We Got Taylor Hall???

Hey all, I am sure you were expecting a post on this much much sooner but alas I was away out of town and the last post or two was scheduled and as a result this is the first chance I have had to post about the craziest 23 minutes in NHL history. I will focus on each aspect one at a time and I will start with the biggest impact to me personally....Taylor Hall!!

I don't think we fleeced the Oilers as much as some suggest, having seen Adam Larsson for the past few years and knowing his projection it is safe to say he will have a good and long NHL career and in Edmonton will finally get a chance to flash his offensive abilities. The Oilers also freed up some cap-space and they used that to sign Lucic and they have a free spot in the roster for Puljujarvi to grow and develop. I am sure everything is thinking why not Eberle or RNH? Well I am sure the Oilers would have preferred that in terms of talent but I am guessing there is also a chemistry aspect perhaps or Ray Shero had no interest in anyone other than Hall and finally got his man. In the end the Oilers will be a tiny bit better and maybe will get over the hump and in the meanwhile the Devils improve substantially and I am very very excited for this upcoming season (Oh boy, I'm starting to sound like a Leafs fan).


10-11 Certified Taylor Hall Auto Jersey Rookie /599

 I haven't shown this card off before and now is the perfect time. Love the set, love the actual game used swatch and Taylor will make a big difference for us this season. He played with Adam Henrique in junior and I am hopeful some chemistry still exists there when Adam scored 20 goals in 19 playoff games with Hall.

For those of you who have been long time readers might recognize these two cards that I still own and appreciate a tiny bit more after June 30th's trade.

10-11 Donruss Taylor Hall Rated Rookie - Toronto Expo /250

10-11 Donruss National Rated Rookies Taylor Hall /25

So what am I expecting as a Devils fan. Progress, if we can keep Cammy healthy and our forwards like Boucher and Blandisi continue developing I am thinking we can seriously contend for a wild card spot this year and break our playoff drought. As far as Taylor Hall goes, I am predicting 35 goals and 75 points for him...lofty but not unrealistic expectations for a player who has career highs of 27 goals and 80 points and is about to hit his prime years!

Quick and easy trade with Cardboard Conundrum

 Matt and I have done a number of trades over the years, here is another beauty.


 13/14 Prime Prime Duals Hall/Henrique /200

 Jersey cards have flooded the market in the last 15+ years and the value most carry is purely in the beholder. Some will fetch huge dollars but most are a year or two away from the dollar bin at your LCS. I really really wish that Panini had one that spelled out SPIT because I would have been ALL over that card. Sadly, these two former Windsor Spitfires will have to live with FIRE.


13/14 Prime Scott Laughton Auto Rookie /199

Scott hasn't taken off yet but I am hopeful someday he will be as good as Mike Richards was before he hit the skids. I once had a pretty cool Laughton that I sold and I was pretty keen on trying to get a new one so here it is.

Thanks for the quick trade Matt, I hope you needed some of those base cards ( I just mailed everything I had before as list was put up) and I especially hope you liked the Hornqvist Retro Rookie. I assure you, he is the real deal and with Crosby or Malkin he will put up some pretty huge numbers.

Loonies and Toonies Well Spent....According to me of course.

I raided my LCS's Dollar and Toonie bin again and found one or two cheapies online too. Here are the results, money well spent I think, tell me what you think.

10-11 UD Series 1 Young Guns Checklist

 These three are certainly off to great careers! Cost 2 bucks.

12-13 UD Artifacts Cody Eakin Team Canada /999

 Here is one for the PC. Cost a dollar.

07-08 Fleer Ultra Jaroslav Halak Rookie

 Halak attack! Took me 2 dollars to take him home.

96-97 BAP Pinnacle Jim McKenzie Auto

 Tough guy and tough auto! A former Devil for 196 games, won a Cup with us in 2003. A dollar? Yes please!

11-12 UD Mika Zibanejad

 Every time I say his name I think I am saying it wrong....He has loads of potential and is having a solid post-season! 2 Dollars...

10-11 SPX Jake Muzzin Rookie

 At the midpoint of the season some had him as a dark horse for the Calder. He isn't a finalist but he still might win something yet with the Kings. This was a dollar.

11-12 Limited David Rundblad Rookie Phenoms /299

 Another D-man prospect. This one had a tough season in the NHL and spent most in the AHL. I believe he will be a regular someday, 2 bucks on that bet.

02-03 Crown Royale Purple Patrick Sharp Rookie Parallel /799

 Patrick has been good the Chicago and Chicago has been good to Patrick. 2 dollars here.

05-06 UD MVP Zach Parise Rookie

Zach, I am no longer bitter about you moving. Here is the proof. I bought another one of your rookies...True it was only 2 dollars but remember...baby steps.

Thanks for reading, more coming soon!

Taylor Hall Rated Rookie - Toronto Expo /250

Living in Nova Scotia means a few things. One of the things is we don't get any cool card expos. Toronto has its fair share of expos and at those expos there are cool give-aways and autograph sessions that can make a person living out east rather jealous. 

eBay does allow me to at least buy things that I would have otherwise been given for free and Mr Hall is an example. Apparently this card was limited to 250 copies, but since it isn't numbered I guess I will never know for sure. However, this card is easily more rare than his Young Gun, his regular Rated Rookie and most other Taylor Hall rookies for that matter so I felt landing this for under 10 bucks was a bit of a steal. Of course, there are some that don't feel it is a true rookie and I respect that, but again beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Now that I have this card as well as Shattenkirk, Lehner, Omark and Fowler, it might be worth my time to try and track down the other 8 cards in the set.
Here is what the set looks like:

Cam Fowler /500
Derek Stepan /500
Linus Omark /500
Robin Lehner /500
Sergei Bobrovsky /500

Jeff Skinner SP /250
Nazem Kadri SP /250
Taylor Hall SP /250
Kevin Shattenkirk SP /250

Tyler Ennis SSP /100
Logan Couture SSP /100
Michael Grabner SSP /100
Tyler Seguin SSP /100