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Before I begin this post, I want people to know I don't necessarily endorse the consuming of Molson products. True some of them are tasty and down right yummy, but others are pretty gross. I have not purchased any Molson products from my local liquor establishment, but rather picked up the following from my LCS.

Typically I don't fall for gimmicks like free cards in stuff and I almost never chase these cards, but my guys at the LCS were drooling all over these cards and I felt bad because they loved them so much and I really couldn't care less, so I bought them out of pity. Fact is they are always amazing guys for deals and really spending 5 bucks on three cards I really didn't care much about is no big deal in the grand scheme if it made them happy in the process.

However, I have grown to not mind these cards mainly because of what they represent. My three most favourite NHL seasons! The set as a whole is 92 cards featuring the champions from each season the NHL has produced the Stanley Cup Champion. So if a team has won it since 1918, there is a card for that year. Being a Devils fan, there are three that were of interest to me. Here they are:

1995 Stanley Cup Champions

This ranks as my favourite of the three. I was a teenager at the time and I had been cheering for the Devils for 8 years by this point. I had endured some bad times, and some painful times by this point. I remember the 88-89 season was tough and I even got teased for being a Devils fan. Then 1994 came along and we had a great run and fell oh so close to the Rangers. But after a short lockout, the Devils came on strong at the end of the season and were hot at the right time. We rolled over the Red Wings in the final to win our first Cup. I actually have the final game of that series on VHS where my man Billy Guerin had 3 points and Mike Peluso wept like a child on the bench. I LOVED that year.


2000 Stanley Cup Champions

After the 95 win and missing the playoffs in 96, the Devils put together a few weak playoff appearances before the 2000 season. However, the 2000 season will be best remembered for how strong the Devils were ALL season. We finished the season with a solid 103 points(which was lots prior to the three point games of today) and what some people don't realize is were finished second in the entire NHL in goals scored. In the following season, the Devils would lead the NHL in scoring which is often forgotten because of the huge emphasis the media was putting on their trap style approach to defense. I really enjoyed this Cup win because it was the second time and after the first I wasn't holding out much hope that I would have a chance to see one again so this came as a bit of a surprise.

2003 Stanley Cup Championship

This was the last time we won the Cup and by this point I had just got accepted to do a Bachelor of Education degree at Ottawa U, and I was working back home for the summer and I had every night dedicated to watching playoff hockey. I had just gotten rid of my girlfriend at the time and I must say life was simple. Work, golf, hockey and repeat. I think I will best remember this Cup for those reasons, and the 400 dollars (total) I won in two playoff pools. To celebrate the last I Cup even got cornrows in my hair with red, white and back beads. Do I regret anything, maybe the corn rows, but it was very awesome and definitely another highlight of my life.

So these cards even though I had no interest in them initially, they did bring back some fun season memories and were worth 5 bucks to me. For those curious, here is the back view of the corn rows, I will never show the front view online!

I kept them in my hair for about a week, and then I shaved my head. 1 full year of growing my hair and not cutting it, gone in 60 seconds.

A Tribute to the Champs

Well Boston won the Cup and I want to congratulate all of their fans. The team played well during the regular season and seemed to look better each round of the playoffs. They definitely deserved the win, but Canuck fans shouldn't hang their heads. Making it to the dance is a feat in itself and hopefully the Devils will meet the Canucks in the final next year!

Here is a small tribute to the champs with cards of current Bruins from my collection. I pulled all from packs with the exception of Seguin which I landed for 99 cents plus shipping from Ebay.

Zdeno Chara

Either you love this guy or you hate him. I am still not a fan, but last night he earned some of my respect by getting down low (which isn't easy for him) and making a save on an open net with his arm! A good captain who won't go down as the best in history but he plays a good North American game.

Milan Lucic

Here is a card I consider to be a RC (for my own purposes). Lucic is a player I do like a fair bit and was a big reason why the Bruins played so well in the regular season. Didn't contribute much offensively this post season but he is able to change the game in other ways. Definitely a poor man's Cam Neely.

Brad Marchand

11 goals this post season! I hope Brad is able to carry that momentum into next year and put up numbers that are reflective of how well he played this post season. I see no reason why he can't be a consistent 60 point guy in his prime. He is coming to my neck of the woods at the end of July and I hope to get a few autos. HOPE is the key word, I have heard conflicting reports on what he is like in person so I will have to judge for myself.

Tuukka Rask

With how Timmy played, he wasn't much of a factor this post season. This will be his team in a couple of years if he is able to earn it and I think one off season isn't anything to worry about but if he doesn't bounce back next year he may be off to other pastures.

Mark Recchi

I love this card so much I decided to show front and back. One reason why I am a big fan of the 90-91 UD was their use of photos on the back which features a nice in action slap shot. On the front of this card, you get a photo which looks like Recchi just had been hit by a truck.

Michael Ryder

Ryder chipped in with a solid post season performance. 8 goals and 9 assists have fans thinking he may be back to his early career form.

Tyler Sequin

Seguin showed some real flashes of brilliance this post season (6 points in 2 games) and then fell off with 1 point in his other 11 games. I think he has the potential to be a Marc Savard type player and much like Savard he may take a little more time to grow into that type of player. Julien is going to have to give him minutes to grow and he will need to adapt a little more to NHL calibre play if this prediction is going to be true.

Congrats Boston and bring on the NHL Entry Draft!