Archive for July, 2010

It’s taking a lot for me to get the motivation to write a blog entry; weeks of 85-90 degree weather with 90%+ humidity really takes it out of a guy. I’m a trooper though and need to stay consistent. I mean, can I really let down the four people who read this on a somewhat regular basis? There is no special reason for profiling Al MacInnis today. I picked the card on the left at random and decided Al was it.

Al MacInnis was drafted by the Calgary Flames 15th overall in the 1981 draft. He would have cups of Tim Horton’s coffee with the Flames during his first two seasons playing in two and fourteen games respectively. When he wasn’t skating with the big club, MacInnis was skating with the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL and tearing it up. He put up 159 points (63 goals, 96 assists) in just 110 games, so the Flames definitely had an offensive talent on their hands.

MacInnis would stick with the team the following season and establish himself as one of the better defensemen in the NHL. In 51 games, MacInnis put up 45 points. During the following two seasons MacInnis brought his game to the next level, tallying 66 points in 67 games and 68 points in 77 games. The latter would earn him a spot in his first All Star game. As good as MacInniss was during those two seasons, he would again raise his level of play. Over the next eight seasons, MacInnis was one of the premier blueliners in the NHL and enjoyed some of his finest seasons as a pro. During that span, MacInnis tallied 639 points in 592 games, averaging nearly 80 points, 22 goals, and 58 assists a season. He would score a career high 103 points (28 goals, 75 assists) during the ’90-’91 season. He would also play in five All-Star games and be named to five NHL All-Star Teams (two 1st Teams and three 2nd Teams). MacInnis’ greatest accomplished came during the ’88′-’89 season when he helped lead the Flames to their first Stanley Cup. He was an absolute beast during their run to the Cup, putting up 31 points in 22 games; this was good enough to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.

This stretch of dominance ended when MacInnis was traded to the St. Louis Blues at the end of the ’93-’94 season. MacInnis would spend the remained of his career (10 seasons) with the Blues and continue to be a top-tier defenseman. Although his numbers would never match his Flames days, he would continue to put up solid numbers. He was a leader on and off the ice and one of the NHL’s toughest guys. He would win his only Norris Trophy at the age of 35 for his ’98-’99 season. He would play in six more All-Star games and be named to two NHL All-Star 1st Teams.

A lot of people know MacInnis as one of the hardest shooters in the league. He would win the hardest shot contest seven times. Oh, and he didn’t use those fancypants composite sticks; Al rocked nothing but straight up wood for this stick.

MacInnis hung up the skates at the age of 40 after just three games into the ’03-’04 season due to a reaggravated eye injury. He would end up with 340 goals (3rd among defensemen), 934 assists (14th all-time, 3rd among defensemen), and 1274 total points (3rd among defenseman). He was rightfully  inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007.

The card above is from the ’02-’03 Topps Heritage set. It’s obviously a tribute to the ’66-’67 set. I have no doubt MacInnis would have fit right in during those days. The signature is nice, if not completely legible.  The two cards below are his rookie and his 2nd year O-Pee-Chee cards. At around $25-$30, his rookie is a bargain. OPC probably could have used a better picture of Al, but we have to remember that hockey photography was still pretty bad in the ’80s. His second year card comes from one of my favourite sets, design and colour wise. Man, I didn’t realize that he was 6’2″ and weighed only 193 pounds. Lanky!

1985-86 O-Pee-Chee #237 Al MacInnis

1986-87 O-Pee-Chee #173 Al MacInnis

Frank Brimsek is one of the better goalies you maybe never knew about. He may also not know that he had one of the best nicknames of all-time, in all sports. How’s that for a teaser?

Frank Brimsek entered the NHL in a less than desirable fashion. Early in the 1938-39 season, the Boston Bruins sold their star goalie, Tiny Thompson, to the Detroit Red Wings. Thompson was a four-time Vezina winner, led the Bruins to a Stanley Cup, and was a fan favourite, so his departure was a bit of a risk and shock to the Boston fan base. All potential animosity towards Brimsek was erased during his first season as he would go 33-9-1 that first season while posting a 1.56 GAA. He would also record ten shutouts and go on two scoreless streaks of 220+ minutes; this earned him the nickname, Mr. Zero. The Bruins would win the Cup that season while Brimsek would take home the Calder and Vezina while being named to the NHL All-Star 1st Team.

Brimsek followed his rookie campaign with a 31 win season, 1.99 GAA, and 6 shutouts. The following year, he would help lead the Bruins to another Stanley Cup. The year after that, he would win his second Vezina and be named to his second NHL All-Star 1st Team. Like many players during WWII, Brimsek would serve in the military during his peak, missing two seasons. He returned for the ’45-’46 season and while being a solid keeper, would never repeat his early dominance. He was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for the start of the ’48-’49 season, but would only play that one year before retiring at the age of 34.

Let’s take a look at his career numbers…

He played just ten seasons and recorded 252 wins which is good for 39th all-time. He also recorded 40 shutouts which is 30th all-time. When you factor in that he lost potentially two of his prime seasons to the war, it’s not inconceivable that Brimsek could have easily reached 300 wins and 50 shutouts. Not too shabby for a guy who would’ve only played twelve seasons. The war also broke up a very good Bruins team (Schmidt, Dumart, Bauer), so we could maybe say another Stanley Cup was in the mix. Regardless, Brimsek was one of the best of his era.

He would be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1966 and become the first American-born player to do so. He died in 1998 at the age of 84.

This card is a bit of a mystery. You may recognize it from the ’04-’05 Ultimate Memorabilia autographed set. The story on this set is that in the mid to 90′s, future In The Game President Brian Price wanted to release a set showcasing players from the 1930′s. He designed these cards and had them autographed by the players. There are fourteen in all and includes guys like Dumart, The Rocket, Howe, Abel, etc. Unfortunately, the set fell through but some of them were sold through the back door. From the back of the card, apparently there are 1,000 signed of each player. Years later, Price finally got In The Game off the ground and started producing licensed cards. For the ’04-’05 Ultimate Memorabilia set, whatever leftover stock of these signed cards that Price had were made into encased, autographed cards. Some of them were also cut and used in cut signature products. So technically this card is not certified authentic, but I have it on good authority that it is the real deal. I never see the Ultimate Memorabilia versions anywhere, so this is a good (and inexpensive) way to get some on-card autographs of deceased players. Also, the cards are smaller than normal cards, measuring at about 2.5″ X 3.25″ and have a sort of Allen & Ginter/Champ’s look and feel to them. Overall, I sort of really dig them and will try and pick up the other players I need.