Wax Stain Rookie

Value Vintage Sets #1 - 82-83 OPC

2012-02-17T11:15:00.003-04:00

The number one value vintage set in my opinion is the 82/83 OPC set. Of all the sets on my top 5, this is only the second OPC set to make the list and it is the largest. 396 vintage cards with players who never lasted more than a few games and players who are believed to be the greatest of all-time. The depth of this set is what sets it apart from others and the fact that it is dirt cheap just makes it that much better!

Redeeming Qualities:

Set Size and Player selection
Several Cards booking for over 20 bucks including 2 for 40 a piece (Fuhr and Gretzky).
Set can be had for well under 100 bucks and even then it only books for 100 bucks! That is like 25 cents a card for a set nearly 30 years old.
Do you like Gretzky? There are 8 Gretzky cards in this set.

The Front Side

Really cool shot on this card. The design is very meat and potatoes, but it isn't too hard to like them, but you may not LOVE them.

The Back Side

Some of the cards have a bit of a dating game feel to them as you find out which NHL stars are bachelors and which like long walks on the beach. The backs complement the front rather well with a simple design and good colour selection.

The Rookies:

Of all the sets on the list, 82/83 offers the most rookies and many of them are HOF'ers! In all, there are 63 rookie cards including some of the following:

Ron Francis Rookie
Grant Fuhr Rookie (HOF)

Dale Hawerchuk Rookie (HOF)

Plus rookies of other great former NHL'ers like Joe Mullen, Bobby Carpenter, Brent Sutter and Neal Broten just to name a few.

Other notable cards:

First off, there really isn't many cooler looking cards this this one of Mike Liut!

Wayne Gretzky 4th year card

Wayne Gretzky In Action

This set has an IA card for every team in the set and usually showcases their star player. I like this one as you see Wayne trying to dodge a hip-check.

More Random Wayne!

There you have it, my Top 5 Value Vintage...

1. 82/83 OPC
2. 78/79 Topps

3. 81/82 Topps

4. 84/85 Topps

5. 89/90 OPC

Even though I built this set from packs, I consider it a Value set because it books for a mere 100 bucks and I have seen them sell for 80 bucks on eBay. Part of the low value is because they printed OPC in both Canada and US so there are more of these than lets say 81/82 OPC ( I stand corrected, it has been pointed out to me that US did not receive this release). However, this set is really stacked with great cards, cool rookies and to me offers the best bang for your buck (with a limited budget).

So what are your thoughts? Is your top 5 similar or different? I would like to try a top five for under 500 bucks sometime as it would pull in some pretty cool sets, but this is what my top 5 for under 100 bucks would look like.

01-02 UD Top Shelf - Ilya Kovalchuk Rookie

2012-02-16T11:15:00.000-04:00

Ever since the trade brought Kovy over to NJ I have been watching him closely. Even when he struggled, I still liked what I saw. His potential is through the roof and finally I believe he is turning into the PK Sniper and playmaking machine he can be. This season his numbers are more Kovy like, his +/- is under control and he is popping Shorties like they are Smarties.

As of today, he is 9th in the league for points and I believe he can finish top 5 this year if the Devils keep playing well. He is part of the reason for the great turn-around and hopefully a reason for Parise to remain in NJ.

Since I am a late arriver at the Kovy party, I didn't own a single one of his rookies. Thanks to some trades with fellow bloggers I picked up a few low-end ones so my desire for a good mid-range only increased.

At long last, I finally netted one and it was a pretty good deal. This card is numbered /500 and books for about 40 bucks. However, this card is a little special as it was a "buy back" rookie from the 04-05 Sp Authentic set so it came with a second card which states it is a buy back.

I am curious, did anyone out there collect Top Shelf? I know nothing of the product (is pack price etc) and I am curious to know more.

Anyway, here is the card!

Not the coolest card in the world, but I do like and appreciate it and for 4.99 plus shipping I believe it to be a steal!

Taking care of some business - Adam Henrique

2012-02-15T14:02:00.000-04:00

Well, life as a Devils fan has been much easier than it was last year. Part of the reason has been the play of OUR Rookie of the Year Adam Henrique. As of last night, he is now leading the league in rookie scoring which kinda sucks because buying his cards has been a little pricier than the beginning of the year when he wasn't even listed in the Beckett. However, as the market gets more and more saturated with rookies, I should be able to find a few deals!

Anyway, here are a few pickups of Henrique cards I have landed since training camp!

11/12 Young Guns
Needed this card. Young guns are always awesome to have and I landed a good deal for this one as part of a lot of 3 Young guns.

11/12 OPC Retro

I really liked the look of these cards the moment I saw them and to land it for 2 bucks made it worth every penny to me.

09/10 ITG

This was a FUN card to get. I got this back in September as part of a trade with fellow blogger JonWayne.

In all, three great cards to add to my collection and I personally love the auto the most! Thanks again JonWayne, and who knows, Henrique very well could end up finishing atop the rookie scoring. IF he is able to keep it up, you never know, he could do what Brodeur and Gomez did before him!

Fake or Real - The Wayne Edition

2012-02-12T21:48:00.000-04:00

I am not referring to the game some of us have played on the patio of a pub on a sunny afternoon, I am referring to the following auto. Before you take a look, I have a small story. I was at my LCS which I need to point out specializes in GOLD and Coins. They get people showing up all the time with cards and they usually send them away. I have a want list in the shop and they will grab stuff specifically for me (Like the Lafleur rookie and Dryden rookie etc) but for the most part they are only part-time cards. I was in there in the fall and saw this card. I asked the owner about the Gretzky auto and he said it was apart of a collection they picked up and that the auto was "part of the card printing" and that it wasn't actually signed. I didn't agree, but I didn't say that to him. I left the card behind and its $2 price tag.....

I didn't sleep well that night on this card and decided that the next day I was going to go back and buy it. Upon further review, this card didn't come out of the pack looking this way, it appears SOMEONE signed this card. If you look closely at it, there is feathering and gaps in the ink because it was a felt marker that did the signature ON the card. So the only question I have now is; Did Wayne sign this or did someone else?

I feel better about the auto as he didn't push it on me as a Wayne auto, but my doubts do lie in the "w". Many Wayne autos have a much wider W but it is possible that an IP auto could yield a sloppier job...

So I leave it with you guys, my peers and fellow readers...do You think it is real?

This card is a McDonalds release, I believe it is the 99-00 UD McDonalds set.

I also picked up another Wayne in the last couple months.
LOVE this photo, shame the back side is boring but this card is NrMt-Mt and to land it for 4.99 plus shipping was totally worth it to me.

Bobby Hull - TTM

2012-02-10T15:23:00.002-04:00

When I found out that Bobby Hull does sign through the mail, I couldn't resist writing him. I already have one auto from him (on a replica jersey) so I figured my collection certainly needed an auto or two on cardboard.

Sure enough, after about 4 months I received both cards I sent, signed! The Champs auto turned out the best. I actually found a 71-72 Bobby Hull All-Star card at my LCS for a buck a few weeks back so I kinda wish I mailed that one...but I will certainly enjoy the two I did get back.

Check out the rest of the post at Dirty Dangle.

Card of the Week - Sam Gagner

2012-02-06T11:52:00.000-04:00

Hard to imagine anyone having a better week than Sam Gagner. What does a kid fresh off the first 8 point night since the 80's do? How does a three point night sound? Since the all-star break, Sam has 6 goals and 6 assists in 3 games. Not too bad considering he had only 5 goals and 21 points in the previous 42 games. Now Sam is on pace to top his rookie totals which are his career highs at the moment. The next few weeks will be very interesting for Mr. Gagner as his trade value has increased and the Oilers are still looking to retool their team for future success.

I know the Devils could be interested with their problems filing the Center position with healthy bodies and having a surplus of talented young defensemen could bode well for a future trade....but I am not holding my breath on that one.

My collection of Sam Gagner's increased by one recently (and before the 8 point game) with this card..

10-11 Certified Mirror Blue Materials #58
As I have mentioned before, I really like Certified cards on the secondary market. This card was a part of a decent sized lot of 10-11 Certified inserts and game used cards so the price per card was in the $1.50 range. The front side features the photo on foilboard with a smallish swatch of blue jersey.

The back side

The backs feature the card numbered out of 100 along with stats and a write-up. Like a broken record, I will say this is how Game-Used cards should be. I will certainly buy these cards all day at a buck fifty a pop. In fact, if I didn't have too many partial sets and limited cash, I would like to try and build the Mirror Blue Materials set.

How I received the card: Lot purchase from eBay

Beckett Value: 4-10 dollars

Recent TTMs

2012-02-02T09:02:00.003-04:00

Even though I have been buying more autos than writing letters in the last couple of months (will share more later on those), I have been lucky to have some TTMs return home over the last month or so. Two that I got back earlier this month are Eric Lindros and Jeremy Roenick. Both are players I loved and worshiped as a kid and to have both sign rookies for me is truly awesome. Roenick loves signing for fans and was willing to sign three cards for me (2 Rookies and an All-Star Card) and he included a small form letter with his return. The return time was about 6 months on the Roenick cards.

Eric was a faster signer than Jeremy, but since I didn't know if he would sign for sure, I just sent along the one card. I received this card about two months after mailing out the letter.

Here is more of the Lindros Post.

Here is more of the Roenick Post.

53-54 Parkhurst Pick-ups

2012-01-30T20:45:00.000-04:00

Back in the summer I got a chance to pick up my first 53-54 Parkhurst card. It was a Benny Woit card and it represented the first time I ever actually saw a 53-54 Parkie.

Since then, I have fallen in love with them and picked up a few more.

Lee Fogolin

Lee is another player from my hometown and would raise a son (Lee Jr.) who would also make the NHL. Lee Sr. was good enough to make it to two all-star games in his career. His son would win two Cups with the Oilers in the 80's.

Cal Gardner

Love this card, it looks like a nice piece of artwork. Look at Cal's intent look and the captain's patch on a beautiful Bruins sweater. The scans on this card and the next card seem to show sides that aren't even but that isn't true. Both cards are even cuts, but of course have a little rounding on the edges and the odd crease or two. Both Cal and Lee cost me 1.99 on eBay which are steals in my opinion.

Tim Horton
I am most proud of this card. For a card that is almost 60 years old and books for 300, I felt paying 25 for this was a steal of a deal. There are some round corners on it, and a crease across the middle of the card which certainly lower the value. But, this is another case of you need to see this card in person to truly appreciate it. The glare from the toploader certainly ruin the scan, but you will have to take my word on the impressiveness of this little piece of cardboard.
Here is the back shot. Again you can see a little damage on the corners and the crease is more obvious on the back.

So with these three, it brings my 53-54 total up to 4. Not sure what I will do in the long run if I am just going after singles or the set, but in the meanwhile if I am seeing them at a good price, I am going to grab them.

I should also add, I have an Andy Bathgate RC coming soon....Will share when it arrives...

Back Checking - Jeff Carter

2012-01-29T14:28:00.001-04:00

This month has just flown by and now that the exams are all marked and grades taken care of, I feel like I can spend a moment or two on this blog finally. I have picked up lots of cards and sets in the last couple months and have had no time to share.

So with a couple moments to myself, here is another back checking post.

Being a writer for the backs of cards must be a pretty fun job if you ask me. I don't know if the pay is very good, but to have your thoughts and writing immortalized on cardboard and collected by hundreds of thousands people would be a pretty cool gig. Certainly not one I could do as my regular readers know (I HATE proof reading), but if I were paid enough, I might be convinced to give it a shot!

Jeff Carter's 10-11 Luxury Suite card is a prime example of how a situation can change in as little as months.

Love the front side of this card. Nice stick and jersey piece, and it happens to be my first stick card. I received this card in a trade with Sal from Puckjunk.com

On to the back, as you can see it is both numbered and guaranteed! Of course, that isn't why I am showing this card. Check out the text on the left of the photo. I think it speaks for itself as Carter is now a member of the Blue Jackets and probably wishes he was still in Philly right now, even if it meant he couldn't have all he could drink. There was no way the author of this card could have predicted a club would sign someone for an 11 year extension only to trade him less than a year later, but it happens and it kinda makes this write up seem foolish!

Flash forward less than a year after this card was created, Jeff is off to the worst season in his career, he is up on the trading block again, and Columbus is currently trying to Fail for Nail. It is amazing how quickly things can change for an NHL player regardless of talent. Well Jeff, drink up because this off-season is going to be a little longer than you are used to and it isn't going to get any easier for you!

Back Checking - Chris Terreri

2012-01-18T19:55:00.001-04:00

Without a doubt, one of the most memorable card backs from my childhood is the 90-91 UD Chris Terreri rookie card. The front side of the card is a neat photo of Chris doing something (I could never really figure it out...

But the backside is pure gold, and maybe one of the best photos from the entire set. I can only imagine how cool this card would have been had UD included horizontal cards in their inaugural hockey set. Nevertheless, this card features a sweet action shot that looks as painful as it does amazing. I believe that the only thing that would have been cooler, is if a puck was in that glove!

Chris is still kicking around the Devils organization and even dons the pads occasionally in practice if the Devils are short a goalie. Last season he showed he can still do it at his age, check out this save:

Johnny Bower TTM

2012-01-17T21:21:00.003-04:00

Got these in a little while back and like everyone says, Johnny Bower is a very generous signer!

Mailed him one and got back two with a note!

Here is the one I sent, a Topps reprint card.

Here is the note and bonus card!

Really glad to land these, I mentioned it last week on my Dirty Dangle post for those interested!

Have you ever been ripped off?

2012-01-10T19:52:00.005-04:00

I must say, I really enjoy trading cards. There are many bloggers out there I have traded with, and some on multiple occasions. There have been some great cards that have come into my house and have left my house because of trades and each time I have been happy with the results until now.

For starters, I am no fool, I make trades that sometimes have me ahead in my opinion and other times have me on the losing end. But that isn't why I trade, I trade because it is nice to help others and sometimes it is fun to get something different into your collection even if it means someone gets a better end of the deal. Don't get me wrong, I am not trading Ray Bourque rookies for a Patrik Stefan rookies just to be a nice guy, but we all have comprised on occasion and ended up ahead on occasion.

Just recently (October) I made a trade with another blogger. One card for one card, except he received my card and mine.....never arrived. I have written them and no response and it now has been over three months since we agreed to the trade so I ask my fellow bloggers....Has this happened to you? What should I do?

Should I name them in this public forum or do I just suck it up as a loss and be more careful next time? Fact is, I was certainly on the losing end of this trade even if the card arrived, I was purely making the trade to be nice, but they have turned around and f*cked me over and I really am a little angry. I am a pretty calm and calculating kind of person, so I must say I am having trouble deciding what to do next and I am asking for help. All ideas and suggestions are welcome.

On another note, Michael, I am out of bubble mailers and will have your trade in the mail on Thursday, sorry it is a few days later than I said. But have no fear, I have found a few fun goodies to include in the meantime!

Back Checking - Pat Lafontaine

2012-01-02T13:45:00.000-04:00

A new feature I want to do on my blog is called back checking. What I am going to do is post a neat or interesting card back that I have in my collection. I love reading card backs and may enjoy it as much as the photography and designs on the card front.

I recently picked up a part set of 85-86 Topps. Essentially I got all cards in NrMt-Mt shape except for the Lemieux rookie. He was not a part of the deal, but the 164/165 cards were won with a 33 dollar bid. Essentially I got almost the whole set for about 20 cents a card. Sal from Puckjunk.com had traded me a Mario Lemieux Topps rookie with a wax stain back in the fall so together I have a pretty nice complete set.

When the set arrived I threw it into pages and began flipping through. I owned a couple of the cards either in Topps or OPC form but not the whole set. It was nice to go through and see the different cards and of course read the backs. I came across one neat back which I will share today.

85-86 Topps Pat LaFontaine #137

This is a Pat Lafontaine second year card, it features an action shot of Pat playing against the Whalers.

When you look at the back, I found two things jumped out at me. First was the awesome 13 goals in 15 games during his first season. Not a bad way to begin a career if you ask me. He would score only 19 in 67 during his first full NHL season. But the more interesting thing jumps out second and that is he centered what was called the "Diaper Line". I thought the "Baby Oil" line name was bad, this is just gross! I have a toddler at home and I know the nastiness those packages can contain and to have a line named that is pretty bad. Of course, it was in reference to their young ages but still, NASTY!

In all, a pretty cool card anyway, I have a couple LaFontaine rookies, but this is my first time seeing and owning his particular card and reading it taught me something!

Are there any worse line names that you can think of than the Diaper Line? I can't think of any, but I am sure they exist!

08-09 SPx Box Break

2011-12-31T13:48:00.000-04:00

Been a long while since I posted any breaks, so here is a box I just got in the mail compliments of Santa. I went with this box because of its value and that you were guaranteed two rookies in the box. Typically I don't buy SPx and not because I dislike the product, I find at 140 a box you don't get the same bang for your buck. This was roughly half that price so lets see how it ends up!

The Rookies

You should get two in the box which I did. One is auto'd and the other isn't. Here is the non-auto rookie:

Oscar Moller

Currently in Europe, I wasn't that excited at first. Swatches are nice and he is young and could find himself back in the NHL sometime in the future. In all, there are certainly worse that could have been here!

Auto Rookie

I was HOPING for Stamkos, but certainly wasn't expecting it. I am happy with this though, I don't have his auto and he is a former Canadian WJHC player so it suits the time of year. He is exiled in Florida at the moment and I hope he is able to find his game there or somewhere else. I believe in his potential and hope he gets there someday!

The Game Used Cards

Each box promises two of these and my first hit was AWESOME!

I have never pulled a Crosby game/photo used anything before so this was a pleasant sight! In addition, it is the most "valuable" Winning Materials card so it also makes this box a winner for me. Glad to add this to my collection even though the swatches are Vanilla!

The other game-used is supposed to be a Winning Combos card which is exactly what this is. I don't mind pulling this card, but I think someone else out there could enjoy it more than I would so I certainly would trade this to anyone interested.

SPXCITEMENT Cards

Each box usually has 4 of these bad boys and once again I didn't do too badly!

Mats Sundin! Not bad, he is available for trade...
Carey Price! Same as Mats, he is up for trade..
Moose Messier. I was never a huge fan of Mark, so anyone interested in a trade let me know...

Most Xcitement cards are numbered to 999, the spectrum ones like Kurri here, are numbered to 99. Not a bad finish to a pretty decent box. I am going to keep this one!

So it was fun ripping some packs as it has been a while. I hope to do some more rips in the New Year, I think my next box is likely going to be Heroes and Prospects but....You never know when a deal comes your way that you can't pass up!

For anyone interested, I also have two BCCG graded Crosby Phenomenal Beginnings cards that I also looking to trade. One is a 9 and the other a 10. I am not looking to get much for them (a Cool Devils rookie or auto would take one or both), so if you want a cheap trade let me know, I am done owning them!

Two Years and Benny Woit PC

2011-12-29T13:34:00.000-04:00

Two years ago today, I decided to start my own blog. Really didn't care if anyone ever read it and did it more for the fun of it. After a year of writing extremely sporadically, I got the itch to do more posts and try and attract a few readers. I changed from doing a blog purely for me to a blog where I could interact with other collectors and maybe even make a couple trades.

Sure enough my second year of writing attracted over 16000 more hits than the previous year and I have you other bloggers to thank for it. Many of you linked my blog to your own and I think being apart of a network is much more rewarding that doing it for one's self.

I haven't been breaking packs much over the last couple months and the reason is I am trying to get more vintage. I have picked up more 51's and I hope to get them up soon and I have been working on a couple PC's. First is Benny Woit. I have two of his cards so far, they are here and here. With only a half dozen or so cards to his name, Benny Woit shouldn't be too hard to accomplish and I am now two cards closer!

52-53 Parkhurst

Here is the front side of the card. The picture is very similar to the 51-52 Parkhurst card and this isn't uncommon for the 52-53 Parkhurst set either. The card is a little larger than the 51-52 and features the autograph of the player on the front as well.

The backsides of the card feature stats, a small write-up an offer for a storage album for the 52-53 set. If anyone has a picture of this album I would love to see it sometime! Heck, maybe even try and own one. As you can see from his stats he put up a decent season for a defenseman.

54-55 Parkhurst Premium Back

LOVE THIS CARD. Everything from the black and white/colour mix to the expression of the player's faces. You can see Terry Sawchuck really well in this shot and I even wonder if it is this glove that I own a small piece of! Just a cool card in my books and my favourite of the collection thus far.

Here is what the premium back looks like on this card.

So there you have it, I am two cards closer and two years in. I look forward to another year of blogging and sharing stories with my fellow bloggers and casual readers! All the best to everyone in 2012 and I hope everyone has a great New Year!

My hobby shop now has a quarter box!

2011-12-23T20:15:00.001-04:00

My little hobby shop has been getting cooler by the week. First they went from having a few stray singles that didn't interest me much and ball point pen autos to having some vintage and current rookies. Certainly a nice move especially because the prices are all great. Then they added some quarter boxes and more vintage cards. I had to restrain myself from buying a 71-72 Topps Howe card. He wanted 50 for it, but there was a small ball point pen mark on the back that dissuaded me from buying.

The latest addition was two boxes loaded with singles marked 4 for a dollar or 50 cents each. I start sifting and boy did I like what I saw! Sure there was junk I already owned, but there was also some cool retro singles as well as an autograph. So sit back and see what I found!

Wayne Connelly 62-63 Parkhurst

Don't let the alternate spelling fool you, this is Wayne's rookie!

Paul Martin 03-04 Titanium Retail
Numbered rookie for 25 cents, yes please.

Milan Michalek 03-04 Titanium Retail
Probably the most "valuable" card to me. I don't have any of his rookies so it was nice to land this for a quarter.

Gump Worsley 71-72 OPC
This card is likely VG but it was a fun card to find in the box and one I don't own so it was a no brainer for 2-bits.

Eric Daze 02-03 Stadium Club Lone Star Signatures
This card had the highest book value at 20 bucks, was pretty surprised to see an auto in there and couldn't pass this one up. I remember when Daze was a goal scoring beast with 8 straight 20+ goal seasons.

Gerry Ehman 59-60 Parkhurst

His rookie card! Not in bad shape either!

Gary Edmundson 59-60 Parkhurst

Another rookie, shame for the ink about his head.

Mats Naslund 83-84 OPC
The only card in the lot that wasn't a quarter. This set me back a dollar, but I needed it for my set so I certainly couldn't leave it!

Garry Veneruzzo 68-69 Topps
I learned something buying this rookie card for a buck, Gary was born in the same part of Thunder Bay that I was! I had never heard of him prior to buying this card so not only do I have his rookie, I also had a history lesson.

Claude Provost 62-63 Parkhurst
Card is in pretty rough shape, but I didn't have any from this set before so it was nice to find it.

Bill Reay 74-75 Topps
Looks like his lucky hat would soon let him down as he was fired 2 1/2 seasons after this card was produced. I learned that I will be needed his rookie card to help finish my 51-52 set... Kinda neat info..

Albert Langlois 60-61 Parkhurst
My first from this set as well, almost my second as I left a $20 Jacques Plante card behind. Crazy you ask? Maybe, but the card was pretty rough....creases and pen marks....I still wonder about it though..

Earl Ingarfield 60-61 Topps
His name is Earl and he is my first of two from this set.

Larry Regan 60-61 Parkhurst
Larry looks a bit like Norm MacDonald to me, according to the back of the card he "is a real dipsy-doodler and a treat to watch". The back of the card also says he "had a bad injury due to a gimpy knee". They sure don't write card backs like that anymore!

Jean Guy Talbot 61-62 Parkhurst
Looks like the Canadiens were Irish for a year, these cards had cartoons on the back with a funny rub and reveal punchline. This one had something about soap...

Al Arbour 68-69 Topps

My first non-coaching Al Arbour card. Love the Johnny Unitas hair cut!

Al LeBrun 60-61 Topps
My other card from this set.

Gilbert Perreault 73-74 Topps
I seem to be finding this guy's cards everywhere I go!

Ryan Suter 05-06 Power Play
A few modern rookies grabbed my attention. I didn't have any of his yet and for 25 cents I would buy them up all day. He is a beast on the blue-line.

Andrej Meszaros 05-06 Power Play
Hasn't been able to be as offensive as his Ottawa days, but should figure into the long-term plays for Philly. Lots of talent and a nice deal at 25 cents.

Rick DiPietro 00-01 UD Reserve
Much like the Islanders I wonder why I spent money on this guy. I dropped a quarter, they dropped 67.5 million. I guess my gamble isn't as bad!

There you have it. A nice raiding of the box, and I hope they keep them coming as it will certainly have be back time and time again. Overall, it cost me 6.90 with taxes and it landed me 21 cards. I picked up a few other singles in subsequent trips which I will have to post at another time!

Parkhurst Project Card 16

2011-12-21T21:59:00.000-04:00

This is currently THE BEST Parkie in my set. I suspected when I put a bid on this auction I would like the results but when it arrived I was blown away. The card is clean, crease free and even has a sharp corner. The other three are varying degrees of roundness but in all, a pretty decent card. If it were graded, I think it could be as high as a 5....certainly at least a 4, but then again who knows. I would be curious to know what some of the grading experts out there think!

Front side

Back side
Not only is this card in pretty decent shape, but Tom Johnson was one hell of a player. Tom is a HOF'er who won 6 Cups as an all-star defenseman as well as an addition Cup as the head coach of the Bruins. In addition, he won an eighth cup as a member of Bruins management. Many think if Tom wasn't holding down the fort while Doug Harvey was rushing up the ice, he too could have been a pretty good offensive defenseman. Tom was no slouch on either end of the ice playing sound defensive hockey while still racking up 264 points in 979 career games. His finest offensive season happened in 58-59 which had him winning the Norris Trophy and scoring 39 points in 70 games including 10 goals.

I am pretty pleased to add this card into my set and I hope to get a few more in the future that are as good looking as this.

Progress:

Card #7 and #16 of 105 in my set

Percent Completed:

15.2%

Cost of Card:

$8.00 plus $5.00 shipping

Total Cost of Set to Date:

$114.94

Card of the Week - Patrik Elias

2011-12-20T08:11:00.001-04:00

On Saturday, history was made in Devils land. If you didn't realize it, don't feel bad. Many players on the Devils also didn't realize it. However, that doesn't diminish the accomplishment and that is Patrik Elias has surpassed John MacLean as the Devils all-time leading goal scorer. His current total is 348 goals and counting. Elias is also the franchise leader in points with 845 which he did in 993 career games with the Devils. Could he reach a 1000 points? Hard to say, he is 35 years old and currently having a great season in the second last year of his contract. We can expect one more season in the black and red for Elias which has him needing 155 points in the next season and a half. Reaching 1000 in that time period is not likely, but if he gets an extension with the Devils after that it is possible.

97-98 SP Authentic #185 Patrik Elias

Front Side

Front side shows a card that does have a 90's look to it, but certainly a pretty attractive design and one of the better ones to come out of that decade. In terms of Elias rookies, this is one of the more high-end releases. This is also my second favourite, with the BAP auto rookie parallel taking the cake. Upper Deck has continued the tradition through the years making Future Watch rookies one of the nicest on the market.

Back side
Great write-up on the back, not a fan of the concentric rings radiating out from the Elias photo, but the layout is attractive on this card and the mask hologram is pretty cool too. This card came out during my retirement from collecting and was one I had to pick up when I was "filling in gaps" in my collection.

How I received the card: This was an eBay purchase about 2 years ago. I landed it with an opening bid of $0.99

Beckett Value: 3 - 8 dollars

Not sure if there are many Elias collectors out there, but he has put together a solid NHL career that will hopefully have a few more good games and maybe another Stanley Cup?.

A couple neat facts:

Patrik Elias is tied with a couple others for most career NHL overtime goals with 15.

Elias isn't the only big name rookie in the 97-98 SP Authentic set, Zdeno Chara also has a rookie card in that set and it currently books for about $12.

Parkhurst Project Card 15

2011-12-18T16:13:00.003-04:00

The last of the Chicago Black Hawks lot of Parkies is Pete Babando. Unlike the previous three, this one is ungraded but when compared to the others it is roughly on the same grade. The corners are rough, but this one doesn't have any major creases and the back is pretty clean as well. The is one light crease on the upper left of the card.

Pete is best remembered as the player who scored the sudden death overtime goal for the Red Wings in 1950 to win the Stanley Cup. Pete saved his best performances in the regular season for his years in Chicago where his finest season is captured on this card. He would play 6 NHL seasons where he would score 86 goals, 73 assists and 159 points in 351 games.

One neat fact is he and Benny Woit (another member of the '50 Stanley Cup winning Red Wings) would find themselves playing together for the Clinton Comets of the ECHL during the 60's!

Progress:

Card #51 and #15 of 105 in my set

Percent Completed:

14.3%

Cost of Card:

$6.00 with shipping

Total Cost of Set to Date:

$101.94

Expo Cards- What are your thoughts?

2011-12-12T11:42:00.001-04:00

A little while back, I landed a few "rookie" cards from the local swap meet which included some Expo cards. It certainly has been my experience that Expo cards are often available for a lot cheaper than their regular release counterparts and aren't respected as much.

The other day I came across this card when looking for some game-used Alex Delvecchio cards:

What do you think of this card? What would you pay for it? Is it worth any less because it is an Expo card?

I fell in love with this card almost immediately. Sawchuck, Ullman, Delvecchio and Crozier, this was one cool collection of stars and I grew up idolizing Delvecchio so this one was a little more personal than some.

Sure I am part of the (majority/minority?) who likes these gimmick cards but lets face it, Sawchuck's glove, and some game-used "sweater" pieces of some pretty amazing NHL legends is something that many collectors can appreciate.

I talked it over with my wife (I do that sometimes) and came to a price of what I felt the card was worth to me and made that my highest bid. As time went by the price didn't change, I was in the lead. With about 5 min to go the price ticked up a little bit, but in the end I did have the winning bid and I was actually about 8 bucks below my max price.

Is this card any less cool then because it is an Expo card? I honestly think I would have paid the same for this card if it wasn't an Expo card. But I am curious to your thoughts? Do you buy Expo cards?

Parkhurst Project Card 14

2011-12-05T20:51:00.004-04:00

Here is the third of the PSA graded 51 Parkies I landed a few weeks ago. This one like the others is graded a 1, and really the most poor of the three. I also got a fourth from the same dealer and this one isn't graded but is the nicest of the four (expect that post in a day or so).

Like other two posts, Jim McFadden is also a Chicago Blackhawk and is giving the camera guy a snow job too! McFadden who was born in Ireland had a pretty successful NHL career which included a Calder Trophy in 1948 after putting up 24 goals and 48 points in just 60 games. He would continue the winning ways by earning a shot at playing in the All-Star game in 1950 and a Stanley Cup Championship in 1950!

In the end, McFadden would finish with 100 goals, 126 assists and 226 points in a career spanning 8 seasons and 412 games.

Progress:

Card #44 and #14 of 105 in my set

Percent Completed:

13.3%

Cost of Card:

$6.00 with shipping

Total Cost of Set to Date:

$95.94

Parkhurst Project Card 13

2011-12-03T20:53:00.000-04:00

The dealer that had the Fred Hucul card, also had several others and I ended up with a few of them. George Clare Martin was another PSA graded 1 card.

Like the previous card, this card has had it fair share of attention by minors and isn't in the best of shape. Like the previous card too, it features Clare giving the camera a snow job which looks pretty cool. A number of cards in this set have this type of photo which I think only adds the coolness and character.

Clare Martin was a defensemen who like other players in the 40's took time off from hockey to enlist in the military. After 5 years away from the game he came back to the Bruins and in the summer of '49 was traded to the Red Wings. Lucky for him as the Red Wings would go on to win the Cup in 1950 which would be his only Cup win.

Clare had a good NHL career which lasted 237 games where he scored 12 goals, 28 assists and 40 points.

Progress:

Card #39 and #13 of 105 in my set

Percent Completed:

12.4%

Cost of Card:

$6.00 with shipping

Total Cost of Set to Date:

$89.94

Parkhurst Project Card 12

2011-12-02T20:50:00.000-04:00

Been a while since I have made a dent into the Parkhurst Project. But alas I found a few good deals online so the set has grown. Here is today's addition. I bought this card because the starting bid seemed like a good price, but at the same time it was the most I was willing to pay for the card. It just turns out that no one else wanted to make a bid so I won by default (Simpsons fan know it as the two greatest words in the english language!)

Anyway, here is the card.

I don't know why someone would grade a card that would get a grade of 1. It is like putting alloy rims with spinners on an 87 Dodge Caravan if you ask me. However, I was curious what a poor card looks like and as you can see the corners are round, and the card has some creasing. I have a feeling most of my cards in my set so far would be graded poor.

Fred Hucul has one of the longest gaps between NHL games I have ever seen. He played for the Blackhawks in the 50's with his last game being in 1954. He would toil in the minors after that season before emerging back in the NHL thanks to expansion with the St. Louis Blues in 1967 which is 13 years later!! He was a pretty good offensive defensemen in the minors breaking 50 points 8 times in the WHL, but in the NHL had pretty average numbers.

His career totals are 164 games, 11 goals, 30 assists for 41 points.

Progress:

Card #45 and #12 of 105 in my set

Percent Completed:

11.4%

Cost of Card:

$6.00 with shipping

Total Cost of Set to Date:

$83.94

Card of the week - Denis Savard and Movember

2011-12-02T11:39:00.002-04:00

Well another month is in the books and that concludes Movember for many men (and boys) across the world. Personally I enjoyed growing a pathetic caterpiller on my upper lip, but at the same time, it was time to let it go. When I think of moustaches, there are lots of examples of NHL'ers who sported them for looks and nothing else. When I think of cardboard ones, Denis Savard is the first one that pops in my mind. Hard to believe with Lanny and others out there, but truly for me it is Denis Savard.

In particular, I would have to say it is the 90-91 Bowman Denis Savard card to be precise. I remember seeing this card often as a kid and even though I never owned the card until recently, it is funny how these images stick in your mind. Take a look for yourself, nothing super special, but a nice close up and a pretty well grown specimen on his face:

90-91 Bowman #6 Denis Savard

The front side:

-image borrowed from Checkoutmycards.com as my scans didn't turn out well...

The backside:

Here is the unconventional approach Bowman took to displaying their stats. Kinda neat, but never really caught on with other card manufacturers.

Personally, I didn't have any respect for this release when it first came out. One UD came out in 1990 I was a bit of a snob against other releases, but fact is this set has grown on me over the years and I even made a trade with Sal from puckjunk.com for the complete set with hattrick inserts.

Beckett Value: 0.08 - 0.25 dollars

How I received the card: Part of a set I got via trade

How about yourselves? Did you attempt a Movember 'stache? How well did it turn out?

Here is my attempt, sad I know....it is there though...

Yvan Cournoyer TTM

2011-11-30T15:18:00.003-04:00

A while back after landing a 72-73 Topps Yvan Cournoyer I decided I would write to see if he would sign it for me. Well the results are in and no success. Much like Captain Canuck said, he sends along a different card signed along with your original unsigned. I am certainly not disappointed and am happy a legend would be so kind to sign for a guy like me!

Check out the rest at Dirty Dangle as always.

80-81 Topps - Wayne Gretzky

2011-11-26T22:19:00.000-04:00

I personally don't have a list, but there are a few cards I really want to own before I die and the 80-81 Topps/OPC Gretzky card is one of them! When I had the chance to land one online for less than 20 bucks I thought I would jump at the chance. Of course, you can always land a Gretzky card for under 20 bucks, but I wanted one in great shape. Wanting a quality 80-81 Gretz means I probably would need to go for a Topps version and sure enough I landed one.

The card isn't mint. The scratch and reveal puck has a tiny bit of scuffing and the card is off-centered but, apart from that, there is nothing wrong with this card (unless you have a problem with the treat on the back). I took the photo of the card in the top-loader it arrived in because I don't have a screw-down for it yet.

The reason why I have always wanted to own the card is because it is a sweet photo. It is iconic to my childhood as a collector seeing it in the display cases of a few sportscard stores and not being able to afford it. But there is more, in my second life as a collector, I have come to realize that if there wasn't a WHA, this WOULD be a Gretzky rookie. In addition, Gretzky's rookie (correct me if I am wrong) actually features a photo from his WHA playing days so this card would actually feature The Great One during his first NHL season in which he SHOULD have won the Calder Trophy.

Here is the front side. You can see it is a bit of a miscut.

Here is the backside with a little waxy treat.
When I read that there was a Wax Stain on the card I knew I had to throw a minimum bid on this card. When I was the winner, I was probably as excited for this card as I have for any I have received in the last couple of years.

The card certainly has some significance to me because of years and wanting and in the short term it certainly will be the best Gretzky card I think I will own. I still am not in possession of a Gretzky rookie, but someday when the time is right I hope to get that one too.

So I am curious, do you have a list of must own cards? Or are you like myself and there are cards you want to own but there is no formal list. What cards are on that list?

Card of the Week - Sidney Crosby

2011-11-24T14:06:00.000-04:00

Love him or hate him, damn he is good! Not just because I have him on one fantasy team (2nd round pick), but 4 points in his first game back and hopefully a chance to show fans what he is really capable of when he hits his prime! I am a fan of him, and I wish him all the best this season and future seasons.

05-06 Parkhurst #657

Front side

I am a big fan of the rookies in this set. I don't think it is just because it is a Parkhurst release, but I think it is due because it is an attractive set of cards. The rookies are simple yet eye catching and I think this card is a good example of the Parkhurst Rookies.

Back side
Like the front, the backside is attractive and simple looking. I think each passing year has these cards looking better and better to me. At some point I will grab a few boxes and try and build the set. I did buy a retail box once hoping to pull this card. No such luck, but I did pull a few other gem rookies but no Crosby. Ovechkin of course has a rookie in this set which I did pull from a repack box.

How I received the card: Purchased on eBay for $18.00

Beckett Value: 20 - 50 dollars

Martin Brodeur TTM

2011-11-23T19:12:00.003-04:00

WOW!!!!!!!! Was my first response when I opened the mail as saw this. I really didn't expect to ever see the card as where I mailed it was a long-shot at best.

The rest of the story can be found at Dirty Dangle.com. I would share my contact address if I could, but I don't want to betray their trust in helping me get this auto so I will apologize in advance that cannot share it.

Congrats to Justin Verlander!

2011-11-21T19:32:00.003-04:00

Owning one of these just got a little more expensive!

Verlander has capped off a pretty amazing season today with an AL MVP to go along with his pitching triple crown and his Cy Young award. I knew from his rookie season he had it in him and he showed the baseball world this season what he can do. I really would love to see him repeat and become the dominant pitcher he can be. I think he could have a few Cy Youngs left in him before he hits 35!

Edgar Laprade Article

2011-11-16T19:29:00.003-04:00

I love it when I stumble upon a blog I have never read before and find neat little gems. I checked out greatesthockeylegends.com a little while back and today I found a link to a great article in the Globe and Mail on Edgar Laprade on their site.

I lived in Thunder Bay for about 15 years and one of my regrets before moving away was never knocking on his door. My dad lived about 5 minutes by bike away from his home and I have an aunt that lives on his street. If I ever get back there I certainly won't make that mistake again. I just chalk it up to a kid that was too nervous to take a chance. Though getting an auto in the mail from him a little while back certainly makes up for that mess up!

Custom Boxes of 11/12 Score

2011-11-15T10:00:00.000-04:00

Last year, I was all over Score. I immediately ordered 3 boxes and had some success with those three. Nailed ALL SP rookies, one SSP rookie, one auto, one french back and most of the base cards. However, I was still about 50 cards short and even now I still don't have a complete set (please see want list). I was pleased with the experience, but I wondered if I could do better. Sure pulling a Nugent-Hopkins rookie would be awesome, but chances are certainly against you and getting an auto rookie hit of some prospect now in Europe isn't too appealing.

So I asked myself, do I want to run out and drop 100 bucks and have another partial set with a couple cool inserts? Or would I like to try and build my own boxes and secure a complete set of 11/12 Score. A few fellow bloggers have built their own boxes, and I felt why not do something similar with the goal of landing a set and a few other fun cards.

I will share the loot when it arrives, but as a little teaser, here is what I ended up with:

3 "Boxes" Which yielded a complete set 1-546

0 inserts (which I am fine with)

1 SSP Rookie from 11/12 Score

1 Autograph from another set

6 Vintage "Buybacks"

1 Game used card from another set

My idea is the boxes each yield two vintage buybacks plus one other hit(SSP, Auto, Game-used).

My "hits", aren't from the Score set with the exception of the SSP which makes things more fun in my opinion, but you could easily do it all with Score cards.

Anyway, they should all be here by next week!

Theo Fleury - TTM

2011-11-09T11:31:00.004-04:00

I received a couple autos from another childhood idol, Theo Fleury. Check out my other auto and my post at Dirty Dangle.com

He was kind enough to sign two cards and number them with #14. He had them signed and back to me in less than 2 months.

Trade Bait and other pick-ups

2011-11-07T20:29:00.001-04:00

Well my Tigers fell short of making it to the World Series, but there was some consolation in my fantasy baseball team upset a few teams and made it to the finals. I ended up losing on the last day but I earned a few bucks which allowed me to have some eBay fun.

I decided to go hunting for some deals and here is what I picked up. Some good trade bait and a few things I was looking for.

10-11 ITG Decades Auto - Wayne Babych

10-11 Score Rookie Update Box Set
Been wanting this for a few months. My auto hit was a decent prospect, Jordan Caron.

10-11 ITG Decades Auto - Wally Weir

10-11 ITG Heroes and Prospects Auto - Matt Puempel
Puempel is off to a great start with 11 goals in 18 games.

06-07 Sweet Shot Rookie - Evgeni Malkin
These rookies are seriously undervalued!

98-99 BAP Auto - Pierre Turgeon
Pierre will likely be a Hall of Famer and a great addition to the collection.

07-08 Sweet Shot Auto - Alexander Radulov
Love these autos. I would buy them all day for 99 cents a piece.

I also picked up a 90-91 Wayne Gretzky UD Promo. I will save those scans for a later date.

Card of the week - Jaromir Jagr

2011-11-03T13:47:00.000-03:00

One of the bigger surprises of the early part of the 11/12 season is how well Jaromir Jagr is playing. It almost seems like he is sharing a water bottle with Temmu Selanne as he has turned back time and is playing like it is 2006 all over again. Currently he is on pace for 33 goals and 80 points which isn't too bad for a player who will be 40 before the end of the season.

When I think of Jagr, I think of this card:

1990-91 OPC Premier #50
Here is the front side. Long-time readers know this is one of my favourite sets. I remember buying a pack of these in my early days of collecting at a 7-11 for like 40 cents with tax. Then it seemed over night the prices sky-rocketed and I remember shelling out 10 bucks for a pack in Toronto (luckly I pulled a Fedorov RC from that pack which HAD a BV of 50 bucks so I felt good about the transaction). Fast forward 20 years, the value of the set has stabilized and the most valuable card in the set is Jagr at about 10 bucks for a raw mint card. I bought a box a while back for 20 bucks and had fun pulling a pair of Jagrs as well as a few other goodies. What is neat about the set is the players are in there alphabetically based on last name which I haven't seen occur too often.

Design is clean and simple. The top border was reused for the baseball release and the photos are in game action shots for the most part. This set contained only 132 cards and can be found in the 30-60 dollar range online. Card shows may have better deals, but I wouldn't know.

The back side

Back sides are neat. They don't have year by year stats and they don't have anything beyond games and basic offensive stats. Love it when photos are included on the back and you see Jaromir rocking the 90's era mullet.

Beckett Value: 4 - 10 dollars

How I received the card: Pulled from pack

Nail Yakupov - TTM

2011-11-02T12:47:00.002-03:00

Awesome return from a future superstar in the NHL. I mailed the card out and had it back in less than a month. That is a pretty fast turnaround if you ask me. He included some original artwork with his autograph! Check it out at Dirty Dangle.com!

This is one of the most fun returns I have had....ever! Glad to have it in my collection and thank you Nail! I hope you always find time for your fans!

Tape Stained Rookies - Re-upped

2011-11-01T22:21:00.007-03:00

I hated how poorly the last batch of scans came out, so here they are again.

Tape Stained Rookies - A Surprise Haul

2011-10-27T11:20:00.002-03:00

Life always seems to be full of surprises. I was on my way home from work and I had heard earlier that day that the Devils claimed Ryan Carter off waivers. Well, I remembered my local hobby guy had a Ryan Carter Sweet Shot rookie in his cheapy bin so I thought I would stop off on the way home and buy it. Some I pick up my toddler son and stop off at the shop on my way home. I am in the store for no more than a minute with my son in my arms when the owner Jon calls me over to show me something. He just picked up a lot of cards and wants to unload them cheap.

I walked over and was in heaven. I needed to know the price, he said a price I couldn't refuse. 39 bucks brought the lot home. I will let the cards speak for themselves. All cards are from the 71-72 OPC Set.

Guy La Fleur Rookie
A few tape stains on the front and some corner rounding...but that is it!

Bad scan, but the backside is perfect!

Yvon Cournoyer
Tape and rounding...

Clean back!

Tony Esposito

Best conditioned card, no creases and good corner....and NO tape

Back is perfect again, a little glare from the penny sleave.

#$%#$ Ken Dryden Rookie

Some tape staining for sure....one or two light creases as well.

Back is near perfect!!! I LOVE this card

Marcel Dionne Rookie

This card somehow was spared from the tape fiasco. Some rounding of corners and off-centered but otherwise in decent shape!

- Accidently deleted the backside...I will upload again later....lots very nice, just some discolouration from aging...

Richard Martin Rookie

Even though I already own a mint version of this card, I couldn't leave it behind. It has some corner dings, but no tape or stains and is a good card for trait bait!

- Like Dionne, I accidently deleted the back, but I will upload that later too.

Bobby Orr All Star Card

This card is in the roughest shape. A few stains and some serious creases. Still, my first of two Bobby's and my only Bobby's from his playing days.

Here is the back side.

Bobby Orr Double Award Winner

The nicer of the two Orrs, this one just suffers from some tape staining.

Here is the back side.

Gilbert Perreault 2nd year card

Some tape staining and rounded corners
A light crease on the back, otherwise pretty clean.

There you have it, a deal I couldn't pass up! I didn't own ANY of these cards before, so I feel awesome getting some serious HOF rookies that I don't think normally I would have owned.

Card of the week - Luke Adam

2011-10-25T15:45:00.001-03:00

The post is a bit of an experiment with the blogger app for my iPod. I don't know how good the picture will turn out or the blog itself but we shall see when I hit publish.

Luke Adam is off to a great start this year and is going to certainly contend for the Calder and the Sabres are the better for it. 3 goals and 3 assists in 7 games is pretty decent, but of course he did play 19 games last season which still made him eligible for Calder consideration. Logan Couture was in the same situation last year.

Here is the front side of the card

10/11 UD Artifacts - Luke Adam Rookie

Backside of the card

I have always like the Artifacts rookies. The cards traditionally have good write-ups on the backs and the photos are pretty "artistic". In my opinion they look like decent modern rookie cards. The fact that they are numbered is always cool and I think they are a little undervalued compared to other rookies which are in higher quantities so often you can pick these up at a decent price.

I received this card as part of a trade with Tim from The Real DFG a while back as I had a rookies of specific players I was trying to get and he was more than willing to make a swap. I love trading and am always up for more in anyone out there feels the same.

How I received the card: Via Trade

Beckett Value: 6 - 15 dollars

Jonathan Toews - TTM

2011-10-19T20:36:00.003-03:00

This kid is easily one of my top 5 favourite current NHL'ers. Super happy to get this return and it was a pretty quick one too (2 months). Auto is a nice black sharpie and he put his number 19 with it. I looked at other autos online and if he ever decides to go with an autopen it will be obvious because I have never seen two of his autos look the same!

Check out the rest of post at Dirty Dangle.com

Would you buy one? What would you pay?

2011-10-18T11:55:00.005-03:00

I have always been in love with the 1951-52 Parkhurst set, maybe as long as I have been collecting. However, as I get older, my love remains for those little guys, but I find myself equally interested in the old C56's, 55's and 57's from the early part of the 1910's. I just found someone selling an old pack that had could have had the C57's in it.

CHECK IT OUT!

Now, what would you pay? Does something like that interest you? Of course, there is a chance it is a scam, but assuming it is legit, what is it worth to you?

I know I would pay 100 bucks for a wrapper from 51-52, but I struggle to decide what this is worth....

Value Vintage Sets # 2 - 78-79 Topps

2011-10-14T11:10:00.000-03:00

Well it has been a while since I have had time to do a vintage post, so here we go. The number value vintage set of all-time is the 78-79 Topps set. I love the look of this set, maybe not as much as the 81-82 set but this set is classic.

Redeeming Qualities:
The design one front is pleasing to the eye and cool back sides
A decent sized set at 264 cards
(I noticed centering is better on Topps than OPC....can't verify if this is true though)
A number of good veteran players (Dryden, Mikita, Esposito etc)
The set is over 33 years old
28 rookies in the set
MIKE BOSSY ROOKIE
Mint sets can be found on ebay for under 50 bucks

Card Design:
The front side
Here is Bernie going out for a skate without his glove (warm up maybe?). Lots of the cards feature some decent action shots which I always preferred over studio shots.

The back side

Love the backs. The Special Autograph Series aspect of it is pretty cool. It is a shame that Howe and Hull were in the WHA and Orr was not part of the Topps set! Nevertheless, the backs are simple with stats and a write up on some players cards.

Key Cards AND Rookies

Mike Bossy Rookie

Without a doubt, the big card in this set is THIS ONE! I didn't have a Bossy rookie which is one reason why I wanted this set. Second reason is I have sorta always wished I owned this set and it was certainly high on my to-do list. When one popped up on ebay claiming to be NrMt-Mt I was a little skeptical. The set is 33 years old, sometimes things happen. I took a chance and I am ever glad I did. This Bossy is one of the niceset cards in the set and is really and honestly NrMt. I think it might even grade around a 9. The ONLY thing wrong is the centering. 4 sharp corners and a beautiful surface. This card books for 50 bucks and if you can land the set for that price you are essetially getting the other 263 cards for free!

Bernie Federko Rookie

The other 27 rookies in the set are pretty decent. Ranging from talents like Bernie Federko who made the Hall of Fame in 2002 to Pierre Mondou who had some pretty good years with the Habs to Jim Bedard who has had more success as a goalie coach than he did as a player. Lots of decent rookies are in this set. One downer, is Dave Taylor and a few others who have rookies in the OPC set aren't found in the Topps release.

Doug Wilson
Another quality rookie in the set is Doug Wilson. A really good d-man who hasn't made it into the Hall yet, and maybe never will, but there is a facebook group trying to accomplish that. One neat fact about Doug, is in 81-82 he scored 39 goals as a defenseman. That is still the 4th highest total ever by a defenseman.

Other notable cards:

Larry Robinson

Here is one of the cool action shots I was talking about. To make up for a small set, Topps put All-Star team status under the players names if it applied rather than make a second card. This is neat because the OPC version of Larry Robinson's card looks different than the Topps.

Phil Esposito

Here is Phil in the twilight of his career with the Rangers. Rod Gilbert had number 7 so Phil had to wear 77.

Ken Dryden
2nd last Dryden card from his playing days.

SO there you have it. I like this set very much and having only paid 44.99 (56.99 with shipping) I am way ahead on that deal. Keep an eye out if you are looking to pick one up yourself. The good quality sets are out there and they can be had for a pretty decent price. The OPC version is larger and more complete when you think there are 51 rookies and Orr's last card in that set. But cost-wise and bang for your buck, there really aren't many more sets that offer you value than the 78-79 Topps set!

Recap so far

#2 - 78/79 Topps

#3 - 81/82 Topps

#4 - 84/85 Topps

#5 - 89/90 OPC

I hope to get the #1 set up in the next week or so.

98-99 BAP Auto Lot Purchase

2011-10-11T06:30:00.003-03:00

It seems like I have been seriously neglecting my blog lately and lots has been happening for me in the collecting world. Here is one nice haul on my part, 42 28 autos from the 98-99 BAP set all for 15 bucks. It was two lots from the same seller, unfortunately it wasn't quite as advertised. Anyway, rather than scan them all, here is a no frills video. Most are available for trade with a few exceptions. Enjoy!

Ron Francis TTM

2011-10-06T09:52:00.002-03:00

After a week of nothing, I received Ron Francis in the mail on Monday. Awesome return in only 32 days. Ron has always been a favourite of mine ( I like the quiet superstars) and he was kind enough to sign both cards I sent!

Here is the 90 OPC Premier card and you can read the rest as always on my Dirty Dangle post!

eBay pickup- Jacob Josefson

2011-10-04T22:43:00.003-03:00

Here is an eBay pick up I got the other week. My first Dominion cards ever and I must say they aren't that bad. I don't ever see myself spending a huge chunk of my annual hockey card budget on a single pack. However, picking up singles is certainly in my budget especially when you can find a great deal like this one!

10-11 Jacob Josefson Auto Rookie #/199

For some reason, the scan came out a little blurry but you can get the idea of what the card looks like anyway. Simple design on the front with some Silver embossing which really gives the card a classy look and feel. The cards aren't as thick as the base cards from The Cup but still relatively thicker than most cards (roughly the thickness of the typical UD game used card). The auto is nice and is On Card for those of you who appreciate that added touch.

The back side of the card is the highlight in my books.

A good write up, nice stats and a great layout. This is what I expect from a trading card and the extra little photo on the back is well placed and isn't a copy of the front which certainly give the collector a little more bang for their buck. The numbering is done on the card and isn't "stickered" which is typical for Panini.

A great card in all and I landed it for 5.50 plus shipping. I like this kid a lot and he will have a chance to be a top line centre for the Devils while Zajac is on the mend and I think he could be an awesome two-way centre.

Hockey Pool and Want List

2011-09-25T07:38:00.007-03:00

This is a last call for anyone wanting to get into my little hockey pool. The entry fee is a card or a pack with "value" of 10 bucks. I plan on running it on yahoo and I want to get it sorted out by the end of this week. Right now we have 7 people interested and I am hoping for a few more so just comment below that you want in. Here are the ones I have so far, and if you changed your mind let me know that too!

1. Dave H
2. Sal
3. Paul
4. Nick
5. Michael
6. Shane
7. Mark M.
8. Kazi
9. 1967ers
10. Jake
11. Chris S.

Anyone is welcomed to join!

I am also working on my want list and for trade list. I am about 35 cards short on my 83-84 OPC set and I am also looking for a Brodeur auto and a few other odds and ends. I will keep updating it over the next couple weeks as well and taking a few off the list that I acquired recently through some trades etc!

I am also assembling a PC of every swatch from every NHL team that is currently in the NHL or ever existed. I will also get that list up soon too.

Card of the week - Brendan Shanahan

2011-09-23T15:28:00.003-03:00

The preseason is in full motion and I am catching all the action on TV I can. Horrible news out of Detroit last night with Wayne Simmonds but I think he handled himself well and truly is an example of his character. A few suspensions have already been dished out by Brendan Shanahan which I think is to set the tone for the season. The NHL is clearly sending a message that safety of the players is top priority and I hope that player respond by playing a little less recklessly. So with that, here is my card of the week.

1988-89 Topps #122 Brendan Shanahan Rookie

First off, I love the photo. A fresh face, un-scarred and battered, he looks like a kid. Now, he looks like he survived a war with a meat grinder and won. The 88-89 Topps/OPC sets are pretty classic. I like them a lot, and the set as a whole is pretty attractive. In fact, I think compared to the 87-88 design, the 88-89 is a much more artistic endeavor and I think it ended up well.

Here is the back side

No earth shattering design on the back, just a pretty simple layout with a colour scheme that isn’t too hard on the eyes. I have the complete Topps set, and a few strays from the OPC set. I do own Shanny in both forms, but only the Topps one is mint. In the early 90’s this was one of the MUST have sets, I even bought a few packs digging for extra Hull rookies. Now, the set has lost some luster and it was pretty easy to find and it is affordable for most collectors.

How I received the card: It was part of a set I traded for in the early 90’s, can’t remember what I gave up.

Beckett Value: Topps version list for 6-15 dollars and the OPC is $15-30 but can be found for pretty cheap on eBay.

My next post will be an update on the hockey pool and we will see if anyone else wants in and determine what format we are going to use! Stay tuned in the next day or so.

Joe Sakic TTM

2011-09-21T13:16:00.003-03:00

I was very happy to open this package. I enjoyed writing the letter almost as much as receiving the cards. Two cards, two autos and less than two months. What more could a fan hope for!

Thanks Joe

Check out the other card signed card and the rest of the story at Dirty Dangle.com!

The Swap Meet Part 2 - Rookie Goal

2011-09-18T22:09:00.004-03:00

After overloading on autos, I found a few rookies that I couldn't leave without as well as a few bonus game-used cards which I wasn't shopping for, but nabbed anyway. So here is the rest of the haul which cost me 65 bucks in total.

10-11 Donruss Rated Rookie Toronto Expo Robin Lehner

This kid is pretty decent and I don't have many of his rookies so this was a must. Not many would consider expo cards rookies, but I do.
10-11 Donruss Rated Rookie Toronto Expo Linus Omark

I have NO rookies of this kid. Glad to get this one.
10-11 Donruss Rated Rookie Toronto Expo Cam Fowler

Awesome d-man and the price was right!
10-11 Donruss Rated Rookie Toronto Expo Kevin Shattenkirk

Another player I didn't manage to score any rookies of. This one was another proud pick up.

I have decided to start a new PC and that is to collect a swatch from every team in the NHL and maybe that ever played in the NHL.....

10-11 UD Game Used David Booth

Love this kid and I think it might be my first Panthers swatch....can't remember.

10-11 UD Game Used Ilya Kovalchuk
Just am impulse buy. I have a red NJ swatch of Kovy but no black. Now I do.

10-11 Certified Fabric of the Game Kyle OkposoDon't have any of the Fabric of the Game cards so I bought this one to say I have one. Also counts as an Islander swatch incase I didn't already have one.

10-11 UD Game Used Rob Niedermayer

I bought this one to count as a Devils swatch and not having any Rob Niedermayer memorabilia I thought this was a good deal.

So there is the rest of the swap meet. I had fun shopping and these cards in total averaged less than 2 bucks a card so I feel I couldn't go wrong. My favourite cards were the early Parkies, the Elias rookie auto and the Orr Reprint. Thanks for reading, and hopefully I can get caught up on other posts!

The Swap Meet Part 2 - Auto Goal

2011-09-14T21:23:00.002-03:00

In addition to the vintage, I was able to buy 20 autos and some of them where auto rookies which is a nice bonus in my books. I don't know why, but something about an autographed rookie card that makes them extra special. So here they are:

Chris Philips 97-98 Pinnacle BAP Auto

Former 1st overall deserves to be the first one listed. I think he is hoping to finish his career with the Sens who are currently rebuilding.

Steve Shields 97-98 Pinnacle BAP Auto

Don't know why this scanned so blue, but the auto is sweet. The look on his face, isn't so.

Cory Stillman 97-98 Pinnacle BAP Auto
Another one still kicking around the league. Always dependable and a pretty decent auto too.

Marco Sturm 97-98 Pinnacle BAP Auto Rookie
Did you know Marco has had 7 - 20+ goal seasons in his career? Another nice auto.

Ron Tugnutt 97-98 Pinnacle BAP Auto

Who doesn't love this guy? Before there was Dwayne Roloson stopping rubber galore, there was Ron Tugnutt. I will never forget his game in 2000 against the Flyers when he stopped 70/72 shots only to lose 2-1.

Keith Tkachuk 97-98 Pinnacle BAP Auto

I was STOKED to see this one in the $2 box. This two time 50 goal scorer has always been on of my favourite players from the 90's.

Nick Kyperos 97-98 Pinnacle BAP Auto
Kypper isn't a bad TV analyst and was a pretty good enforcer in his day too. Love the photo on this one.

David Legwand 99-00 BAP Millenium Signature Series
Second overall pick from '97 has never really matched expectations but he still has worked himself into a pretty decent career.

Peter Mueller 05-06 Heroes and Prospects Series 2
This card is a neat one as it is his first major release card and it is autographed. Books for 25 bucks and is the most "valuable" of my auto finds. I like it a lot, but it isn't my fav.

Lyle Odelein 97-98 Pinnacle BAP Auto

Lyle was tough as nails and a great enforcer. Another auto I was really happy to pick up.

Jacob DeSerres 09-10 BTP Goalie graphs
Bought this because I don't own any BTP cards. This kid was one great junior goalie who just couldn't get signed by the Flyers. He is now going to play CIS hockey this fall for the Calgary Dinos. Here is hoping he can get back in the an NHL organization.

Kris Draper 97-98 Pinnacle BAP Auto

This kid is a WINNER. I still remember him captaining Canada at the WJHC. A great NHL player who can do just about anything. Spent his entire career with the Red Wings.

Patrik Elias 97-98 Pinnacle BAP Auto Rookie

I couldn't believe this one was in the box too! I have his auto, I have his rookie, but not both on the same card. This was one of my favourite autos for sure.

Adam Graves 97-98 Pinnacle BAP Auto

Great player, nice auto of another former 50 goal guy.

05-06 ITG Heroes and Prospects Eric Fehr

Neat auto, couldn't leave this one behind. I am not in love with the card, but it lists for 20 bucks.

Peter Bondra 97-98 Pinnacle BAP Auto

503 career goals, averaging 0.465 goals per game! Bondra was amazing in his day and I think he was every bit as good as Pavel Bure without the flash....Just my opinion.

Curtis McElhinney 09-10 BTP goalie graphs
Another one I couldn't leave behind even if I end up trading this one.

Daymond Langkow 97-98 Pinnacle BAP Auto

Just did a post on this guy and here is his auto. A must have if I say so.

Pavol Demitra 97-98 Pinnacle BAP Auto

Wow. I don't need to say why I got this one.

Pavol Demitra 99-00 BAP Millennium Signature Series

Ditto. I do like he numbered this one. The auto looks nicer too.

There you have it. These are the autos I got with my purchase at the swap meet. I still have my 4 game-used and 4 rookies to come.

Peter Stastny TTM

2011-09-14T12:04:00.003-03:00

I hope to get around to finishing up my Swap meet posts. In the meantime, here is another TTM return. Super stoked to get this one, he is super under-rated in my books and one of the best centres in NHL history. Imagine what he could have done with the Oilers! I mailed two cards out and received one signed and one unsigned. I am sure glad he signed this one!

Check out the rest at Dirty Dangle!

The Swap Meet Part 1 - Vintage Goal

2011-09-12T10:54:00.000-03:00

Well before I begin this post, I want to give everyone a little background info. For starters, I was tied to a budget for this adventure. I only had 65 bucks to spend and in hindsight I could have shown up with 600 and probably still left stuff behind. With that being said, 65 isn't much money when it comes to buying vintage so I did my best to try and balance all aspects of my original goal.

So here are the vintage cards I hauled in(please excuse the camera glare....had not time to properly can these):

1966-67 Topps #35 Bobby Orr Rookie reprint

One of my most favourite pick ups for sure. This card is MINT!!! Extremely well done, too bad it is a reprint. The backside shows a little reprint stamp on the card. Not sure what this card is worth, but I paid 2 bucks and would do so again in a heartbeat!

Here is the back and between the goals and assists is the reprint stamp so that I may not use this beautiful card for evil purposes! (Sorry for the Orr tease, but I couldn't resist it!)

1952-53 Parkhurst #99 James Bones Raleigh (He goes by Don though)
This is my first and only 52-53 Parkhurst card. The card isn't in amazing shape but isn't too bad either. A crease across the front and back and a second lighter crease is also on the back. Corners are rounded but apart from that, the card still has some gloss and was certainly worth the 5 bucks I paid.

Here is the backside of the card. Nice and clean with a neat little mail-in offer!

1953-54 Parkhurst #45 Benny Woit

When I saw Benny, I just had to leave with him. Like the Raleigh card there is a crease, but again the surface is otherwise nice and I love the first full-size Parkhurst cards. This too is my first 53-54 and about 5 min before seeing this card, I just saw my first Beliveau RC in person. He wanted 60 bucks for it. It would have blown my budget right away but the card was in poor shape and I thought I would try for lots of smaller cards rather than the one biggie. I am still having seconds thoughts about my choices but maybe when all the posts on this are done you can tell me if I made the right choice.
Here is the backside of the card. Like the previous year, Parkhurst had stuff to give away and the write ups include both French and English for the first time.

1967-68 Topps #51 Alex Delvecchio

This card is pretty nice. The nicest of the three real vintage cards with no creases. IT does have a couple dinged corners but other than that it is a beaut. Totally worth the 5 bucks I spent.

Here is the back, you can see the reflection of the camera as well as the few dings. The backs of this year were very similar to Topps' 66-67 offering.

In addition to these three vintage cards and one reprint, I also picked up a 79-80 Topps Doug Risebrough and an 83-84 OPC Dale Hawerchuk. I paid a buck for both of them but didn't think they were worth showing. The Hawerchuk was for my 83-84 set and the Risebrough was because it was in great shape and I don't own any Topps from that year. So I spent 18 bucks on those cards and 47 bucks on 20 autos, 4 game used cards and 5 non-auto rookies which I will be sharing in the next two posts.

One neat side effect of these purchases is I now think I need to try and collect all of Bones Raleigh and Benny Woit's cards. I own both 51 Parkies of them so each have about 3 more cards I am missing (more or less). If you have any you want to see or trade, contact me!

In addition, both are still around and I am going to try and fire some TTM requests their way too....here is hoping I get lucky!

The Latest Swap Meet

2011-09-11T21:21:00.003-03:00

Things have been super crazy lately and I want to share my swap meet success but since I don't have much time to do so tonight, I thought I would share the size of the stack I picked up. I already have one regret of something I left behind, but I will get to that in due time as well.

I went with a plan: Vintage, autos and rookies and I think I accomplished it.

Anyway, I will break the post into a couple pieces starting tomorrow and share my finds.

Jean Beliveau TTM Success

2011-09-10T11:00:00.000-03:00

Another great return recently. Mr. Jean Beliveau!

I send this out early July and received it at the end of August. Signed in blue sharpie and numbered. Check out the rest of the story at Dirty Dangle.

Card of the week - Brad McCrimmon

2011-09-09T22:54:00.000-03:00

Wow, it seems like when the hockey world has been rocked, things just get worse. This week's recent tragedy truly is one of the biggest in my memory and certainly is heart-wrenching. I do send out my condolences to all those affected by this horrible event.

This week's card is Brad McCrimmon's 80-81 OPC Rookie Card.

Front Side

Back Side

This is the ONLY rookie card for Brad McCrimmon and the 80-81 OPC set certainly has its fair share of star rookies. I have always liked the back side of these cards more than the front, and really I can't explain why. The front design is nice and simple, but for some reason I have always like the combination of Packers colours on the back and have felt these cards have some of the best back of all the 80's sets.

How I received the card: Bought from card shop in early 90's for a couple bucks

Beckett Value: 0.75 - $2.00

In more positive news, there is another swap meet happening tomorrow and I hope to find a few more gems. Now that I know cards occasionally make there way to these things, I am going with the focus of landing some autos and maybe a few rookies. I will share what I find either way!

Hey I was at that game - When the card photo is familiar

2011-09-07T11:32:00.002-03:00

With there being a bit of a lull between productions that are in my price range, I have taken to making a few trades. In the next few weeks I should be seeing a few packages coming my way which will be fun and exciting and I will share some of them with you as they come in. One that arrived last week ended up having a neat meaning to me that I am curious if others have had the same experience.

Sal at Puckjunk.com sent me over a few cards in exchange for a few he needed and one of them was this Martin Brodeur card. In all it is a nice card and is numbered xx/25…..literally. I can only presume there are 25 out there which is pretty cool for a Devils fan and I have only seen about 3 or 4 on eBay so this might be true.

Anyway, I was looking at the card with some detail and on the back are stats from 10/11 season which is pretty cool especially when you consider the photo on the front could only have come from 2 possible games in the last 15 years as Brodeur is wearing his retro helmet and jersey. One of those games was last year on Mar 17th and the other was this year on Mar 18th. What makes this card special was I saw my first ever Devils home game on Mar 18th and having only ever seen two Devils games live my whole life, there is a very good chance this card is from the game I saw. Furthermore, since the stats indicate this is an 11/12 product my chances increase even more.

In my life, I have seen countless NHL games live on TV, but only a handful of games in person and only 2 games involving the NJ Devils. So, I think it is pretty neat to be almost positive that I have a card, from a game I saw of a team and player I cheer for. Have you ever found a card from a game you attended? Of course, living in an NHL city and having season tickets really increases those odds to 100%…but I am curious if you have ever found a card from a game you watched.

#3 - Value Vintage Sets - 81-82 Topps

2011-09-02T09:37:00.000-03:00

I LOVE the 81-82 design. Topps and OPC versions look down-right cool. From 1980-present day I don't think there is a set design I like as much as this one. With that being said, there is some substance to what I think is the 3rd best value vintage set.

Redeeming Qualities:

Did I mention the design?

17 rookies, 5 of them in the HOF

Gretzky 3rd year card

Unique East/West distribution

Set is 30 years old

2nd year card of players like Bourque and Gartner

Neat Super Action cards

Lists for 17.5% of the price of the OPC set (now that is value)

Card design:

The front side

The cards have an "industrial" look to me with the stamped team name on the front of the card. A good sized action shot on also on the front with name, position and emblem. Gotta love the old Rockies uniforms!

The back side
They cram LOTS on the back but it all flows nicely. Top side gives the card number (east or west if applicable), then vitals, stats and a season summary in text. Then at the bottom, a little additional blurb about the player which pertains to some other point in their hockey career.

Key Card:

Due to the large production numbers, there isn't really any really expensive cards in this set, but in my opinion the key card from the set is the Wayne 3rd year card.

Wayne is so baby-faced in this photo and looks like he is ready for the face-off. I used to have that Titan hockey stick as a kid. Couldn't do what Wayne did with it though!

The rookies:

Like I mentioned, there are only 17 rookies in the Topps version compared to nearly 60 in the OPC version. In addition, Topps missed some good rookies like Coffey, Anderson, Lowe, Moog, and Hunter but many were included worth mentioning. In the Topps version you can find: Savard, Stastny, Ciccarelli, Murphy and Kurri who are all HOF'ers.

Denis Savard Rookie

Dino Ciccarelli Rookie

Some other notable cards:

Like I mentioned above, there are lots of other cool cards and significant cards in the set. Unfortunately there is only one other Gretzky card which is the team leader card.

Ray Bourque Super Action
Here is a cool action shot of little Ray against Dennis Maruk.

Mike Liut Super Action

Here is another example of the cool Super Action cards. I love this one, cool mask and Northland goalie stick!

This 198 card set lists in the Beckett for 35-70 dollars but like most things can be had for pretty cheap on eBay. I bought this set last month for 25 bucks on eBay (for the 66 national cards, the 66 East and 66 West cards). A steal if you ask me considering all the cards are NrMT, and even if you include the outrageous 16 bucks I had to pay for shipping, I still got the set for 41 bucks total. Sure you can buy lots of different things for 41 bucks, but owning this set was a must for me and at 41 bucks including shipping this SCREAMS value to me. I am not sure what a set like this might cost at your local card shop or card show but I imagine you can't go wrong with any price around 50 bucks. Thanks to the countless venting sets out there, there is no reason why you can't get one in mint shape too!

Video Break - 83-84 OPC Pack 2 of 2

2011-09-01T09:14:00.002-03:00

Here is the other pack of 83-84 OPC. In all it was lots of fun ripping these packs and like I mentioned before, I hope to do some more vintage and new pack/box rips via video!

Card of the Week - Daymond Langkow

2011-08-31T08:48:00.003-03:00

Hard to believe after such a cool start to a "Franchise" that Young Gun cards were once religated to mail-in status in Upper Deck's cheapest product. The object of many collector's desire spent a couple years in the "minors" before they were called back up to Upper Deck's base set where collectors have lusted for them ever since.

This past week in the news, the Flames traded Langkow back to the Coyotes in exchance for Lee Stempniak. On paper, it appears to be a bit of a salary dump but really this trade could be great for both teams. Stempniak is 28 and has many years ahead of him, but don't expect the point a game production he did after the Leafs to Coyotes trade. Lee is a half point a game player at best and likely will be a 3rd liner in Calgary.

Langkow, only played 4 games due to a neck injury last season is looking at making a comeback. I remember when he was first drafted and there certainly was a great deal of pressure for him to perform. Didn't work out with Tampa, but Daymond did hit his stride with Phoenix and Calgary breaking the 20 goal barrier in 7 straight seasons before sliding in 09-10. I expect to see him in more of a mentor/leadership role this coming season, but he might be good for 20 goals given the extra ice time in Phoenix.

95-96 Collectors Choice Young Gun # 402

Front side

A simple card with a nice gloss to it. The Young Guns emblem is unique and the Islanders jerseys in the background have me craving fish sticks. Overall just a good clean mid 90's hockey card.

The back side
All write-up. You can see a little stats are hidden in the text and the information is pretty relevant and what some fans and collectors want to see. I like the amount of text on the back and only would like to have seen some vitals to call this complete. The old puck style hologram is present in the bottom right.

How do you get this card in 1996? Well you needed to pull this card:

Young Guns Redemption Card
These cards were seeded 1 per 34 packs in 1995-96 Collectors Choice.
Here is what was required....not a bad deal I thought at the time. I ended up with a couple of these and mailed away for a few sets. I had a couple left over redemptions that I kept for collecting purposes. The highlights of the 15 cards were Doan, Koivu and Alfredsson YG cards. Not all were rookie cards as players like Koivu were a part of the World Junior subsets from the early 90's.

How I received the card: Came with 14 others as part of a redemption that cost me 2.50 US

Beckett Value: very little (20 - 50 cents)

Alex Delvecchio - TTM

2011-08-31T07:59:00.003-03:00

I seem to be averaging one a week right now, hope that rate increases!

Like Pentti, Alex also grew up in the Thunder Bay area. Here is my favourite card of the ones he signed.

Check out the other signature and the rest of the story at Dirty Dangle.

Mystery Repack Box Break 2

2011-08-29T13:28:00.001-03:00

Here is the second repack box I bought. Not as good as the first, but maybe still worth the 6 bucks....let me know what you think.

#4 - Value Vintage Sets - 84/85 Topps

2011-08-25T15:55:00.001-03:00

I think from now to number one the list will be a little more interesting because I felt that #2-4 could all be rearranged and with the right argument I could certainly buy into a person's opinion on the matter. But really, like most people's blogs they are just opinion pieces anyway so here is why I think 84-85 Topps is the 4th best value vintage set out there.

Here are the redeeming qualities to me:

The set is from the mid-80's which was the height of fire-wagon hockey!

Tonnes of star players in the set as well as a crop of new up-coming stars

It was the first Topps set produced since 81-82 so there are a few "First Topps Cards"

It was harder to build by packs because of 66 single printed cards in the set

17 Rookie cards in a set of just 165 Cards

Steve Yzerman rookie!!!

Card Design:

I really like the design of this year. On the front you get an action shot and a head shot. Also you see the name, team and position the player was playing. Really just a nice classic design certainly has the mid-80's feel to it.

The back side
The back is equally nice featuring vital information, stats and a small write-up back the player. Here Wayne averaged more than a goal a game for the second time in his career and won the Stanley Cup.

Key Card:

Without a doubt the key card in the set is the Steve Yzerman rookie. This card wasn't double printed so it holds its value rather well. The book price on this one is 15 - 40 dollars which is a pretty decent price to own an Yzerman rookie!

Steve front side

Steve back side
Like the Sakic rookie on my #5 set, Stevie Y's card value makes up a large percentage of the set price, in this case, 80% to be exact.

The rookies:

Even though there are only 17 rookies in the set, some of them are pretty good ones. Rookies include Dave Andreychuk, Tom Barrasso, Pat Verbeek, and Pat Lafontaine.

Pat Lafontaine Rookie

Other notable cards:

In addition to the rookies, there are some other cool cards like a Oilers era Gretzky which you have already seen, and cards from stars like Bossy, Coffey, Bourque, Savard and other typical mid-80's stars.

Wayne Gretzky All Star front side

All-Star back side

As you can see this is a pretty cool set. What makes it an especially good value is that you can own a set that is over 25 years old for very little. This set lists for 25-50 dollars in the Beckett but I have seen them go on eBay for less than 25! Definitely worth the price of a typical blaster box!

I bought my set which is in amazing shape in the early 90's for 45 bucks. Certainly haven't made any money off that purchase but my enjoyment of flipping through this set every now and again is worth paying a little more for it a long time ago and certainly a set I am going to continue to enjoy going forward.

It is worth noting, if you have the money...the 84/85 OPC is phenomenal as well. Addition rookies of Chelios, Neely and Gilmour make it a more attractive set but at 5 times the price a collector has to ask themselves is it worth it? Or should you own the Topps set and buy the missing rookies as singles? Lucky for me, I was given the 84/85 OPC set as a gift in the mid 90's so I have both plus a few singles of Gilmour and Chelios (no extra Neelys though).

Pentti Lund - TTM

2011-08-24T21:15:00.002-03:00

A little while back, I picked up a Pentti Lund RC which prompted me to write him a letter and see if I could get an autograph.

Sure enough he did sign for me, and I got a little more than a bargained for...(in a good way). Check out the story at Dirty Dangle!

Card of the Week - Peter Mueller

2011-08-23T21:46:00.000-03:00

Rather than focus on the negative news in Devils camp, lets focus on the positive news around the NHL. It appears a number of players who have missed the last bit or all of last season are on the mend including Peter Mueller.

Mueller is an exciting one as he was on a serious hot streak after Phoenix traded him to Colorado. In the 15 games after the trade in 2010 Mueller scored 20 points for the Avs including 9 goals. Life was good and it appeared he was going to return to his Rookie year form when he suffered a huge concussion. Mueller sat out ALL of last year which either means the concussion was very severe or they are treating is very seriously and giving him a fresh start.

I became a Mueller fan (along with Kopitar and Booth) as a result of watching the 2008 WHC in Halifax. Here are a couple photos I took of Mueller:

I actually took the photos from my seat with a pretty cheap camera so I considered myself lucky to see some great hockey from a nice seat.

08-09 OPC Premier Premier Remnants PR-PM
I like this card a lot. Nice design, triple swatch and game-used. The card is numbered 95/100 and the front is really sharp looking. OPC Premier has tended to be in the shadow of The Cup and I find you can pick up some great deals on rookies from this set which are every bit as nice as The Cup ones. The rookies are generally made with a couple swatches and an autograph!

The back side

On the back, like most UD products, there is a nice reminder that Richard McWilliam selflessly is getting us as close to the game as he can and a little wasted space. I like the OPC foil on the corner and the lines give the card a nice look on the back.

How I received the card: I paid $2.99 for this at the my local hobby shop

Beckett Value: 6 - 15 dollars

Hockey Pool Anyone?

2011-08-22T19:27:00.004-03:00

With the hockey season around the corner I am beginning to think fantasy. One idea that has run through my head is to run a hockey pool with my fellow bloggers and readers where the concept would be a $10 BV entry fee. Each person would put up a card (or a pack) with a $10 value and the winner of the pool would get a card/pack from each of the losing players.

I am not sure if this will get off the ground or not and you wouldn't need to pay up until the end. You can even keep the card a secret until the end too if you like. I am just trying to see if there is enough interest out there to participate. I am pretty open to different pool ideas, my initial thought was a draft (through sportsline or yahoo or whatever) and go from there. Let me know if you are interested and if you have an idea on how it should be run, please share. We could even do a keeper league if there are some die-hards out there too.

I would like a total of 10 contestants but of course if there is interest for more that is cool too. So if you are interested or in no matter what, let me know!

#5 - Value Vintage Sets - 89/90 OPC

2011-08-21T21:31:00.001-03:00

When I was shopping online last month, I wanted to make my funds stretch as far as they could. Certainly my card collection is far from complete and there were a few holes I wanted to start filling. Most collectors in my age and financial demographic probably have the early 90's nailed down to the extreme and then some sets here and there depending on interests etc.

Well I decided that I needed more vintage sets and I went and got myself a couple for under a 100 bucks total. I based my choices on the best value and substance in the sets. Then I thought it would make a good serial on my blog so I am going to share what I think are the top 5 Value sets from 1970-1989.

Number 5 on my list is the 89-90 OPC Set.

Why you ask? Here are some of the redeeming qualities:

330 Cards

Sets can be had for under the BV of 20 bucks

Great Hall of Fame players and rookies in the set

Design is simple and attractive

You can afford to build the set from packs if you wish (boxes of 36 packs under $40)

The OPC set also has some rookies that can't be found in the Topps version (Fleury, Corson, Tugnett etc.)

Card design:

Here is what the front of the cards look like.

The front looks clean with blue trim on the top and bottom (which is prone to chipping) and a "marble-ized" sides which tend to be a little off centre (my scans ended up all looking off-centre as I used a camera).

Backside of the cards

The back shows both season and playoff stats along with player vitals. Again like the front, the cards look clean and simple.

Key card:

Without a doubt is the Joe Sakic RC.

Joe front side
Joe backside

The BV for the set is 10-20 dollars with the Sakic rookie listing at 5-12 dollars which is a significant percentage of the set.

Other notable cards:

There are plenty of other cool cards in the set including early career cards of Mario Lemieux, Patrick Roy, Brendan Shanahan, Adam Oates, Brett Hull etc.

Hull 2nd year card.

The rookies:

The set contains a fair number of Hall of Fame and star rookies (59 Rookie Cards in total). The rookies include Theo Fleury, Brian Leetch, Joe Sakic, Craig Janney, Derek King, Tony Granato, Ron Tugnutt just to name a few.

Linden RC

Fleury RC

This set is no where near the greatest ever created but there are many intangibles which make this set a great value. The rookies, the stars, the design of the cards and the fact that they can all be yours for much less than a box of 11-12 Victory Hockey all suggest it is jam-packed with value.

I added this set to my collection in the early 90's. I probably bought 2 boxes with of 89-90 OPC and have two complete sets as a result. Certainly the smart way would be to pick up a set at a show or card shop to avoid those pesky shipping charges. Either way, it certainly can be had on the cheap and I think is a must for any hockey card collector.

Do you agree it is a good value? Let me know!

Happy Trails Chris Drury

2011-08-20T18:30:00.000-03:00

Well it is a pretty dreary day here in Nova Scotia. Just wrapped up a 3.5 hour thunder storm and I feel safe having my desktop computer on once again.

Well it shouldn't come as a huge surprise to some that Chris Drury has decided to call it a career. He like many others was lured to New York with the promise of a big contract and the hopes that they are the "missing piece" only to underachieve and find themselves homeless (not figuratively of course) after a couple of seasons.

I think any player signing a contract with the Rangers should take out an insurance policy on their talent as it seems to disappear more often than not when they arrive. Jagr is pretty much the only exception I can think of in the last 15 years. Holik, Gomez, Drury, Redden, Lindros and countless others showed up to NY with the hopes of Cups and playoff appearances only to find themselves failing.

Chris Drury was a winner however in his previous life first winning the Calder Trophy in 1999 with the Avalanche. He will be best remembered by me for great 2001 Playoff performance with the Avs which contributed to the Devils not being repeat Champs. I think he made the right choice retiring on his own terms and not embarrassing himself by trying out with other clubs and finding himself on a 4th line or being scratched occasionally on a non-contending team.

I don't have many Drury cards in my collection, but I do have his 05-06 Parkhurst card which does picture him during his best offensive days.

Final career numbers for Drury are:

892 gms, 255 goals, 360 assists and 615 points.

His best season was in 06-07 (which lead the the huge contract with the Strangers)

37 goals, 32 assists for 39 points

Hockey Repacks - Does anyone ever get good cards?

2011-08-19T13:00:00.000-03:00

We have all seem them...Repacks... Generally they are sold with a catch, "Over $50 in NHL packs inside" or 1 Game-Used Mem card or 2 Jersey cards per box or my favourite "Find the Parkhurst Gordie Howe Rookie".

Some people cave in and buy one or two or several...

I have bought my share, I usually buy them when they are on clearance and I know worst case scenario is me breaking even in my books. The last ones I bought were 5 bucks a pop which came with a jersey card and 3 packs. Not bad huh? The jersey cards weren't the worst, I pulled a Belfour, Mogilny, and a Sullivan. The packs yielded the occasional decent card or semi-star rookie but nothing blog worthy to report.

Fast forward a year and I am at Walmart and I notice the clearance sticker on this pack.

The pictures on the front are always better than what you find inside...at least that was my experience. So seeing Wayne, Gino and Stevie taunting me to take a chance I decide WHAT THE HECK, it is only $5.97 right?

So I bring it home and open it up. Based on the front I am expecting a loose jersey card and a random pack (probably Ultra, MVP or something cheap).

What I actually find are two packs and a white envelope.

Leaving the envelope for the end I open the two packs. First pack is the Beehive....nothing...no rookies or anything cool.

Next is the Artifacts and bang, we have a hit. I pulled a game-used Curtis Joseph card. Not bad, #/299 and the swatch is boring white. He is pictured with the Coyotes. Nice, but not even worth showing here...

Then I open the envelope. What I see stuns me for a second and it is a moment before I even realize what I have...

This is an autographed Jeremy Roenick insert card from 92-93 Fleer Ultra. There is a neat "crimped" stamp of authenticity below his autograph compliments of Fleer this proving it is all the real deal.

Based on the two packs I considered myself ahead of the game. With this card, I am talking home run here. The card's BV is an astounding $60-150 which means for a card from the early 90's to list this high must mean it is relatively rare. I went on eBay and only found two others and it looks like each of the 10 might have autographed versions out there.

In all, I can finally say I was lucky enough to have success on those repack boxes and to be honest. I think I like this card better than the ones on the box!

So I am sure some of you are wondering. Are there any more of these boxes at Walmart. Well I did go back because there was ONE MORE LEFT. I picked it up and I will post the video this weekend. If you see one in your area, I do recommend it as a deal at 5.97. I don't know if I would pay full price however.

BTW, for all Cujo fans, if you really want to see the card let me know and I will take the time to post it and if you just WANT the card, I am willing to put it up for trade too.

Contests are fun....

2011-08-19T12:23:00.000-03:00

Check out this contest.....free and fun!

http://cccollecting.blogspot.com/2011/08/get-your-pimping-shoes-ready-first-ever.html

Card of the week - Maxime Clermont

2011-08-18T10:13:00.000-03:00

A pretty slow week again in the NHL news department which is sorta nice. It gives me a chance to share some more Devils news. You may have not been aware of this but Marty Brodeur is getting old. Drafted in 1990, he doesn't have many seasons left in the tank and this is his last year under contract with the Devils. Lou has been thinking of the future and has been drafting and signing goalies for the future and going into camp right now we have 5 goalies under contract.

Martin Brodeur

Johan Hedberg

Jeff Frazee

Keith Kinkaid

Maxime Clermont

We also have goalie Scott Wedgewood, but he is ineligible to play in the AHL right now and will remain in the CHL for the upcoming season. Clermont, will likely play in the QMJHL for the start of the season until injuries occur and he is required to play in the AHL or NHL.

This past year, he lead an over-achieving Gatineau Olympiques all the way to the QMJHL finals where they lost to the heavily favoured Saint John Sea Dogs. He finished the playoffs with a 2.22 Gaa and a .927 save percentage. I have faith that Maxime could be one of our goalies for the future and with Wedgewood and Kinkaid also in the fold, we should make a decent transition from the Marty years to the future (I hope).

09-10 ITG Heroes and Prospects Subway Super Series SSM02

Love this card. The swatch is a seam piece and bulges out nicely. It is the black version which are "numbered" to 60. The swatch is a good size like many ITG swatches are and the front is designed nicely.

Back side

I like that on the back they tell you which year it was used in and of course it was game used. They could have featured stats etc, but like UD that generally doesn't happen often.

How I received the card: eBay purchase for $0.99 + shipping

Beckett Value: 5 - 12 dollars

Marcel Dionne TTM

2011-08-17T09:40:00.002-03:00

The poll results said go for it and I did. Here is my return on Marcel Dionne which came back in just 15 days.

The rest of the story can be found at Dirty Dangle.

Video Break - 1983-84 OPC Pack 1 of 2

2011-08-16T13:26:00.005-03:00

OK, so finally I made a video worth watching. 1983-84 is a fun year, no super rookies, but a set that looks decent and has many stars in it. There was no Topps release that year so the production numbers were a little high which means the set itself isn't terribly valuable. However packs can still be a little pricey, I was lucky to land two for 11 bucks with shipping so I thought I would share them with you folks.

I did film this the same night as the Score pack and the second pack of OPC so everything looks similar. Maybe I should expense my pack costs to Nike. I will hopefully get the missing cards from my 83-84 set posted on my want list soon, so if anyone can help me via trade I would appreciate it.

First ever video break - Ripping a pack of 93-94 Score

2011-08-15T12:36:00.002-03:00

Luke over at the cardboard review just completed a trade with me. I helped him out with his desire for San Jose Sharks and in return I received a couple Devils AND a unexpected pack of 93-94 Score. I have never opened a pack of such product and never created a youtube video so lets cash in both V-cards at the same time!

I was a little awkward making this video, so I probably don't sound very natural, but who gets it right their first time anyway!

WTF is an NHL Event Used Card?

2011-08-11T21:03:00.000-03:00

I like game-used memorabilia cards almost as much as I like autos. I collect them, and I am trying to get cards from each NHL team and cards from my favourite players past and present. Some companies do a better job than others making these cards and certain sets have larger swatches and more pieces than others. I also get a fair bit of excitement pulling one from a pack and I do consider buying products that contain jersey cards.

A little while back I was on eBay and saw a few auctions with free shipping and players who I am fans of. So I threw a couple cheap bids on them and ended up with two of them. So for about 5 bucks shipping included I got two quad swatch cards from the 09-10 Black Diamond.

Dale Hawerchuk (huge fan)

Glenn Anderson (gotta respect the 'stache and the 2-50 goal seasons)

But what is most interesting is the colour of the swatches. They looked a bit like they were from the Eastern Conference All Star Jerseys from the mid-90's except for the red piece on Dale's card and Glenn never played in a 1990's All-Star game.

The backs of both cards proclaim that I have received a swatch that was "used in an official NHL event". Does that mean All-Star game? or does it mean Old-Timers game? I do have some 08-09 SP Game Used Duals of Bob Bourne, Billy Smith and Anton Stastny which state on the back they were "used in an official event". Please note the lack of NHL and the front of the three cards shows the player in their Old-Timers uniforms.

So I am not 100% sure where the jerseys came from, but the price was still right and I am still happy to have them in my collection, but I am still not sure what story is behind them. I really wish UD would take some more time in giving collectors an idea of what they own exactly especially when you consider these two cards would be hits that fall 2 per box in a relatively expensive product.

Winner Winner Free Chicken Dinner!

2011-08-11T20:00:00.001-03:00

Hurry up free contest here:

http://jaybarkerfan.blogspot.com/2011/08/100th-blog-post-contest-100th-blog-post.html

Wax Stain Love

2011-08-10T18:26:00.000-03:00

Call it Sympathy for the Wax Stain or Wax Stain Love, but either way I am beginning to warm up to the leftover waxy residue. Ever since I started blogging and of course reading other people's blogs, my opinions on somethings have changed. I have definitely gained an appreciate for other things and I think naturally due to the name of my website I have learned to stop worrying about the condition and love the stain.

Here is an 83-84 OPC Ken Houston card with a Wax Stain on the front.

I am not sure if I will ever get anyone to truly love the front side stain. As you can see, it doesn't really enhance the photo of the card, but it does add character! But, I am sure Ken Houston wishes his last NHL card didn't have the stain on the front.

87-88 Topps Ron Hextall

Here is a back side stain.

The funny thing is, I received this card from Sal at puckjunk.com and he was kind enough to give it to me as I think he felt it needed to be in my collection. Truth is, the card actually is quite meaningful on MANY levels. First of all, my favourite goalie of all-time (Martin Brodeur) copied and studied a lot of what Ron Hextall did with the puck and really helped transform the game of hockey and subsequently was so good handling the puck they instituted a stupid rule (the trapezoid). So in a sense, Ron and Marty are pioneers of puck handling.

Secondly, I played a lot of hockey as a kid which included street hockey. When I played street hockey, I was ALWAYS a goalie. I had my own equipment which included a Vic Ron Hextall goalie stick!

Lastly I own the 87-88 OPC set and a few stray Hextall OPC RCs but no where in my collection do I have a Topps version so this card is just that much more special.

But when you look at the stain on the back, is it really that bad? You look at the front and it is pristine and on the back where there is only text you see a little discolouration. Nothing crazy, but a little waxy discolouring which 4 sharp corners. You can land some seriously discounted cards based on a little Wax Stain and really just be receiving a card with a little more character and a small waxy bonus!

Case and point.

Ken Dryden Topps Rookie:

BV $125

eBay Price $145 for a PSA 7

Ken Dryden Topps Rookie w/ Wax Stain:

Seller says it is NM with a Wax Stain and you can own it for 70 bucks!

Just some food for thought. Thanks again Sal for a nice card, I will enjoy it in my PC.

11-12 Victory Review

2011-08-09T23:02:00.000-03:00

Well with the great value offered last year by Score (autos etc.), it was up to Upper Deck to either revamp Victory or keep it the same and hope the legions of Victory fans out there will sustain the product. So what does Upper Deck do? Lets shove our second cheapest franchise in as inserts, so Victory now comes with MVP!

I was a pretty big fan of 07-08 Victory but each year I get more and more dissatisfied with the product to the point where I will buy two packs a year and that is pretty much it. I will try and nail some good rookies as part of UD Series 2, but that is pretty much it.

Base card front

Hate it. Looks like they hired some people off the street who just completed a Photoshop workshop and know next to nothing about anything else. IS there any need to have Victory appear TWICE on the front?

Back side

For good measure, lets have Victory appear TWICE on the back too!

Victory Rookies

Rookie design isn't much better which would be the only reason why I would buy a pack ever. In my two packs I ended up with one rookie. Aaron Palushaj who came over from the Blues as part of the D'Agostini trade. If you want to get technical, he has played 3 NHL games and has been traded 3 times (2 where his draft pick rights)

MVP Insert

Not a bad design, by far the highlight of the two packs. Still, I would much rather pull 1 real auto per box or two than have a few facsimile autos in a box. The MVP rookies fall about 1 per 18 packs so they will have some value to them, but not enough for me to drop 30 on a box.

Game breakers insert

Again, I loved the Stars of the Game and Gamebreakers inserts from 07-08. They had nice foil, decent design and were overall appealing to the eyes. This is pretty much crap.

What I like about 11/12 Victory:

- First chance to see new players in their new uniforms

- First look at the late arrival rookies

- Parallel Rookies are always attractive

- MVP offers some value

What I dislike about 11/12 Victory:

- Uninspired card design

- Few decent rookies

- Much better value in Score

- Inserts are mostly a waste of cardboard

- Little value in completing set

Card of the Week - Patrick Sharp

2011-08-09T11:02:00.000-03:00

Been a slow week for hockey news and a slow month for TTMs. Just got back my Ilya Kovalchuk and much like Sal predicted, it was unsigned. I am convinced he didn`t even see the cards or letter and likely was intercepted. So I too will suggest any Devils fans out there looking for autos, send it to the player's home!!!

One news worthy point is my hometown boy Patrick Sharp has landed some big bucks. 5 years and 29.5 million dollars. Not a bad combination for either side really as Patrick has been playing well for the last 4 years in Chicago. He had a career high 71 points in 74 games and has averaged 28 goals a year since 06-07. He is going to turn 30 years old this season so this contract is an appropriate length in my opinion as well.

09-10 Champs Threads - Patrick Sharp

I was never much of a fan of Champs in the beginning, but I bit on it 09-10. I bought two blaster boxes from Toys R Us for 10 bucks a piece and managed to get nearly half the set and two jersey hits. Patrick Sharp was the second hit and Doug Gilmour (in a Blues uniform) was the first. I have slowly been piecing the set together through trades mostly, but still have a little way to go. This was one set I was pretty sad to see get the axe from Upper Deck, but it looks like it will be back next year as an insert in the Parkhurst release.

Back side

Here is the backside of the card. Nothing too special, the card is about the size of the old tobacco cards but is quite thick. I think I like these cards a little more than the typical jersey cards. Maybe it is because it has a good cardboard/swatch ratio or maybe it is just because they seem classier....I don't know.

How I received the card: Opened it from a blaster box pack

Card value: 3 - 8 dollars (unlisted star)

Parkhurst Project - Card 11

2011-08-04T22:24:00.001-03:00

The latest addition to my 51-52 Parkhurst set isn't pretty. As you can see, it looks like Steve had a run in with some glue at one point in his life. Oddly enough, the backside of the card is pretty clean so most of the glue was on the front of this card, or the backside of another.

Steve Kraftcheck

Certainly not the nicest of the Parkies in my set thus far, but the price certainly was right as I won it with a $2.99 bid. For basically the price of a pack of Pinnacle, I won a card that is 60 years old and is a little worse for the wear. They all count I guess, but I am not going to make a habit of getting ones this rough.

Stephen had a pretty short NHL career of just 4 seasons, but did play pro hockey in the AHL for an additional 13 seasons. He was a strong and talented AHL defenseman who just couldn't recreate the AHL numbers in the NHL. His final NHL line was 157 games, 11 goals and 29 points.

Progress:

Card #92 and #11 of 105 in my set

Percent Completed:

10.5%

Cost of Card:

$5.49 with shipping

Total Cost of Set to Date:

$77.94

Bad Wax Contest and Randomness

2011-08-03T10:31:00.000-03:00

Bad Wax has a pretty cool contest on the go, check it out over here if you haven't already.

Been pretty busy, just got back from the final U2 360 Tour show in Moncton. Here are a few videos of what I had a chance to see...please excuse the poor video quality as I had to leave all good cameras at home and use one that was about 6 years old.

Here is the highlight of my Summer!

Here are a couple short video clips

Opening Act - Arcade Fire

Here you get a daytime look at the Claw. Arcade Fire did an excellent job opening for U2. I am a big fan of Arcade Fire and they played mostly songs from Funeral and Suburbs which surprised me as I think the Neon Bible album was one of their best!

Here is U2 entering the stage

They came out to David Bowie's Space Oddity and then played Even Better Than The Real Thing. The concert was absolutely amazing and truly an experience of a lifetime!

I have lots of cards to share that I have picked up over the last month or so and have been too busy to share them so later this week and next week I will get them posted including a pack break or two. I have two 83-84 OPC packs coming soon too as well as some singles.

Card of the Week - Drew Doughty

2011-07-29T12:53:00.000-03:00

Well with Stamkos all locked up for the next 5 years, the last two restricted free-agents worth talking about are Doughty and Parise. I was reading some trade rumours on The Hockey News which suggests that one rumour has Doughty being traded to New Jersey for Parise because the Doughty contract talks have stalled.

The Devils made a great move yesterday by trading Brian Rolston to the Isles for Trent Hunter which I am sure if we wanted to free up more space someone would take Hunter for a 3rd or 4th rounder. With over 7 mill in cap space, the Devils could easily sign either Parise or Doughty. Both are a General Manager's dream and the Devils could find a use for both. If we sign Parise, we would have a first and second line that are equally dangerous and if we sign Doughty, we could possibly have the best defense in the NHL in 4 years. Either way, I am pleased and punch and I think Yogi's big season prediction may very well come true!

Which ever team Doughty ends up joining in the fall will truly benefit as this kid is far from reaching his potential. I don't see why he can't be every bit as good as Lidstrom became in the NHL. I think many may agree with this as in just 3 seasons he has developed into a fine defenseman with an incredible offensive up-side.

08-09 Fleer Ultra #259 Drew Doughty Ultra Rookie

For the first time in a number of years, there is no Fleer Ultra set. Do you miss it? Personally, I would buy the odd blaster or a stray pack here and there but never attempted the set. I liked the product, but felt it was too redundant with Upper Deck's base set so I went with the better value each time. What was cool about the Ultra sets were the redemption cards. Buying the occasional pack here and there would yield me very few of these redemption cards but that is exactly how I got this one. Just the luck of the draw and the cashier picked the right pack for me.

The front of the card is nice, good clean photo and the Ultra Rookie foil makes the card pop! I think the 08-09 Ultra Rookies are a great alternative to probably the worst Young Gun design year I had ever seen.

Back side of the card

Here on the back is a recycled picture from the front with the stats and a little write up. No need to adjust your monitors the back side of the card does have a fair bit of light blue on it with a white trim. There are his previous year's stats along with his OHL totals.

How I received the card: Pulled redemption from pack

Beckett Value: $8 - 20

It will be interesting to see what products Upper Deck decides to product next year. I personally would rather see Ultra on the market place than Panini's Donruss and Pinnacle products. But I assume UD still owns the license to Ultra and with fewer sets being produced I think UD made the right choice dropping Ultra in favour of the mid-market base Upper Deck set.

Parkhurst Project - Cards 9 and 10

2011-07-25T18:49:00.000-03:00

Well it have been a little while since I have had any action in this department but I managed to pick three cards up on eBay and these two arrived today. With the addition of Pentti Lund and Adam Brown I am now officially into the double digits (it is starting to feel like a set). There is a pretty obvious link between these two cards.

Card 30 Adam Brown

This card is a beaut. The colour is great, the corners are worn, but in all, this is certainly a nice card. Definitely worth the 12 dollars I paid.

Adam Brown played 9 seasons in the NHL tallying 104 goals and 217 points in 391 games. His best season was in 43-44 when he scored 24 goals and 42 points in just 50 games. He did score 49 points in 46-47 but that was in a season where he played 64 games. He did win a Stanley Cup with the 1943 Red Wings. Unfortunately, he died in 1960 in a car accident.

Card 31 Alexander "Pentti" Lund

This card does have a significant crease on the front, but the colouring is awesome and the back is stain-free. Pentti was born in Finland, but moved to Canada at the age of 6 and grew up in my hometown of Thunder Bay (Port Arthur at the time). He would go on to win the 1949 Calder Trophy as the top rookie in the NHL and would go on to play in 7 different seasons in the NHL. In 1950 as a member of the New York Rangers, Lund helped lead them to game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. The Rangers would lose the game, but Lund would lead both his team and the NHL in playoff scoring with 6 goals and 11 points. Pentti would finish his NHL career with 44 goals and 99 points in 259 games before retiring from pro hockey in 1955 mainly do to an eye injury . Pentti Lund was a pioneer as he was the first player born in Finland to score an NHL goal which opened the flood-gates for superstars Kurri and Selanne. I wonder if they are fans of Mr. Lund?

Progress:

Card # 30, 31 and #9 and 10 of my set of 105.

Percent Completed:

9.52%

Cost of the Cards:

$22.50 with shipping

Total Cost of Set to Date:

$72.45

Card of the week - Alexei Yashin

2011-07-23T21:50:00.007-03:00

With each passing day I swear 1995 is coming back in style. First the Jets, then Jagr and now Yashin? After a less than steller year in the KHL, Yashin wants to prove he can still disappear come playoff time at the age of 38. However, it looks like the only team interested in him (Islanders) won't likely make the playoffs come this spring thus making him just another expenditure to get the Isles over the cap floor. What makes this even more interesting, according to Capgeek.com, Yashin is still on the payroll for his buyout. In fact, he is still a cap hit for the Isles (2.2 mil/year) until the spring of 2015. I am not sure what they are hoping for with this possible signing, but I do hope that John Tavares' locker is as far away from this guy as possible as I am not sure what Yashin could offer JT in terms of advice!

94-95 Collector's Choice Crash the Game Redemption Silver and Gold

Back in 1995 I came out of collecting retirement to play "You Crash the Game". The deal was every 5 packs had a player card in it which featured one of 30 players with a date on it. Each player was released with 3 different dates. The player would have a game on that date, and if they scored a goal that game, YOU won the right to mail away for a set. OF course you needed to pay for shipping and handling which was 3 bucks. The gold redemption cards fell 1 out of every 34 packs. I had several and won on a few. Now fast forward 16 years and they are pretty much worthless, but fun nonetheless.

I actually preferred the look of the silver sets. Each set also came with a single bonus card which was packaged in the set giving you a total of 31 cards.

The backside of the card just featured text and looks the same on both gold and silver.

How I received the card: Both came via redemption

Beckett value: Yashin Gold (40 cents)

Yashin Silver (12 cents)

In the end I think I have about 4 Silver Sets and 2 Gold Sets as well as many different "game" cards which I didn't win on. If you have any interest in these let me know I wouldn't mind trading a couple away as I am sure I don't need them all!

Patrick Roy TTM

2011-07-20T09:30:00.000-03:00

The mail has got interesting once again. Been a while since I got a TTM back but Patrick changed all that.

Mailed off 2 cards, and I received them both back unsigned along with this gem. Some may be wondering if Patrick Roy is an autopen guy or not? Well I did my little bit of research and did some comparing and I am going to have to say I don't believe he is. I think this is the real deal and he did it with a blue sharpie!

Can't wait for the next envelope!

You can read more about this at Dirty Dangle.com

Don Edwards - Card of the week

2011-07-18T10:21:00.000-03:00

If you think you have had a rough week, take note, no one has had as challenging week as Don Edwards. If you know what I am talking about then you already know. If you don't I will not get into it as I will not ever be able to do the story justice so just check out these two links:

Link 1

Link 2

When ever I think of Don Edwards I am reminded of his RC. Don had a remarkable rookie year finishing with a 16-7-2 record and a 2.51 gaa. Don followed that season by playing 72 games the next year and had an excellent record of 38-16-17, 2.64 gaa. Along with the 38 wins, Don had 5 shutouts.

Through out his 10 season career, Don would win 208 games and post 16 shutouts. His career highlight would be a Vezina trophy in 1980 which he shared with Bob Sauve.

77-78 OPC

Front side is a clean design, very simple and one that isn't such much memorable but is really what I think about when I think of 70's hockey cards.

Back side

Much like the front, the back side is clean with stats and a write up in English and French. There is also a little cartoon with a factoid about the player.

How I received it: I bought it back in the early 90's can't remember what I paid.

Beckett Value: $2 - 4

I have several cards from this set, but not the set itself. Someday maybe, I have a secondary project I have started working on and it is to have a set from each year between 1951 and 1993. I have a few coming in the mail over the next little while which I will share when they arrive.

Quick eBay Rant

2011-07-16T21:19:00.003-03:00

Hey, just taking a break from writing my paper on Distributed Leadership in an Educational Setting. Those interested in the final product, please feel free to email me as I am sure it will likely never see the light of day in a journal.....(maybe, but not likely).

Anyway, I just writing a quick rant about a particular seller on eBay whom I tried negotiating a deal on a 51 Parkhurst card (John Lee Fogolin). It turns out that the seller wanted a price for the card and 5 bucks for shipping. I wanted a price a little lower but basically because he wanted 5 bucks for shipping!!! Ok, the card weighs nothing and it is shipped in a top-loader and I don't live overseas. 5 bucks seemed a little extreme so we hangled twice. The end result was were about a buck a part. He rejected my counter to his counter and that is where it ended.

Well fast forward 72 hours and I decide to swallow my pride and pay the buck difference after all, John Lee was from my birthplace so I can argue it to myself that way....well it turns out the seller blacklisted me....from ANY purchases....

How mature is that? I just wanted to make a deal and really only two offers were made by me but the guy decided my money wasn't good enough for him.

Disappointed, I went online and immediately did a buy it now (twice) on a nice chap's auctions from Newfoundland and bought 2 Parkies for the price of that other guy's one. Sure they aren't as nice, but both are in decent shape and will count toward my set total.

Has this ever happened to any of you?

The other side of the trade

2011-07-14T09:54:00.000-03:00

Some of you may have seen this recent post by Casey over at Drop The Gloves. Well, here is the other side of the trade. The trade began with a request for my Phil Verchota which I pulled from my box of ITG Decades. He presented me with a couple of cards to chose from and I said I liked both Kovys he offered (not expecting a straight up trade for them both) but Casey was more than willing to give both for the one card. I wanted to help a fellow collector out so I included a few tough players who know how to throw down and it turns out that he didn't have any I sent his way so both sides were happy! The is my goal with every trade is to feel like I got a good deal and the other side is as happy.

Here are my new treasures

05-06 UD Ice Glacial Graphs

This card is BEAUTIFUL. I love the acetate autos even though I never owned one before, this card looks phenomenal in a screw-down I put it in. I even like the ink on the edge of the right side as it looks like Kovy's sharpie went off the card. I think he numbered it 17 but I can really only make out the 7....

Sal was kind enough to trade me my first Kovy RC (UD Vintage), and here is my second.

01-02 Bowman Young Stars

Two things that are great about this cards is one, it is nice to get another Kovy RC and two it is a pretty good looking one. Gold foil on the front and a pretty detailed back.

Love the details on the back of this card. Resume, Skills and an Up Close piece along with stats. WHY don't they do stuff like this anymore?

Thanks a million Casey, hope we can make another trade down the line!

06-07 Be A Player Box Break

2011-07-11T13:25:00.001-03:00

Well my wife being the great gal she is, decided to fuel my addiction and buy me a box of cards for my b-day. I decided that I would go with a box of 06-07 Be A Player. Why, you ask? Well, a box costs about 50 bucks, 70 if you included taxes and shipping. What do you get? 10 hits. 8 autographed cards, 1 will be a dual auto and 2 rookies. There are other inserts but I ignore them and just consider this product to have 10 hits. So the value of 7 bucks per hit which I felt is very reasonable!

I feel that I will be ahead of the game if I can get 1 or 2 autos I really like and a decent rookie card.

So now that I made my case, here is the box.

The Rookies- They are numbered to 999.

Clarke MacArthur

Clarke had a breakout season with the Leafs. 21 goals and 62 points aren't too shabby. Didn't have any of his RCs before this so I am glad I pulled it.

Ryan Potulny

The opposite is true here. I have almost all his RCs and I am still waiting for him to breakout. He might as well be the next Keith Aucoin as he can do stuff in the AHL but struggles to produce in the NHL.

The Autographs

Martin Havlat

Wow, the shocker of the summer for me was this trade. Clearly Havlat for Heatley was a money move and a locker room move in my opinion. Both are very talented and a trade could benefit both teams in my opinion. A good auto to get in my books, love that he numbered his!

Rollie the Goalie

Proved he still had what it takes to block NHL rubber. TB has decided to renew his contract so that will mean Tokarski and Desjardins will have to wait another year for the shot at starting full time but TB clearly thinks they are close to winning another Cup. Can't quite read this auto, but another solid hit.

Mike Van Ryn

Former Devils draft pick was the weakest hit in the box in my opinion. He spurned us when we drafted him and therefore never won a Cup. Glad he didn't too! Now is an assistant coach for the Ice Dogs in the OHL.

Jeff Carter

I wasn't too surprised to see him get traded, and the Blue Jackets are better for this one. I hope he can maintain he goal production as he broke 30 goals for the 3rd year in a row. Blue Jacket fans deserve a decent team and Carter, Nash and Umburger will help that possibly be a reality.

Henrik Sedin

This is a great hit. Henrik has averaged 103 points a season over the last two seasons and is the owner of a very interesting auto. I believe he numbered it....but some might argue those aren't numbers...

Elias and Rafalski

Each box has one dual auto and fittingly enough, mine is a Devils auto. Love it....I didn't have either auto in my collection and between the two of them there are 5 Stanley Cups and 3 Olympic medals. Elias is also the owner of 7 NJ Devil records and 2 NHL records (most career overtime goals and most overtime goals in a season).

If this was the end of the box, I would consider it a success and then some....but there were also two rookie autos in the box!

Luc Bourdon

This card has mixed feelings to me. Happy to pull the card as he was an amazing prospect with talent to spare. I loved seeing him with the gold with the 06 and 07 WJHC teams. Sad because he passed away in 2008 when he crashed his motorcycle. He probably would have never won 8 straight Norris trophies but he would have been an excellent NHL defenseman with All-Star potential.

Jordan Staal

Wow.....like this hit a lot and it is probably the most valuable card of the box. How valuable? Well I don't know, my Beckett doesn't list the value but they seem to be on sale on eBay for prices between 20 and 50 bucks. This card is flawless, and was enough to make this box a huge success for me.

Now the box is over, the question remains....Do I get another? There are many other great rookies in the box and other autos but 50 bucks plus tax and shipping can get some pretty good vintage cards too!

Andy Greene - Card of the week

2011-07-08T11:18:00.000-03:00

Well the first week of free agency season has passed and there were many signings. Some more interesting than others. The biggest target (Brad Richards) found himself a new home at MSG. Will be interesting to see if him and Gaborik can stay healthy and forge some chemistry.

The Devils were a little dull during the first week of signings as we focuses on resigning some of our own UFAs. Andy Greene and Johan Hedberg were our lone signings this past week. However, Lou did mention that he is interested in focusing on Larsson, Parise, making a trade and finding a new coach.

Andy Greene has had some pressure to perform every since arriving with the Devils. Many scouts and Devils players felt he had the potential to be every bit as good offensively as Brian Rafalski. Actually, I believe that might be part of the reason why Lou didn't work harder to retain the defenseman. However, Andy has had some confidence issues and some setbacks in growth that really have hampered his playing. As it stands, he was our leading scoring defenseman last year (which isn't saying much) but I think he CAN be a 40-50 point d-man if he has a little more support on the backside.

This week's card of the week is from the 07-08 UD Trilogy set.

The card is on foilboard and is numbered 857/999. I like that the card is numbered and I like the layout. A simple picture and they mention name, team, number and position.

Here is the back side of the card.

I really like the back side as much as I do the front. Black and white photo with a little colour accent on the sides. Stats and a small write up are included. Overall an attractive card.

How I received it: Via Trade with Chris from Confessions of a hockey card addict

Beckett Value: $ 3 - 8

I have never bought a pack of Trilogy mainly because of the cost. It boils down to how affordable they are on the secondary market which makes it difficult to pay 20 bucks for a pack of cards I can get off ebay for 5 bucks. Even big name rookies sell for about the cost of the Young Gun versions. However, a nice card nonetheless and glad it is now in my collection.

My. Best. Upper Deck. Pack. Ever.

2011-07-06T14:30:00.005-03:00

Funny story the other day. I decided to go into some sketchy second hand store and just look around. Wandering past the old Bee Gees records and overpriced used xbox games I see a few packs of cards. For 75 cents I could get myself a pack of 88 Donruss Baseball, 91 UD Baseball, 90-91 Pro Set Series 2 and the list of crap went on. Then out of the corner of my eye on a dirty back shelf was a box of 09-10 MVP and 10-11 UD Series 1. I see a price of 2.99 on the UD Series 1 so I ask the lady if I could see the box. The guy working behind the counter in a gruff manner asks what do I need to see the box for? I respond I wanted to know if they were retail or hobby packs. He said they are hobby. By that point the box is now in front of me and then I said, I feel lucky so I would like to select my own three packs. Before they could respond I just grabbed the top right pack, bottom left pack and then a pack 2 down on the bottom right. Then I walk to the cash and pay 10.25 which included tax.

Then I tell them, I don't search packs because I prefer to get rookies over jersey cards.

Then I proceed to open the packs.

Pack 1.

Looking in through the top I can already see I have a jersey card. No rookie, but cool nonetheless.

The card is a Mark Recchi jersey card which has a black swatch.... good start.

Pack 2.

Looking in I see lots of cards, rookie potential in there.

However, no rookies to be found but I do find a 90-91 variation of Brent Seabrook. Not bad because I don't have any of these cards.

Pack 3.

Looking into the top, something isn't right. I see three cards. One huge and thick one and two small ones. My adrenaline gets pumping because I have NEVER pulled what I think this is out of ANY pack before. Sure enough it is a patch card! And better yet, the card is of a player who is pretty darn good and has MUCH potential!

A three colour swatch with orange and white being patch pieces.

The card is numbered 06/15 and I am jacked.

Without a doubt this is the best card I have ever pulled from an UD pack and maybe the best I have ever pulled period. Not back for feeling lucky and the best part I felt was, this was all on my birthday!

Please forgive the photo, a little crude but time has not been on my blogging side lately as I finish up my last two Masters courses!

Brad Richards - Card of the week

2011-07-01T00:00:00.002-03:00

Well free agency has begun today and all the focus will likely be on where Brad Richards is going to lace up his skates in Oct. Hard to believe this as just a few years ago Tampa was doing what they could to dump his large salary after two straight disappointing seasons with them. However, Brad turned it around in Dallas and averaged more than a point a game in the Lone Star State and as a result there will be a few suitors for this former Conn Smythe Trophy winner.

This is his 06-07 Game Used Authentic Fabrics Card

These cards are inserted one per pack and each box would yield 6 packs. Not a bad deal except the boxes cost nearly 200 bucks with taxes. I like these cards because there are many people who tend to sell these cards off in LOT deals on eBay which means you can usually have a bunch for a relatively low cost.

Here is the back side

Here is the backside of the card. Like many UD jersey cards, wasted space and simple design.

How I received it: eBay lot purchase

Beckett Value: 8-20 dollars

I actually picked this card up along with 9 others from the same set. So 10 jersey cards and I only paid 11.50 with shipping. These cards are a pretty good deal for anyone who likes collecting jersey cards. I know some of my fellow bloggers are not big fans but at a buck a piece I think just about any fan can get behind them. The commons guide for about 2-5 bucks so I felt comfortable paying 11.50 for 10 of them. Some of the other cards included Brad Boyes, Ed Jovanovski, Doug Weight x2 and a few other guys.