5 Years and 23.35 Million Buys You This!

Kyle Palmieri's autograph and the 30 goals and 57 points he put up last season. Of all our free agents, he was the one I wanted us to sign the most and we proved we really wanted him and I'm pleased he signed today. We had a chance to qualify him and force him to stay restricted but we didn't, showing him that he can choose to stay. Then we gave him oodles of time to decide and we even offered arbitration but in the end all sides are happy and we have his services for the next 5 plus years.

10-11 The Cup Rainbow Gold Kyle Palmieri Patch Auto Rookie /51

When we traded for Kyle last season, I picked up a couple cards of his in the hopes that he would have a great season and I could land a card or two before any increase in demand occurred. While I am not sure if the demand is any greater, I am pleased to have been able to stretch my 15 dollars I had budgeted to land the Rainbow version of his The Cup rookie. One of the reasons I landed it for so cheap is the plain white swatch, but the print run more than makes up for it in this collector's eyes. If Kyle is able to duplicate his results from last season for the next few years I would say Devils fans are in for a special treat in the win column. Thanks for agreeing to a great contract Ray and Kyle and lets see what else Ray has planned for this off season.

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!

Contest at Plaschke, Thy Sweater Is Argyle

Check it out if you haven't already! The time is nigh!

http://plaschkethysweaterisargyle.blogspot.ca/2016/06/contest.html

11-12 Titanium Rookie Reserve Brett Connolly Patch Auto /15

Well today is Canada Day or Free Agent Day in the NHL world. I have always loved that these two days have generally coincided on the same day in recent years. My birthday is around this time and apart from a 2 years ago, I have generally had very good luck on birthday boxes and last year was no exception. I picked up a couple boxes and did well on them including a box of 11-12 Titanium. I pulled some star jersey cards of guys like Giroux and Weber but the best part of the box was this hit:

11-12 Titanium Rookie Reserve Brett Connolly Patch Auto /15

Perhaps my best Connolly hit I have ever pulled. The piece on the left is white jersey with some white and blue patch and the right piece is all silver and sparkles rather nicely in the sunlight! This was my first Rookie Reserve card from the set which has auto jersey /100, auto patch /15 and auto "patch" /10. I have since picked up the Brett Connolly /100 and /10 and believe it or not, the /15 card is by far the nicest. My /10 which claims to be a patch is really just a seam swatch and the /100 are just jersey swatches with an auto. All three are great together and I will be sure to post them up all together eventually.

Boston decided not to qualify Brett Connolly with an extension which means one of two things. One is they feel they can resign him without giving him a raise. The other is they are willing to let him walk as a UFA which means that the Devils or any other team can sign him. I do hope he give him a shot since we are lacking in experienced wingers and I think he'd be great to help the new rookies transition over and be very productive in our lineup. Not likely to happen, but a collector and fan can dream. Wherever he signs, I do wish Brett the best of luck and I will keep cheering him on.

If I Were An NHLer I'd Be....

Nick Backstrom (not the goalie). Why Nick Backstrom I am sure a few people are wondering and perhaps the rest will just skip down to my new Backstrom cards and I'm cool with that...go ahead.




Still here? Ok, of all the NHL players, the one with the most skill and flies the most under the radar in my opinion is Nick Backstrom and I believe that is what I'd likely be like if I had his skill and position in the league. Apart from a small allergy medication mistake, he has been a model player and perfect teammate. He lets Ovechkin take all the attention and he quietly performs at a high level away from the spotlight. Of all the current active players, Backstrom ranks second in career assists per game (0.73) and 7th in points per game (0.98). Sure having Ovechkin helps one's stats but I am a firm believer Ovechkin equally benefits from their relationship and on a couple of occasions they finished within a handful of points of one another in scoring. With that all being said, Backstrom isn't a floater and knows how to compete and both ends of the ice and sadly isn't recognized for all that he does which only adds to my personal appreciation. Neat fact, for 6 of his 9 NHL seasons, he has appeared on some ballots for the Selke award. His best finish was 10th in 2009-10, perhaps like Nick Lidstrom the recognition will come later in his career when writers see him for who he truly is, an outstanding NHL Centerman.


07-08 OPC Premier Nicklas Backstrom Auto Rookie /299

Here is a nice 4 swatch piece of player worn jersey with an on card auto. Much like the Patrick Kane I shared earlier it is a pretty nice card if you ask me. One thing I always wished I could have done is picked up a pack of OPC Premier but sadly the price point was hard to justify. The good news is many of the big names (and there are many) can be had for fantastic prices for collectors who are willing to wait. If memory serves me right I landed this for the price of a blaster shipped which was a steal for a fan like myself.

Here's the backside which has the larger photo of Nick. Again stats or vitals would have been nice but I have his Young Gun if I want that info I guess...or the internet.

So question for those who are interested in playing, what NHL'er do you feel represent the player you would be or do you feel embodies how you'd play the game?

Want more Backstrom, here was my post on his Sweet Shot rookie from a while back.

A Pair of Blackhawks Sweet Shot Rookies

Surprise surprise, here I am with more Sweet Shot rookies. What can I say, I am a sucker for these cards and I believe they both are worth sharing so here they are!


07-08 UD Sweet Shot Patrick Kane Rookie Jersey RC /599

First up is the 2015-16 Art Ross Trophy Winner Patrick Kane. This card is numbered to 463/599 and has three swatches including a two colour swatch. 

What I like most about the backside of this card is you get a small "did ya know" in the upper right hand side.


07-08 UD Sweet Shot Jonathan Toews Rookie Jersey RC /599

While I do like Patrick Kane, I am an even bigger fan of Jonathan Toews. I would totally add him as a PC if I could afford to but sadly his stuff is a little rich for my blood so I have to pick and choose what to add from him. Love this card though with all three Hawks colours appearing on the front.

Here is what the card looks like from the back side of things. You have to love that Team Canada saw so much potential in Toews that they put him on the roster before he even played in an NHL game given the number of NHLers who could have played in his spot.

Thanks for stopping by hopefully you aren't getting too tired of the Blackhawks cards of late, I promise something different next time!

A Beau-utiful Trade.

It wasn't exactly the draft I was hoping for, as the Coyotes grabbed Clayton Keller who by some projected would have been available in the 11 slot when the Devils were picking but clearly he was a bigger talent than some expected. So when it came time to select the Devils felt they could get their man in the 12 slot (Michael McLeod) and made a trade with Ottawa. That trade got them an addition 3rd round pick (Joey Anderson) and allowed us to trade our 77th pick from the 3rd round since we now had three choices in the round for Beau Bennett.

Beau hasn't really found loads of NHL success which is probably why the Penguins felt comfortable trading away a former 1st round pick for a 3rd rounder but New Jersey is a special place where people who haven't been successful find success (Devante Smith-Pelly, Kyle Palmieri etc) and others who have had success can't find it elsewhere (David Clarkson, Scott Gomez etc). Time will tell what Beau will be able to do in a Devils uniform but the cost (a 3rd round pick) seems like a very calculated risk to me and well worth the try. Beau was a fantastic junior player in the BCHL and I'm projecting 40 point seasons in his future which is an excellent return for a 3rd round pick.

 
I want to believe this is what Beau did when he heard about the trade! Welcome to the Garden State Beau.


Btw, Beau was born in Gardena California, kind of a neat coincidence.

Ladies and Gentlemen, your 2015-16 Art Ross, Hart and Ted Lindsay Award Winner...Patrick Kane

After so many seasons of having hot starts to only cool off or to have an injury limit Patrick Kane's season totals, he finally wins the Art Ross many projected he would win some day. Who would have thought all it took was a slow developing Russian winger to finally give him the offensive support to be able to go wire to wire. While Kane has steadily developed year after year, I believe he owes a great deal of thanks to Artemi Panarin who helped Kane reach the next level in terms of offense and in turn made Panarin the Calder winner and potentially a star for years to come.

Kane's offensive output this season has really pushed his cardboard prices up and thankfully I was able to land this one a while back before the spike in values happened. 

07-08 OPC Premier Patrick Kane Auto Rookie /299

Two sets I really love and are underappreciated in the 07-08 year are OPC Premier and UD Sweet Shot. This rookie has 4 swatches, on card auto and a respectable print run of 299 copies. All three are winners in my opinion and the book price isn't much different than his much beloved Young Gun.

Here's the backside for those who like that type of thing. I love the photo on the back is a larger and less cropped photo from the front but I dislike the lack of Patrick Kane info.

So what does Mr. Kane do this summer to prepare for next season? Hopefully he stays out of trouble and just trains and rests. What does Mr. Kane do for an encore next season? That is anyone's guess but given the chemistry him and the Breadman have I wouldn't be surprised if its a 4 way race for the Art Ross next season between Kane, Benn, Crosby and McDavid.

13-14 Dominion Gold Alex Galchenyuk Auto Rookie /25

Before the passing of Mr. Hockey, it was my intention to share this card next but alas losing a legend takes priority over brags and shares.

This particular card was picked up last year before the season started in the hopes that Alex Galchenyuk would have a break out season and I could either enjoy the break out or eventually use the card as trade bait. Well Alex held up his end of the bargain but potting 30 goals and hit a career high of 56 points. There were times where he just seemed unstoppable but there were a few stretches where he did have some cold spells. I am a firm believer that this is just the beginning of things to come for this kid and in a few seasons I believe he will be a consistent 80+ point guy and the people in the "La Belle Province" will be sporting his number 27 on their hockey sweaters.

13-14 Dominion Gold Alex Galchenyuk Auto Rookie /25

Not exactly a "patch" which is my lone disappointment with this card but otherwise it has everything on it that makes it a winner and I am pleased to have it in my collection. Is it available for trade? Perhaps, but in the words of many NHL GM's "I am not actively shopping it around". Like the growth Alex has shown this past season I am still hopeful that Nail Yakupov can do the same stuff his former teammate and friend has done.

Congrats Penguins and 1990-91 Pro Set Stanley Cup Hologram /5000

Another season in the books and this time it is the Penguins that raise the Stanley Cup. This one is their fourth in franchise history and the second in the last decade. In honour of their Cup win, here is a Stanley Cup!

90-91 Pro Set Stanley Cup Hologram NNO /5000

Holy crap, that scanned like.....crap. Well, I am going to say this card isn't mint and really isn't close. But it does look far better than that in person. With that being said, I find the 75th Anniversary Hologram to be a much much better looking card. In person I would say the card is pretty decent and more importantly another one crossed off my bucket list of white whales. Sadly the trade I announced fell through and I didn't let that deter me and I was able to sell the box I was going to trade and buy this card AND others so not bad if you ask me.

Here is the back side of the card. It is hand numbered and you can read a little history on Lord Stanley's Cup.

Thanks for checking in and I hope to share a few fun mail days I received in the past while! Congrats Pens fans, hope it is was a great ride!