Posts Tagged ‘Topps’

I’m thinking that I should wrap this up in a few more parts, so let’s just cut to the chase, shall we?

1961-1966
1967-1970
1971-1973
1974-1976
1977-1978
1979-1980
1981
1982-1984
1985-1986
1987-1988
1989-1990
1991-1992
1993-1995
1996-1997
1998-2000
2001-2002

2003
Grant Fuhr
Pat Lafontaine

Grant Fuhr is not a Hall of Famer. He played 30+ games for 15 of his 19 seasons and during that span, I’d estimate that he had one really good year, four pretty good years, and a bunch of average-to-below average years. His best season was 87-88 when he posted a 40-24-9 mark with four shutouts and a GAA of 3.43. The shutouts and wins led the league, but the GAA was only 15th best. That is like a picture going 20-6 with a 3.76 ERA and winning the Cy Young Award. Would that ever happen? Probably not. I think the reason he won the Vezina was that he led the league in wins for a powerhouse team (Oilers) who won the Cup. During his other pretty good years, he went 113-31-25 with two shutouts and a GAA around 3.76. GUH! It should be worth mentioning that those seasons were with those great Oiler teams, which accounts for the wins. On the other hand, it is worth noting that the high GAA game in an era that experienced a huge scoring boom. Overall, Fuhr is 9th all time in wins, 15th in losses, 69th(!) in shutouts, and 1st in goals allowed. As I said earlier, he has that one Vezina Trophy to go along with four Cups. Is it enough? Nope. Fuhr, in my opinion, is in the Hall because he played on a great team; a team, mind you, that would have probably won those Cups with me in goal. Fuhr is out!

For some reason, I really liked Pat Lafontaine growing up. Like most of the players I followed and deemed “favorite” I have no idea why. During his eleven seasons (of 40+ games), Lafontaine netted 30+ goals nine times, 40+ seven times, and 50+ twice; pretty impressive. On the other hand, he only reached the 100+ point mark twice; not too impressive. He only finished in the top-1o in goals twice, assists once, and points twice. He won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy once and was named to the NHL All-Star 2nd Team once, but never captured a Cup. He is 52nd all-time in goals scored, 97th in assists, and 75th in points. I think he is currently in more for his potential if he could have stayed healthy. Even when healthy, though, he was on the bubble of being one of the truly greats. Sorry Pat, but you are out.

Inducted: No one
Kicked out: Grant Fuhr and Pat Lafontaine

2004
Raymond Bourque
Paul Coffey
Larry Murphy

Three defencemen in one year?!

Let’s start with the best of the lot, Ray Bourque. Twenty-two years in the league, 410 goals, 1169 assists, and 1579 points. Not bad for a defenceman. Bourque finished in the top-10 for assists seven times and in +/- (which is a big stat for blueliners) nine times. For his career, he is 4th all-time in assists, 11th in points, and 3rd in +/-. Now lets look at the individual awards: Calder Trophy, five time Norris Trophy winner, and one Stanley Cup. He was named to the NHL All-Star 1st Team thirteen times and the 2nd team six times. Oh, and he was an ace at the accuracy competition during the All-Star break. No brainer here, Bourque is in.

When Bourque wasn’t winning the Norris, Paul Coffey was. Over 1409 games, he tallied a total of 1531 points which is really good for a defenceman. He finished in the top-10 in assists nine times and  points six times; for his career he is 4th and 13th respectively. Three Norris Trophies and four Stanley Cups only add to his legacy. Finally, he was named to four NHL All-Star 1st Teams and four 2nd Teams. Coffey is in.

Lastly, there is Murphy, who is the weakest of the three. In 1615 games, Murphy put up 1216 points. While definitely a good number for a d-man, not quite as good as Bourque and Coffey. He only finished in the top-10 in assists once and +/- three times. For his career, he is 16th in assists, 40th in points, and 60th in +/-. Ehhhh. He never took home a Norris Trophy but did win the Cup four times. He was named to the NHL All-Star 2nd Team three times. I think in any other induction year, Murphy looks very good, but when you put him in the same class as Bourque and Coffey, he is the odd man out. Sorry, but Murphy is out.

Inducted: Raymond Bourque and Paul Coffey
Kicked out: Larry Murphy

2005
Valeri Kharlamov
Cam Neely

I didn’t want to evaluate Kharlamov because he never played in the NHL, but since I inducted Tretiak, I felt like I had to include him. I’m just going to assume he was great and induct him.

Neely is going to hurt me. Like, emotionally hurt and also, if he reads this, he is going to come to my home and mess me up. Over eleven seasons (of 40+ games), Neely was a force. He finished with 30+ goals seven times, 40+ four times, and 50+ three times including the rare 50 goals in 50 games feat. His career numbers aren’t amazing because injuries shorten his NHL playing days (thanks Ulfie). I think Neely is in the HOF now because he was a prototype at the time. He was big and agile, could score and fight, and was just overall a menacing SOB. Up until that point, there weren’t any real players like him in the league, but that changed shortly after his arrival. His career numbers don’t warrant his inclusion here, but I have to look a little beyond the numbers. Few players were more feared than Neely in the league and he was considered nearly, if not truly, elite during his career. Had he stayed healthy, I have to think he would have been a 500 goal scorer. I can’t, however, include him based on potential (see Pat Lafontaine). I have to be objective and pray that the Veteran’s Committee rights my wrong here. Neely is out.

Inducted: Valeri Kharlamov
Kicked out: Cam Neely

And there you have it. Let’s get to some cards, shall we?

People send me things and it rules. First was Sal at Puck Junk, who sent me an autographed card of Ken Hodge Jr. Unfortunately, I forgot to scan it and I’m too lazy to do it now. It is sweet, though, and much appreciated.

Then there was Captain Canuck over at Just a Bit Offside and Waxaholic. I had sent him some OPC and UD cards he needed for sets and included a Brad Marchand card along with it, since he is a HUGE B’s and Marchand fan. Much to my shock, he hates both the reigning Stanley Cup champs and the feisty winger. Not only did he return my Marchand card, but he included these to keep it company:

So, the Marchand card was the ‘return to sender’ and I checked it for graffiti and was surprised to find none. I LOVE the Horton canvas card, but hate the Kaberle card. Not the actual card, but the player. What a worthless bum and yet, he is front and center in the White House photos. The guy did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING and he is smiling like a dope behind Obama. Ugh. Hey Canuck, how’re you like Mr. Kaberle this season?

Anyways, thanks guy for all the goodies.

Next we have some eBay purchases. There is this:

2001-02 Topps Autographs #A-RF Ron Francis

I will have more to say about Ron Francis in my next Hockey Hall of Pretty Good post, so stay tuned. Ideally, I would have preferred a card of him in his Whalers uniform but I like having a signed card of a HOF player that was autographed during his playing days. Why, I can’t say, but I do.

Next is a card I wasn’t really looking for but I saw it on eBay, the bidding was low, and I figured, “Hey, why not?”

2010-11 Upper Deck The Cup Autographed Rookie Masterpieces #CUP-97 Adam McQuaid

Never did I think I’d actually own a 1/1 (because they don’t really appeal to me). Nor did I ever think I’d own a printing plate card (same reason). And never did I think I’d own either of one of my favorite players. But then eBay happened and it was just too cheap to pass up. So now I have a 1/1 printing plate autographed rookie of Adam McQuaid. Huzzah!

And lastly, I think I’m going to start a Derek Sanderson collection. I have nearly all of his vintage cards, but now he has quite a few new cards put out by Panini as well as some other random Upper Deck cards from the past years. If anyone has any, please hit me up.

I hope that all of my American compatriots had a great Thanksgiving full of turkey, stuffing, football, and afternoon naps. For my Canadian counterparts, I hope your Thursday was at least a little more enjoyable than usual. With “Black Friday” behind us, I thought I’d share some recent eBay/checkoutmycards purchases that I snagged at “Black Friday” prices.

The first big purchase involves a personal “white whale” and finally puts an end to a longtime quest of mine. Finding a certified on-card auto of Woody Dumart is pretty darn tough. According to Beckett, there are only three options: a Bruins Alumni card set, a Parkhurst card that is sort of like a cut auto, and an In The Game Ultimate slabbed card. I had pretty much given up hope of ever finding any of these and instead had first settled on this card…

I’ve talked a bit about this card before. It belonged to a set that was to be produced by Dr. Brian Price of In The Game. As per usual, the NHL rejected his license request and these cards were never officially released. However, they eventually showed up in ITG’s Ultimate Memorabilia 5th Edition but set inside a black frame and slabbed. Like this…

The Parkhurst Dumart is sort of the same, only it is set behind a green border and was unslabbed.

Here is a little write-up ITG did concerning this card:

“In the Game, Inc., the manufacturer of the Be A Player brands of hockey cards, recently paid tribute to a Hockey Hall of Famer and Boston Bruin legend Woody Dumart in their 2001-02 Parkhurst brand.

When the Parkhurst brand was on the drawing board early in 2001, one of the planned insert sets was a 40-card effort entitled Parkhurst Autographs. The set featured an amazing lineup of hockey legends ranging from Gordie Howe to Jean Beliveau to Phil Esposito complete with their signatures. Woody Dumart was included in the set.

Once the cards were printed, they were sent to each of the players but sadly, Dumart passed away before he signed any of them on October 19. Officials at In the Game were now forced to revise their plans.

Rather than simply withdraw the card or replace it with another retired great, a plan was implemented which not only paid proper tribute to Dumart, it also provided something special for collectors. To avoid any further delays during pack-out, special Dumart redemption cards were inserted in packs of Parkhurst.

“Fortunately we had a small supply of Woody Dumart signatures,” explained Dr. Brian H. Price, President of In the Game. “We had discussions with Mrs. Dumart and decided to follow through with this tribute to a great player and a fine gentleman.

“It took some ingenuity on the part of our production staff but we were able to use them as ‘cut signatures’ and literally build a new card of Woody that featured his autograph. Anyone who pulled one of the redemption cards can send it to us in exchange for one of these. I’m quite pleased with the results and I think collectors will be too.”

Only 20 of these special signed Dumart cards were produced.”

As I had never seen either of these cards, I was mostly satisfied with my unframed “bootleg” version, even though I couldn’t say for certain it was real.

Later, I picked up a different Dumart autograph, this time for an obscure regional set.

You can read a little bit about it here. Although Beckett recognizes the set, they don’t mention an autographed version of it. Again, I took a (cheap) chance on this and was mostly satisfied.

Anyways, to make a long story longer, I picked up this gem…

2001-02 Parkhurst Autograph #PA-09 Woody Dumart

The hunt for a certified Dumart autograph is officially OVER! Twenty copies, no pricing due to scarcity, and I snagged it for a pretty good price. If anyone is interested in either of my other two Dumart cards, let me know; they are definitely up for trade.

Next up two more cards from the same eBay seller. Do you ever bid on something, look at the seller’s other auctions, and then bid on a couple others? I was not actively seeking these two cards, but when I saw them, I knew I needed them. First is this “nifty” card…

2001-02 Greats of the Game Autographs #70 Rick Middleton

I have always liked the Greats of the Game sets (all sports included) and when I saw this card, I had to have it. I love me some Middleton and the picture cracks me up.  Did you know Nifty had five straight 40+ goal seasons (40, 44, 51, 49, 47)? Or that he won the Lady Byng Trophy once?

Know who has never won and never will win the Lady Byng? This guy…

2000-01 Topps Premier Plus Private Signings #PS-CP Chris Pronger

Pronger is a future HOFer, so I figured I would get his card now. My preference is to get certified autos of HOFers from when they were still active (for guys like Richard, Howe, Beliveau, etc. it is impossible) and I like to have them in the jersey of the team they were most identifiable with. For me, Pronger enjoyed his best years with the Blues, so I was happy to get this one.  The Middleton and Pronger cost me a combined $13. Um, yes please.

The next couple of cards came courtesy of CheckOutMyCards.com. Paul over at Card Boarded sent me an emailing saying that he saw an Axelsson card on the site that I might not have. He was right, so I had to buy it. While there, I figured I’d poke around for a few other cards that I’ve been looking for and save on shipping. The Axelsson will have to wait for another time; for now you get to see these two…

1973-74 O-Pee-Chee #3 Phil Roberto

This is a card that I’ve been aware of for a long time and always mean to pick up a copy, but then just forget. Recently, though, Shane over at Shoebox Legends had a post highlighting a truly righteous quarter box haul and this card was in it. With that fresh in my head, I finally picked up a copy and I have to say, it is about time. This is one of the VERY few NHL licensed hockey cards to feature an actual fight (Sal over at Puck Junk has a great post about this card and fighting on hockey cards). I like that he played for three defunct teams during his career: Scouts, Rockies, and Barons.

Lastly, there is this jewel…

2003-04 Bowman Chrome Refractor #134 Gregory Campbell /300

Campbell is my second favorite current Bruin behind McQuaid and I have been looking to pick up his rookie since he joined the team. I struck out at the Shriner’s show and a couple other shows, so online I had to go. I like Campbell for a few reasons For starters, he wears #11, PJ’s old number. Secondly, the dude is a bad ass and will throw ‘em with anyone. Lastly, he is just a hard-nosed, gritty player who does all the little things very well. He’s good on the PK, can win his share of draws, goes hard into the corners, and can even put the puck in the back of the net (13 goals on the 4th line last year). He is like Axelsson’s rough and tumble twin brother. Okay, maybe not.

Anyways, here is a clip of Campbell feeding Pyatt his lunch (this is for you, Capt’n)