Archive for June, 2010

Today I was bored and happened to find myself in my local card shop. That is never a good mix because I end up buying wax that I really do not want and today was no exception. There were 8 packs of SP Authentic left in a box and I was told that only one autograph had come out of it so there should be two left. The packs are $5 which is normally out of my self-imposed wax budget, but I figured for $40, I’d get two autographs and potentially hit a Tavares, which I’d immediately flip. The temptation was too much, so I splurged. I was going a pack of a time in the hopes that I’d hit the two autographs in the first two packs and be done with it. Not so much. The hits came in packs 5 and 10. C’est la vie.

Anyways, here is my review of SP Authentic…

The base cards look decent enough, I guess. In my opinion, there is a bit too much white for my liking, but whatever. I don’t get the _ between the first and last name; just seems sort of silly and unnecessary. The Phaneuf card is an example of my biggest issue with the set: out of date photography. I think Upper Deck had more than enough time to get a picture of Phaneuf with Toronto, so why not do that? Seems lazy to me. UD pulled the same stunt with Ice. I just don’t understand. Meh. Onto the back of the card…

Zzzzzzz. Nothing to write home about here. For such a new release, I feel like I’m looking at an old card because of last year’s stats.

Here are some inserts…

Okay, so I’m not even sure if this is an insert or a parallel or what. It”s numbered and looks different than the base card, but the numbering on the back is normal and looks to be a part of the main set. I’m too lazy to look it up because I don’t really care. I actually like the front design more than the base design. Next are some legit inserts…

HOLO FX!!! Upper Deck pioneered the hologram in sports cards and they shove it in your face with this insert set. As cheesy as holograms are (and they are), I actually sort of like this insert. Do I like it enough to collect the subset? Nope, but it could be worse.

Now, onto my two autographs…

Hey, wait a second, you’re not John Tavares! You’re that other Islander rookie I seem to pull a lot of this year. SP Authentic rookie autographs are perhaps the nicest ones UD puts out all season. On-card autos are always nice and I believe there are different tiers, the /999 being the base version. Sort of a boring signature from Jesse Joensuu but I’ve seen much worse.

My other autograph was….

Victor Hedman. Eh, I can’t complain. He was the 2nd pick in the 2009 draft and put up decent numbers in his rookie campaign. I didn’t realize this dude is 6’6″! I dig that he wears #77 because that means he is a Bourque fan, right? RIGHT?! I don’t like that he is a defenseman, though. In terms of value, they tend not to be worth big bucks, unless your name is, um, Bobby Orr. Regardless, it was a decent pull.

Over all, SP Authentic is a decent set. Each box is guaranteed three autographs and at $5 a pack, I suppose it’s a good value. The overall design in bland, but most dudes bust this stuff for the rookies. I’d give it a B.

Everything that I pulled, including the rookies, is for trade, so if you are building the set or whatever, let me know.

I think that is is nearly impossible to find someone who dislikes Lanny McDonald. I mean, how can you? His red hair and big bushy moustache makes him look like a lovable cartoon character; he is Yosemite Sam on skates. In fact, I would argue that he is more known for his facial hair than his actual playing days. This was at least true for me, so I decided to look at his career and see what sort of numbers Lanny put up. What I found left me scratching my head (but only a little) as to why is is in the Hall of Fame. Let me explain…

McDonald was taken by the Maple Leafs with the 4th overall pick in the 1973 draft. He would play in 70 of the 78 games during the ’73-’74 season as a 20 year old and put up a modest 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists). The following season would see similar production (44 points in 64 games) and it would not be until his third season that McDonald would really show the NHL his offensive skills.

From ’75-’76 to ’81-’82 (7 seasons), McDonald would average 41 goals and 44 assists. He finished in the top 10 in goals three times and in the top 10 in total points twice. He would play in two All-Star games and be named to the NHL All-Star 2nd Team once. It is hard to argue with the goals and points, but McDonald never cracked 100 points during that span and was not even considered one of the premier forwards in the league as evident by only two All Star games in seven seasons. Heck, he was even traded twice during that span, first from the Leafs to the Rockies and then from the Rockies to the Flames. Rarely do superstar players switch teams that often, especially during the 70′s and 80′s.

McDonald’s best statistical season came during the ’82-’83 campaign. McDonald would lock horns with Gretzky in a goal scoring race. He would ultimately finish second, scoring 66 goals to Gretzky’s 71. That same season, McDonald had the dubious honor of scoring twice as many goals as assists (hard to do) and for scoring the most goals without reaching 100 total points. He would make another NHL All-Star 2nd Team and play in an All Star game while taking home the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.

McDonald would go on to put up a couple of other solid seasons but suffered from numerous injuries that kept him out. It was not until the ’88-’89 season, his last, that Lanny would finally win what every hockey player dreams of, the Stanley Cup. Even better, he would score the game winner in Game 6 and cement his status as a Calgary legend. He would finish his career with 500 career goals and 1006 total points. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1992, his first year of eligibility.

Looking over his body of work, Lanny was a very good player for about 8-9 years. I don’t think he was ever considered dominant or the best at his position at any given moment. His career numbers are good. There are worse numbers players in the Hall and there are better players not in. What I have to understand is that numbers, especially in hockey, do not always tell the complete story. Lanny was, by all accounts, a great teammate. He was the captain of two different teams. He brought the first and only Stanley Cup to Calgary and is regarded as a hero there and his number was the first retired by the organization.

Above all, though, Lanny looked like a hockey player and that may be his enduring legacy. Everyone knows his moustache; he could almost be a mascot for a team. And almost every hockey fan can not help but smile when they see a grizzled veteran like McDonald raising the Cup joyfully over his head.

This card illustrates wonderfully one last reason why Lanny should be in the Hall of Fame: his signature. Just look at it! Is it not a thing of absolute beauty? I think the horizontal layout works perfectly for his autograph. You can read every letter and having it on the white background makes it pop out. And best of all, it features his moustache in all of it’s walrus-like glory!