Three Swell Guys

I can't remember which lot I bought this from at my LCS, but basically I saw this card and loved it from the get go and lumped it in with a few others. Can you imagine three more likable guys these these three? Unless you are talking Wayne, Gordie and Bobby, I can't. I respect Savard a great deal, I love Hawerchuk and Gilmour is an ex-Devil and a player I would want on any team, even if it meant cutting a HOF'er. These three guys are all HOF'ers and the swatches are even nice and match up well with the pictures on the card. 

09-10 UD Black Trios Hawerchuk/Savard/Gilmour /50

This card was an absolute steal and the main reason why it cost only a fin was there is a little chipping around  two edges on the back. When it comes to game used cards unless it is a rookie, I tend to not care too much if there is a little chipping mainly because it is the swatches that matter in those cases.

This card is well designed and from a product that sells for about 200 dollars for a 4 card box. That's right, 200 dollars for 4 cards. Certainly a high end product, but as you can see from this card, you do get a quality card for the price. However, secondary markets might allow you to get the card you like at a price you can afford. The UD Black Trios inserts have some pretty cool combinations and if I get the chance to snatch another one up I think I will.

#4 - Value Vintage Sets - 84/85 Topps

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).

Hall of Fame Inductees

Congrats to Joe Nieuwendyk, Doug Gilmour, Mark Howe and Ed Belfour for their inductions into the Hockey Hall of Fame. No major surprises on who made the list, but I am surprised to see Pat Burns was neglected from the list once again!

Ed Belfour was the only one to make it on their first first ballot and based on his career numbers it certainly is no surprise.

Even though I am a Devils fan, I am also a fan of hockey in general and I grew up idolizing Belfour and even would wear a Blackhawks jersey while playing goal in street hockey.

I have a few Belfour cards in my collection, no autos however. This card is from the 05-06 UD Ice set and the swatch is neat as it is a little shiny. Likely from the arm pit part of the jersey.

TTM Success

Almost 16 years after receiving my first TTM I have received my second. Over the past month I have mailed out several autograph requests and my first one arrived.

Doug Gilmour!

I sent it on the 23rd of Dec and I received it back on the 19th of Jan.

I send two cards and he signed them both with a blue sharpie.

The Upper Deck card has always been one of my favs because of the cool stare he is giving to someone. I chose the Score one because I thought it would look nice with my 10-11 Score set that I am working on. I cannot express my excitement of this one enough as Doug is also a former Devil. His stay with NJ was pretty brief but in his 83 games over two seasons he did put up 75 points. Watching this guy play was always fun. Doug played like he was 3 inches taller and 20 lbs heavier. For his career he put up 450 goals and 1414 point while averaging nearly a point a game. To me, he will always be remembered for the 92-93 season where he carried the Leafs on his back to the conference final. During the regular season he had a career high 127 points and then in the playoffs put up another 35 points despite not making it to the Stanley Cup final. Hard to say if he will eventually make it into the HOF. I believe Doug belongs there and time will tell if he receives his place there or not. Either way, he is a class act and I appreciate the time he took to sign my cards.