speaking of accomplishment,s Bossy...

• Had 9 consecutive seasons of scoring 50 or more goals, which still stands as a record today
• Was selected to the First All-Star Team 5 times
• Won 3 Lady Byng Trophies
• Won 1 Conn Smythe Trophy
• Won the Calder Memorial Trophy
• ...and was a big part of 4 Stanley Cup Championship teams

If back problems had not cut his career short, who knows what else he would have accomplished.