Top 30 NHL Players of All-Time: #29

Next up on the list and perhaps you may begin to get a sense of what I value or may not value from a player.

#29. Brett Hull. The Golden Brett lead the NHL in goals 3 times including an amazing 86 goal season. He was the 1991 Hart Trophy winner and he’s a 3x All-Star. One of the best pure goal scorers who was an underrated passer. 741 career goals and one of the most infamous Cup goals.

88-89 OPC Rookie

10-11 Limited Auto /49

What is the greatest single NHL season goal total? Many including myself would say it is Wayne's 92 goal season. That number was insane and to this day has never been broken. However, what would happen if you gave Joe Malone an 80 game season back in 1917-18? Would he have scored more? He did have 44 goals in just 20 games. However each era needs to be measured with a slightly different yard stick. Some statisticians try and do that by normalizing game numbers, average offensive output etc. When you take the approach that Hockey Reference does, you'd learn the greatest season is Brett Hull's 86 goal season in 90-91. 90-91 Wasn't as offensively open as some seasons in the 80's and more offensive than anything in the past 20 years but his numbers would normalize to a 78 goal season which is the highest by 6 goals over Ovi's normalized 72 goal season in 07-08. 

Hull was a monster when he played much like his father and he was indeed an excellent passer and decent all-round player who'd end up on some Selke ballots in 02-03. Brett lead the NHL in goals 3 times and is 8th in goals per game all-time as well. 

Personally I like him higher than Dionne as if I needed one more spot to fill a one game win all line-up, Hull is that difference maker who could take over a game or seal the deal on the PP. However, he did have his weaknesses too and as a result isn't higher on my list as well. 

Thanks for stopping by, #28 is coming next. 

A Pair of Santinis

When the Devils drafted Steve Santini back in 2013 my thoughts immediately went to this guy.



Steve Santini is a magician, escape artist and a collector of the macabre. He was on a show called Deals from the Darkside where he would go and track down rare and unusual items from human history usually dark in nature. For example, torture devices, swords, guns and items tied to tragedies. I for one don't collect these items but I found the show fascinating and the history aspects were pretty cool and Steve did a great job sharing his vast knowledge.

Well safe to say by looking at him, he isn't a 21 year old hockey player. The Steve Santini the Devils drafted is a 6' 2" 208 lb defensive minded defenseman who won a few awards in college and represented Team USA at the World Hockey Championships this past spring. While he won't wow you with his offensive acuity, he is the type of defenseman that all championship teams need. Someone who will chew up 20+ minutes a night and win the battles for the puck in the defensive end. While Steve hasn't seen too much time with the big club yet, he will. These types of defensemen sometimes take a little more time to mature and I look forward to seeing him grow and mature into the shutdown defenseman I believe he can be. I think he has Mark Staal potential which will be a big help to a rebuilding Devils club. In honour of our two Steve Santini's, here are a couple cards I pick up in two separate trades.

16-17 Artifacts Gold Spectrum Steve Santini Rookie Patch /49

 When it comes to the New Jersey Devils in cardboard form, their patches don't get much nicer than these. Two great pieces and the gold foil shines wonderfully with this card. I might have over traded a bit to get this one but it was worth it for the patch quality.

16-17 Artifacts Emerald Steve Santini Rookie Patch Auto /35

This one is similar to the last but we lose one patch for a jersey and gain an autograph. Steve has a pretty unique auto using his S twice with his name. His signature is reasonably legible with it looking a bit like "Steve Satin" which could make for a neat nickname perhaps. I picked this one up as part of a twitter trade and Rene was so kind to send Steve along with a few other cards and some unexpected bonus card which I hope to share on here some day soon.

Thanks for stopping by and visiting the Steves. They wish you a great day and I do as well. The fun thing about a league with 500 players is there are always players like John Madden or Paul Martin who share their names with someone else famous. Does your club have one of these?
 

11-12 Canada Vs The World or 15-16 ITG/Leaf The Vault Duncan Keith Auto

I've posted a few Vault cards on here and I don't even know what to call them any more. Lets just say it's a Duncan Keith auto and be done with it.

11/12 or 15-16 Canada Vs The World Duncan Keith Auto

Apparently this card has been sitting under a rock or in a vault for the past number of years and ITG/Leaf decided to let it out into the public after branding it with a V. I am more than willing to look past everything and just treat this as a cool card of an amazing defenseman who appears to be in a Team Canada uniform. Duncan Keith is also my son's favourite player and it's my hope to send out a pair of TTM requests to Mr. Keith from each of us seeing if we could potentially get another auto or two to add to this one.

Sadly as Canada is set to play the USA tonight, Duncan Keith is recovering from injury and pulled out of the World Cup which leaves us without a pretty amazing option on the back end. However, we do have depth at all positions which has been evident as we've been playing without Seguin, Benn, Keith and many other snubbed All-Stars. I want to wish Duncan a speedy recovery and I hope this season he is able to get back to the level he wants to play at and has continued success. In the meantime, I am going to enjoy tonight's game and this card! Thanks for stopping by!

08-09 ITG Ultimate Memorabilia 9th Edition Ultimate Auto Mates Silver Brodeur/Luongo /24

More slabbed fun! This time Marty has a friend in this Team Canada themed piece. While this particular combo didn't fare so well at the 2006 Olympics, Marty and Bobby did win at the 2004 World Cup of Hockey and would eventually win a gold medal together at the 2010 Olympics thus making this card a little more cool and relevant.


08-09 ITG Ultimate Memorabilia 9th Edition Ultimate Auto Mates Silver Brodeur/Luongo /24

I love the fact that these two future Hall of Famers are joined together on this one card and this being a Team Canada card makes it a little more enjoyable for me as a fan and a collector since I didn't care too much for Luongo during his Vancouver or earlier years. Recently I respected his move back to Florida and am loving that he has helped turn them into a competitive club. The only draw back to this card in my opinion is it appears ITG used two different kinds of stickers on the autographs and that is a tiny bit distracting.

Here is the backside of the card. I do wish the Ultimate fact and Congratulations switched spots and there was a little more info on the successes they had as teammates but alas the Dr. has spoken!

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the slab tips, I will keep playing around as I have a few more slabs to share!

Rest in Peace Mr. Hockey

Today we lost one of the game's greatest players, ambassadors and father. Gordie Howe passed away this morning at the age of 88. Words cannot express my sadness and I am just so happy to have my own special memory of meeting this legend.

Thank you Gordie for all that you have done for the game, and here are a few special cards of him from my collection.

65-66 Coca Cola

 

70-71 OPC Mr. Hockey Error (NNO)

 

79-80 OPC  (Last card from his playing days)

 

 77-78 OPC WHA (Last WHA Card)

 

An autographed handout when I saw his skate with the Thunder Bay Thunder Hawks

 

The card Bamlinden turned that signature into. 

Thanks for looking. :'(

Help a friend and get a hometown auto....

This past summer I helped a friend out who was looking to boost the caliber of his card collection. The task was simple, he gave me money and a list and told me to use my card shopping skills to fill the list. I am pleased to say I came right on budget and was able to stretch his dollars well and land some pretty impressive cardboard for his money. As a thank you which is ludicrous because the task itself was so much fun ( I was born to be a hobby personal shopper) he gave he something from his collection which has more significance to me than to him.


11-12 SPX Winning Materials Jordan Staal Auto /15

As you may have read before Jordan and I were born in the same town and potentially even in the same hospital. While this isn't my first of him I do like this one the most of all mine so far. Nice low print run with a pair of swatches and an auto.

This past year has been a mixed bag for Jordan. While his production has been up 19 goals and 45 points are the most he's put up since leaving Pittsburgh, he recently saw his older brother Eric get traded which I am sure is tough. I hope this isn't a fluke and we get to see more great seasons from Jordan in the future. I want to thank my neighbour again for this great card and believe it or not, there was an even bigger surprise I received from him at Christmas time but that's for another day!

13-14 Panini Playbook AUTObiography Tyler Seguin Auto /99

Given the choice between Sidney Crosby and Tyler Seguin...who would you choose? Pretty easy choice this season, though Sidney has come on of late with 12 points in his last 7 games but Tyler's currently sitting in third in NHL scoring and is on pace for 45 goals and 95 points. Over the past two and a half seasons Tyler has outscored Sidney 98 to 76 in the goals department but Sidney has the edge in the points department over the same time period with 229 to 212. With that being said each has other intangibles they bring to their respective and a case can be made for each guy. But what shocks me is how little demand there is for Seguin's cards in comparison to Crosby's and as a result Tyler's cards can book for less than half the value of Crosby.



13-14 Panini Playbook AUTObiography Tyler Seguin Auto /99

This card was picked up in a trade last year. It features a nice on card auto which isn't my first but I am a pretty big fan of Tyler and what he does on the ice so it was a pleasure to add. The card is also numbered to /99 which is always nice to know there aren't a few thousand of them kicking around. If you are interested in adding this to your collection, one of the /99 from this release are available on eBay for under 30 dollars I believe plus many of his other autographs.

12-13 The Cup Signature Patches Adam Henrique /99

When it comes to patch autos and patch auto rookies The Cup typically is where you will spend the most money and get the respective player's highest regarded piece of cardboard. Of course this isn't always true but very often it is. Having Adam Henrique as a focus of my collecting means there are plenty of options for patch autos and thankfully that also means the prices are pretty reasonable when the supply is high and the demand is on the lower end.

12-13 The Cup Signature Patches Adam Henrique /99

A nice and clean looking card with a solid and legible signature with number. A sweet looking patch with some red jersey showing and a good design with a subtle but great use of foil. I loved all those things about this card and for some the numbering 01/99 would be a perk but for me I'm pretty indifferent. Landing this card about a year ago for 10 bucks with shipping was a nice perk!! While it's not a rookie, it is a great looking card and one I enjoy pulling out and putting on display from time to time.

1996-97 Donruss Canadian Ice Mario Lemieux Auto /1200

Ages ago I made a small trade I regretted. In the trade I gave up two cards (one being my Lemieux autograph) I really liked so I could add a pile of cards that were OK and one decent card. I did it mostly to be nice but if I could do it all again I wouldn't. With that being said, I am sure some others have done similar trades with me so I guess it's the Universe balancing itself out or something like that. Anyway, Happy New Year all and what better way is there to start a new year than the see the Magnificent One?

1996-97 Donruss Canadian Ice Mario Lemieux Auto /1200

This golden foiled beauty is a very nice card in person, even if the scan disagrees with that statement. A nice on-card auto done with a (fine tipped felt pen?). You can actually see the impression of the signature in the card which I think is neat given today's day and age of sharpies and stickers. Thanks to a 90's release date and relatively high production run I was able to land this for a very affordable price and I definitely plan on keeping this one for a long time or until I do something stupid again! 

You will probably see this card again at a later date as it complete my Lemieux HOF trifecta and I hope to get back to those posts again because I have completed several over the past year. Thanks for stopping by and Happy New Year once again. I hope your year is filled with loads of cool additions to your person PCs and the best of health and happiness!

14-15 ITG The Vault Larry Robinson Auto & Jersey 1/1 (Or when a 1/1 is manufactured)

Ok, the hobby does some strange things in order to make a dollar and some times I think it has gone a little too far. I am curious to know your thoughts on this one. ITG had a release in the past year called The Vault where a bunch of cards were bought back, labelled and redistributed with the idea that they were rare and unique (1/1). So here is one example of such card that I picked up this past summer. 

14-15 ITG The Vault Larry Robinson Auto Jersey 1/1

This card was originally from one of the Superlative releases and features a nice on the card auto and a small piece of a Montreal Canadiens sweater. If you look at the upper right you will see the card was defaced with a ruby foil job and the numbering of 1/1. There are 49 other cards out there just like this one but they don't have the ruby foiling. So the question is, does my Larry Robinson card deserve to be more expensive and highly regarded than the other 49 non-ruby foiled copies?

I personally am not sure if it is any more special than it's other brothers but thankfully I was able to purchase this for probably cheaper than the other 49 sold for so I might be inclined to think the foil job actually decreased the value of this card. While I personally don't consider this card a 1/1, I do consider it a nice auto game used card of a Hall of Famer who once coached the Devils to a couple cups and am proud to have it in my collection.  

08-09 OPC Premier Cory Schneider Auto Rookie /299

As we all know, life goes on. Still its tough to see a fixture of an organization leave and in the past couple years the Devils have had two mainstays step aside for the next generation with both Marty and Lou moving on to some degree. The amazing thing, is I just need to say their first name and chances are you know who I am talking about. Well the future is now, or so they say and lets start collecting in that direction



08-09 OPC Premier Cory Schneider Auto Rookie /299

Cory is not new to the organization and I have added a couple of his cards to my collection over the years. I had two autographs to this point, one numbered to 99 and another to 25. But as far as rookie went, I only had one lowly rookie and it was from 08-09 OPC which I pulled from a pack. So I wanted to rectify the situation a while back and I was able to do so by acquiring the above card. 

Nice on card auto with actual game-used event used swatches. What a shame they say game on the front and event on the back. I'm sure many have already gripped about this so I will move on to the nice on card auto and decently low print run of 299. I've said this before and I'll say it again for value, it's hard to beat OPC Premier and Sweet Shot when their Young Gun counterparts are far more plentiful and far less cool in my opinion. 

When is a Henrique Auto not a Henrique Auto

The answer is right here:

12-13 SP Game Used Adam Henrique Auto  Alex Pietrangelo Auto

This card is one that definitely proves that sticker autos are a bad idea. I showed this one to Upper Deck and a fellow collector of Henriques. Thankfully the fellow collector was able to shed some light on it. Apparently they all came out this way and while the production was pretty limited but with all coming out of the factory this way it isn't like it is a one of a kind. Upper Deck has offered to have replace it of course which is great but the question is what would I get in return? If others have done this does it make this card more rare? I am faced with a tough choice and to complicate things more, I do like Alex Pietrangelo and I don't have any other autos of his.

What do you think I should do?

2012/13 SPx Jake Allen Autographed Rookie Jerseys /175

Part of keeping the hobby always fresh and fun is player prospecting. I love it when you can trade for, or buy a rookie really early before their careers bloom and then you find yourself owning a significant piece of cardboard a few years later. 

Many hockey writers are projecting that Jake Allen is going to have a break out year this season. You can't help but think the Blues are believing the same thing because they let Ryan Miller go after trading a small portion of the farm to get him late last year. Clearly the Blues feel between Brian Elliot and Jake Allen they have all the goaltending they require. 

Jake is a pretty good goalie thus far into his career with the highlight to this point likely being his silver medal at the World Juniors or being named CHL goalie of the year in 2010.  

2012/13 SPx Jake Allen Autographed Rookie Jerseys /175

Here is his SPx rookie in all its glory. While he has already had some fan fare at the NHL level (All-Rookie Team), I think the best is yet to come so if you are into prospecting yourself, now might be the time to grab yourself one of his rookies because by the end of this season I wouldn't be surprised if they will cost you twice as much as they do now in money or trade!

12/13 SP Game Used Stanley Cup Finals Materials - Adam Henrique Net Skirt Auto

About a year ago I landed this card in honour of my team losing in the Stanley Cup finals. While I landed it just to have a piece of the finals, I really didn't care who was on it. My plan was just to have a piece of the finals because a Gretzky one or a Fayne one was all from the same net. However, there are also much more rare Net Skirt cards which have autos and those are much more player specific if you ask me. After all, their auto is on the card and that personalizes it much more than a pic. I found this one at random a while back and bought it for a song and a dance.

Pretty sharp card if you ask me with a shot from the Stanley Cup Finals which just adds to the coolness. The auto is his typical one but includes his number 14 which is something Adam doesn't always do. One negative however, is the skirt wasn't prepped properly so the auto is a little faded but in the end it doesn't matter that much to me and the fading is likely why it was a steal. But the key thing I wanted was another piece of a Stanley Cup finals net and I have that with a PC auto on it so that is all amazing if you ask me!

10-11 ITG Enshrined Box Break

10-11 ITG Enshrined is a product that I was been wanted and itching to break for a very long time. But things would get in the way or money would be spent elsewhere and sadly it never happened. With that being said, two posts ago I did pick up a Laprade auto from the set which turns out I bought not long after he passed. With that being said, I finally got my chance on my birthday to break a box of Enshrined. 

Like most recent ITG products, they are without an NHL license so the focus is all on the player and not their club. But with that being said, this is a very very nice product. You get 5 premium base cards numbered to 175 and you get one hit which is an auto /49 or /1 or a game used card /9. Worst case is you can a HOF auto and best case is you have a super rare /1 cut auto of a player like Art Ross. So, how did I fare....

First base was Cyclone Taylor who is without a doubt one of my favourites from the first half century of hockey. The pictures on these cards are in colour and very classy.

The backs are extremely well done with an embossed number job which ITG doesn't do very often. Look at that career. I would be curious to see what those numbers might have been like in a 50 game season. Very good start to the box.

Tom Johnson is another great card. I have his rookie and his auto so landing this card was very fun. While it isn't anything special as far as my HOF PC goes, I do like having a HOF card like this to go with the rookie and auto.

Now this was one of the cards I was hoping for. When I first saw these cards I thought they would be great cards to send off as TTM requests. The first two player I got are deceased but Mr. Richard is still alive so I sent this one off immediately in the hopes he may sign it. I will keep you posted on that one.

Sadly another player who has left us far too soon. This is a pretty nice card and you get a glimpse of his A on the jersey. Bill Quackenbush was a 5-time first or second team all-star for the Wings and Bruins.

 This one was a bit of a surprise because I knew nothing of Mr. Drillon. Turns out he was a pretty awesome player with a very short career. He did finish top 10 in the league in each of his 6 NHL seasons and then became part of the war and never returned again. He only has one card from his playing day and that is in the 37-38 OPC set and then one in the 55-56 Parkhurst Set as an Old Time Great.


So those were my base cards. There isn't load of value to them, book prices range from 5 dollars to 25 dollars a piece for the base cards and most can be had on eBay for under 10 bucks with shipping. But the reason you buy this isn't for the base cards (even though I really like them), the reason is for your lone hit.


Here is my hit:

Scotty Bowman auto silver /49. I was pretty pleased to pull this card. I would have been a bit sad to have pulled someone I already had but in this case I needed a Bowman auto to complete my HOF trifecta. I already had his OPC rookie and I have this "game used " piece of Scotty and now an auto completes everything I could want or need for my HOF PC. For those interested in the product, that is an on-card auto and unlike the base cards the photos are black and white for the auto set. Very pleased with the box and I might consider another one in the future some day. However, in the meantime the itch to check out this product is gone and hopefully Richard will come back to me someday signed.

One of the best cards in my collection (from anyone's perspective)

In everyone's collection there are cards you like more than others. That is especially true in my case. I don't have a top 20 or 50 list and I certainly don't have a number 1 favourite card. However, I do have a large number of cards I do appreciate more than others. With that being said, some of those cards are clearly ones I love because they are special to me and others I think can be appreciated by all. 

A while back I shared a few bonus items that Casey from The House of Oglethorpe sent my way, here was the centerpiece of the deal!

2001-02 Top Shelf Wayne Gretzky Auto /95

On card, autograph of Wayne Gretzky while being pictured as a member of the Oilers. How sweet is that? Also, limited production run of 95. While it isn't numbered, I have seen enough literature to believe its limited. I think this is something just about anyone can enjoy!

Thanks again Casey, this will always have a home in my house.

So I sold my Jordan LaVallee 1/1 and this is what I bought.

So about 5 years ago I bought a few packs and I had my first ever 1/1 from a pack of 08-09 Artifacts. At the time I was excited because it was a 1/1 rookie but not knowing who he was or if he would ever amount to much also intrigued me. Fast forward a few years, poor Jordan never makes it back to the NHL but I decide to share my 1/1 on here at random anyway because it is a 1/1. 

Little did I know anyone would ever be on the hunt for my lowly 1/1, well sure enough there was and I shared my hit at the perfect time. While digging through old comments I saw one from a person named Kevin who was interested in my LaVallee. It turns out Kevin was a LaVallee super collector and in our discussions he shared some of his collection with me via email. Check it out! 

Check out the Artifacts rookies, /999, /100, /75, /50, /25 looks like he could use a 1/1

Check out all those plates!

So what do you sell a card like that for? Its a 1/1, one of a kind, no others. Well I have seen some pretty stupid prices on the 'Bay and honestly seeing how big of a fan this guy was I was not going to fleece him on it. To be perfectly honest, I didn't know how high he was going to go either and I am not an asshole so I thought long and hard and came up with a price I felt the card was worth TO ME. If he was willing to pay what it was worth to ME, then in my opinion he can have it. So I gave him my price which I felt was very fair (about the price of a blaster) and in return he offered a few extra dollars to help me cover the cost of shipping so we both were very happy in the end.

So I took my money, bought the Jagr auto you just saw in my last post and I got myself three other cards. I paid for the shipping out of my own pocket so the total was a tiny bit higher than the funds earned but totally worth it in my opinion.


2001-02 BAP Signature Series Ryan Smyth Auto

 Second auto I picked up was one of Captain Canada Ryan Smyth. He earned the nickname after being Captain of the World Championship team for 5 straight years from 01-05 and then again in 2010. I guess there is an advantage to playing for a non-playoff team. Regardless, I do have fond memories and respect Ryan a great deal and I knew I wanted an auto from him and it was a pretty cheap pick up.


2001-02 BAP Signature Series Claude Lemieux Auto

 Arguably one of the most clutch players in NHL history. Claude was a huge reason for two Devils Cup wins and was a large factor in his Cup wins with Montreal and Colorado as well. I wished I could land his auto in a Devils uniform but as far as certified autos go there were very few of him in the 90's especially in a Devils uniform.

10-11 The Cup Marco Scandella Auto Rookie

When Marco played for Team Canada at the WJHC in 2010 I was really impressed with his skill and dependability. I was a big fan from the start so I had been trying to get a card like this for a while. When Kevin bought my LaVallee rookie I made it a priority to land this card and sure enough after a few Best Offer attempts one dealer liked my offer and accepted it. A nice patch here with a little red peeking out with the green and white cream. 

In all, I was very happy an important card ended up with the right collector and in the end I found myself 4 really cool cards which I do enjoy more than the 1/1.

A Christmas Gift from Shoebox Legends

After one of my many Brett Connolly posts (who btw has had three consecutive games with three points (4 goals and 5 assists)), Shane from Shoebox Legends wrote me about something he stole on the internet. He said he had a Panini Prime Signatures Brett Connolly auto that he landed for 99 cents plus shipping and since I am a big Connolly fan, he offered it to me for my PC. However, the last time he sent me something, poor Shane discovered that the USPS can be a cruel when you ship to Canada so he decided this time round he would add a "few" travel companions so he would get more value from the crazy shipping costs. Little did I know what was in store for me. Enjoy, I sure did!

11-12 Panini Prime Brett Connolly /99

 This baby is a nice on-card rookie year auto. Love the effects that Panini did with their photos on these cards. Just about as cool as it gets in modern cards.

The next batch Shane gave me are some nice retro on-card autos he got from another collector and thought I would like them. He was right, and Shane, I am pretty confident these are indeed legit so many thanks for the nice autos.

86-87 Topps Bobby Carpenter

 Here is a nice auto from a former 50 goal scorer and former New Jersey Devil. He won one cup as a player with the Devils and 2 cups as an assistant coach. Nothing but good memories of Bobby. His daughter is representing Team USA at the Sochi Olympics in hockey.

80-81 Topps Terry O'Reilly

 This auto is neat because it looks like Terry started with a dead black pen and then switched to a nearly dead blue ball-point pen. What is cool about this card is the fact that no one scratched the puck! Terry was a fierce competitor and this is my first auto from him!

86-87 Topps Rick Middleton

 Here is another auto I didn't have in my collection and oh boy am I glad I do. I have a Rick OPC rookie, Rick game used card and now the auto. It is a shame he isn't in the HOF as that would be a hat-trick of memorabilia for my new PC. Rick had 448 career goals and 998 career points, if not for a career ending injury, I would like to think he would have reached 500 and 1000 and maybe got he call to the Hall.

84-85 Topps Guy Lafleur

 Classic player, classic card and classic auto. Just plain awesome.

86-87 Topps Doug Bodger

 Another player I didn't have an auto for, Doug Bodger. Doug was a very steady and solid defenseman at the NHL level and played in over 1000 games. 49 of those games were with the Devils in 97-98 when he was picked up mid-season in a trade for John MacLean. His offensive numbers were never as good as they were in junior, but he still managed to 528 career points which is nearly 0.5 points per game.

Shane also sent along some cards from his current hockey passion, the Panini Classics auto set. You should check out some of his posts, the set looks great and he has made some amazing progress to this point.

12-13 Panini Classics Auto Bernie Nicholls

I honestly don't know how much of an impact Gretzky had on Bernie's career. I am a fan of Bernie and before Wayne stepped into his life he was a 2 time 40 goal guy and hit 100 points three seasons before "the trade". What is truly amazing, both for Bernie and Wayne is in just 1.5 seasons, or 126 games, Bernie Nicholls TORE up the NHL. In just 126 games, he had 97 goals and 225 points. That is nearly 1.79 points per game and if he could have done that over a period of 4-5 seasons, that could have cemented him as a surefire HOF'er. However, he was dealt in a blockbuster deal for Tony Granato and Tomas Sandstrom. Bernie still had an amazing career which included some time with the Devils. 1209 career points in 1127 games including a 70 goal, 150 point season is something that many kids dream of and Bernie made it look easy.

I have wanted this card for a while and even bid on a couple, thanks to Shane I don't need to search any more for a Nicholls auto (which as an aside, is much more scribble than scribe).


 12-13 Panini Classics Auto Dave Babych

 Cool auto from a very underrated 80's defenseman.

12-13 Panini Classics Auto Jean Pronovost

The on-card autos in the set are nice, but the photos are what make these cards look amazing and Jean Pronovost is a great example. Classy auto, awesome photo. Look at the ancient lumber, nasty helmet and wicked retro Pens jersey. This auto was also missing from my collection and any former 50 goal scorer is a welcome addition. Jean began his career as an NHL thanks to the Pens purchasing him from the Boston Bruins. Jean joined the Penguins in what was just their second NHL season and would stick around for a decade with the club. During that time he would score 20+ goals 9 out of the 10 seasons including 40 three times and 50 once. 

So just when you think Shane has given enough, he also surprised me with a thrown in set as well. Not just any set either, but the 88-89 OPC Mini set. I am not sure how he knew, but I actually was in the market for one of these sets. I had singles form both the 87-88 and 88-89 growing up but it wasn't until a traded for the 87-88 a few years back that I had a compete one. I was still missing the 88-89 and had ever intention of trying to buy or trade for one and Shane answers the call by surprising me with it. 

88-89 OPC Mini Set

Here is one example of a card from that set. Brett Hull Mini rookie. I remember these in the early 90's fetching nearly 20 bucks at LCS's when his main rookie was selling for over a hundred. Though the demand has diminished, my appreciation hasn't.

Thank you Shane for an amazing Christmas parcel, I hope you enjoy the one I sent your way as well as I have mine. I took a different and similar approach to what I sent you, but I am hoping that you are pleasantly surprised.

So here is what I bought with my Brendan Gallagher Loot - Part 4, A Devils Legend

Ken Daneyko really didn't get much appreciation during his early playing days but in the years since he retired he has received a lot more love from fans (especially non-Devil fans). I wouldn't say he is under-appreciated because the respect he gets now is the respect I think he has earned and they are in correct proportions. With that being said, my collection had zero Dano autos so I fixed that with some of my Gallagher loot.

95-96 BAP Ken Daneyko Auto

For a guy with stone hands on the ice and been known to chuck the knucks he has an awesome signature. I went looking for a good Daneyko auto and paid 3.50 with shipping for this. Small piece of my loot and a big piece on my collection!

11-12 The Cup Brett Connolly Rookie /249

If you  have a PC of a modern player, what is their most desirable rookie card? Many collectors wouldn't hesitate with their answer and it likely would be their "The Cup" rookie. As far as book value goes, these rookie usually carry a pretty hefty price tag and are sought after by fans of the set and of the players.

Since I consider my Brett Connolly and Adam Henrique PC's to be reasonably serious I felt it would be important to try and cross The Cup of their lists. My Brett Connolly The Cup rookie isn't my favourite but I do like it a fair bit. When compared to my Dominion Gold card, the swatches aren't even close in comparison. The Cup version does have a nice subtle two colour swatch and isn't much smaller than the Dominion one. But the print run is nearly 10 times larger and this card actually cost me 5 dollars more than the Dominion Gold card. Those factors do take away from the card a little bit but still in the end it is a great card for my PC and I do like it lots, it just isn't my personal favourite. 

11-12 The Cup Brett Connolly Rookie /249

As you can see, this is numbered 52/249 and features a cool two colour swatch (blue and white). The auto is nicer on this card because he includes his Tampa number 14 with a signature that looks a little less rushed than the Dominion one. In fact, you can see some elements of his old autograph from junior which I will get into when I finish all my Brett pick ups.

Here is the back side of the card which I do like the improvements that UD has made of the years to their The Cup back designs. This has a few important stats and your lengthy authentication note that you have come to expect from UD.

The book value on this card is 80 bucks which is tied with his Crown Royale rookie as being the most "valuable" base rookies you can get of Brett Connolly. I don't include his Titanium rookie because it is limited to just 14 copies and doesn't have a book value. In fact, I haven't come across any online in the last year or so but I suspect I could have easily missed it.

So there you have it, my third favourite Brett Connolly rookie which trails only my Rookie Anthology Patch Rookie /15 and my Dominion Gold Rookie /25