Sabres Preview: Martin Biron Autographed Card

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: Unlike in the distant past where I would post different texts on my personal blog (here) and my collectibles blog, I've been using a new format for the past couple of years, where I'll copy the same text on each one. As a father of two young kids, I just do not have enough time to write two separate posts per day on each blog. This year again, the entire scope of the analysis will take place first and the featured player will have a direct or perhaps indirect connection to what's written, below.

Caveats: At this point, despite training camp being underway, several players haven't found a team yet, (at least) three star players have active trade requests, and a few clubs are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much left to do.

Key Exits: Bowen Byram (D), Alex Tuch (RW), Devon Levi (G), Luke Schenn (D), Michael Kesselring (D), Jordan Greenway (LW), Anton Wahlberg (C), Logan Stanley (D), Tanner Pearson (LW), Zac Jones (D), Josh Dunne (C)

Key Arrivals: Louis Crevier (D), Olen Zellweger (D), Conor Sheary (LW), Dennis Gilbert (D), Jason Polin (RW)

Top prospects: Konsta Helenius (C, 20), Radim Mrtka (D, 19), Daxon Rudolph (D, 18), Ilia Morozov (C, 18), Brodie Ziemer (RW, 20), Vsevolod Komarov (D, 22), Adam Kleber (D, 20)

The Buffalo Sabres won the Atlantic Division last season, and I really would have wanted to slot them there again this year, but the element of surprise is gone, out the door with Tuch, Byram and Levi.

What makes their odds look good:
You know who is still there, though? This generation's Eric Lindros, Tage Thompson; the next Brendan Gallagher, Zach Benson; Shane Doan's also-good-at-hockey son, Josh Doan; not one but two former first-overall picks on defense in Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power; and a third wheel who would be a #2 on most teams and perhaps a #1 on some, Mattias Samuelsson.

Question marks:
How many games can Alex Lyon suit up in? How about Josh Norris? Peyton Krebs added 11 points in each of the last two seasons compared with the previous; can he do it again, and does he have another level after that as a former first-round pick (17th overall, 2019, Vegas Golden Knights)?

Outlook:
Things are looking up; I'm convinced last year wasn't a flash in the pan after missing out on the playoffs for 14 straight seasons. They'd had the talent, they just needed to piece it together, and they have under head coach Lindy Ruff. It's just that almost everyone in the Atlantic got better last summer, and while Crevier and Zellweger can make up for the loss of Byram, Schenn and Stanley in the long run, Tuch was a strong, quick, heavy and imposing 30-goal presence on the wing that hasn't been (and may never be) replaced.

Prediction:
4th in the Atlantic Division.

Martin Biron had perhaps brief but memorable moments as the main guy in the crease for the Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers, notably, but the Hall Of Fame class of goalies he's backed up is even more impressive: Dominik Hasek, Ryan Miller, and Henrik Lundqvist.

After retiring, Biron became (and still is) a broadcaster for the Sabres, in addition to appearing many times per week on the air in Canada on both RDS (in French, mostly in Québec) and TSN (in English). Here he is wearing the team's 1996-2006 black jersey (and terrific mask):

That's card #10 from Upper Deck's 2002-03 Artistic Impressions set, which he signed in blue sharpie.

Blues Preview: Two Dave Lowry Autographed Cards

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: Unlike in the distant past where I would post different texts on my personal blog (here) and my collectibles blog, I've been using a new format for the past couple of years, where I'll copy the same text on each one. As a father of two young kids, I just do not have enough time to write two separate posts per day on each blog. This year again, the entire scope of the analysis will take place first and the featured player will have a direct or perhaps indirect connection to what's written, below.

Caveats: At this point, despite training camp being underway, several players haven't found a team yet, (at least) three star players have active trade requests, and a few clubs are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much left to do.

Key Exits: Jordan Kyrou (RW), Jonathan Drouin (LW), Matthew Kessel (D), Justin Holl (D), Hunter Skinner (D), Akil Thomas (C)

Key Arrivals: Mason McTavish (C), Connor McMichael (C), Brandon Carlo (D), Ross Johnston (LW), Milton Gastrin (C)

Top prospects: Tynan Lawrence (C, 18), Justin Carbonneau (RW, 19), Adam Jiricek (D, 20), Maddox Dagenais (C, 18), Theo Lindstein (D, 21), Juraj Pekarcik (LW, 20), Colin Ralph (D, 20)

It seems like you can't ever really count these St. Louis Blues out; they last won the Stanley Cup in 2018-19, yet have not officially committed a rebuild since, missing the playoffs half the time, getting to the second round only once.

What makes their odds look good:
Newly-appointed captain Robert Thomas is a gem of a #1 centre, Dylan Holloway is becoming a first-line player, Jimmy Snuggerud may develop into a goal-scoring machine, McMichael will have more opportunity in St. Louis than he had with the Washington Capitals to show he can be more than a third-line player, and a team coached by Jim Montgomery always has a chance.

Question marks:
Can McTavish return on a trajectory that will lead him to NHL stardom, or will he fizzle like a meteor? Can that defense hold up? Is Jordan Binnington going to accept the backup role?

Outlook:
I believe Snuggerud, Carbonneau, Lawrence, Jake Neighbours and Dalibor Dvorsky mean a bright future for the Blues isn't far off; Holloway, Philip Broberg, Joel Hofer and Logan Mailloux are trying to bring that energy to the present, as complements to the recent past of Cup winners like Colton Parayko and Thomas.

Prediction:
5th in the Central Division.

Dave Lowry was a tough-as-nails bottom-six forward who had his heyday in the late 1980s and 1990s, but actually suited up in the NHL from 1985-86 until 2003-04. He scored 19 goals twice with the Blues (1989-90 and 1990-91), and reached the 40-point mark once, with St. Louis as well, in 1990-91, but his 10 goals (17 total points) in 22 games as his Florida Panthers made its way to the Cup Final in 1995-96 might have been his best stretch of play.

HockeyFights has accounted for 57 fights of his, with two seasons of 13 apiece in 1985-86 (143 total penalty minutes) and 1986-87 (176 PIMs) with the Vancouver Canucks. He didn't back down from anybody, having dropped the mitts in front of Marty McSorley, Joey Kocur, Basil McRae, and Shane Churla, but his most frequent customer was Steve Smith.

Over time, he built such a base of respect, and made his way to the captaincy of the Calgary Flames, circa 2000-02, but I will always mostly picture him with the Blues, and specifically in my favourite Blues uniform, which they were from 1987 until 1994. Here is the blue (away) version, on card #349 from Upper Deck's 1990-91 Series 1 set:

And here he is rocking the white (home) uniform, on card #370 from Topps' 1992-93 Bowman set:

He signed them in (fading) black sharpie when he was an assistant coach with the Winnipeg Jets (2020-22).

Video Of The Week: Bizarre

(product links go to sponsored Amazon products, previous post links go to related pages on my blog, news and place links go to source pages)

There was a time around the turn of the millennium when Eminem was on top on the world - not just in rap, but he led the entire music industry. His albums were consistently at #1 despite boy band / girl group pop dominance, and he took it upon himself the use his tide to rise everyone in his orbit who deserved it, notably via D12 (a.k.a. The Dirty Dozen), a collective of talented artists that also included Proof (deceased in 2006), Bizarre, Denaun "Mr." Porter (a.k.a. Kon Artis) , Kuniva and Swifty McVay (the latter two keeping the mantle alive to this day); Obie Trice was a fequent collaborator.

Many of these rappers, like Eminem himself, mixed wit, sarcasm, and humour with astute observations of difficult upbringings to create a brand of hip hop that was relatively unique in the mainstream, with Bizarre being the one who would usually push the boundaries of good taste with off-kilter references and associations, such as:

I'm not bisexual I'm an intellectual, transsexual, with one testicle
And I ain't saying shit just 'cause it rhymes, I got colon cancer - I'm dying

or

There’s no way I could be the gay rapper: I only fuck animals

Shock value was his calling card.

Cut to today, where he doesn't seem as alert as he used to be (his speed has slowed to a Notorious B.I.G. level), is still prone to mixing the funny with the braggadocio and reality-based texts, but with more cultural references and a lot less in-your-face shock. His new song Mercy is the second single off of Don't Cross The Street and is much better than the previous one, Amityville 2: This was directed by ad agency Mic Drop Media.

Ducks Preview: Leo Carlsson Printing Plate

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: Unlike in the distant past where I would post different texts on my personal blog (here) and my collectibles blog, I've been using a new format for the past couple of years, where I'll copy the same text on each one. As a father of two young kids, I just do not have enough time to write two separate posts per day on each blog. This year again, the entire scope of the analysis will take place first and the featured player will have a direct or perhaps indirect connection to what's written, below.

Caveats: At this point, despite training camp being underway, several players haven't found a team yet, (at least) three star players have active trade requests, and a few clubs are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much left to do.

Key Exits: Chris Kreider (C), John Carlson (D), Jacob Trouba (D), Mason McTavish (C), Radko Gudas (D), Petr Mrazek (G), Olen Zellweger (D), Ross Johnston (LW), Jansen Harkins (C), Jeffrey Viel (LW)

Key Arrivals: A.J. Greer (LW), Nick Jensen (D), Jeff Malott (LW), Laurent Brossoit (G), Travis Mitchell (D), Anton Wahlberg (C)

Top prospects: Roger McQueen (C, 20), Nikita Klepov (RW, 18), Marcus Nordmark (LW, 18), Tristan Luneau (D, 22), Stian Solberg (D, 20), Lucas Pettersson (C 20), Wahlberg (C, 20), Eric Nilson (C, 19)

The Anaheim Ducks' defensive meanness and overall depth took a major beating with the departures of Trouba and Gudas and the Philadelphia Flyers' $18M a year offer sheet to Leo Carlsson that Anaheim matched and susbequent slight overpayment on Cutter Gauthier (who scored 41 goals and had 69 points in 76 games last season) for six years at a $13.5M cap hit. It's ok to want to get paid - and good on you if you can back your team into enough of a corner that they acquiesce to your salary demands. But the fact remains that cap space is limited per season, and while it's expeected to be $20-30M higher in three years, it is at $104M this season, meaning these two forwards account for 30.29% of the cap to themselves, leaving less than 70% for the rest of the roster, which is ideally 21 guys. They made the playoffs last season and seemed to open a window, but the cap crunch has postponed the playoff contention window for at leas ta couple of seasons, and with Carlsson's deal leading to free agency after five years, their actual Stanley Cup contention will have to be in years four and five of that deal, so all moves from GM Pat Verbeek from now until then have to be with that timeline in mind, and most of them winners.

What makes their odds look good:
Carlsson was a second-overall draft pick in Connor Bedard's draft class, so he was essentially pencilled in to be the Jack Eichel to Bedard's Connor McDavid. The potential is there, he just hasn't been a point-per-game player in the NHL yet. Gauthier scored over 40 goals, Beckett Sennecke had a fine rookie season that he will need to build upon, Jackson Lacombe is an Olympics-level defenseman (Team USA, gold medal, 2026)Lukas Dostal is an Olympics-level goalie (Team Czechia, 2026), and despite the loss of Kreider, there are still a lot of dependable veteran forwards in Alex Killorn, Ryan Poehling, and Mikael Granlund.

Question marks:
Where will the grit on defense come from? Who's going to stop (or at least discourage) opponents from making a straight line to the slot for prime chances on Dostal, Ville Husso and Brossoit? What if the pressure is too big for the young guys up front?

Outlook:
Honestly, on paper, the Ducks took a big step back from last year which, combined with the San Jose Sharks' step forward, might cost them a playoff spot.

Prediction:
4th in the Pacific Division.

We've heard over and over again how the Carlsson offer sheet changed the NHL salary landscape, but I disagree. It was the largest pebble thrown in the river in the first few days of free agency, but let's keep in mind that becauise it was an offer sheet, it was not eligible to be used as a comparable for arbitration hearings, for example. Bedard's $15M cap hit deal was, and would have counted as next year's highest team-signed contract value as well as value ofr a deal one year removed from the end of an ELC, and also new value for high-profile captain. And if Bedard is worth $15M, then it comes to reason that Macklin Celebrini, off being named the IIHF's Player Of The Year and with far superior statistics at his age than Bedard, would be worth more, and thus $18.8M per year; and that in itself being the best defenseman in the world, a Conn Smythe and multiple-Norris winner (Cale Makar) would be worth close to the maximum allowed - and that even if it restricts the Colorado Avalanche's contention window for 2007-28 and 2028-29 before being a far easier percentage of the cap to handle in 2029-30, he's still very affordbale this season at $9M. There is a give that's just about equal to the take. I don't necessarily see that yet with Carlsson, who shot up to the stratosphere without having an elite individual season nor taken his team to any form of true success (no Cup, no Presidents' Trophy), no Olympic medal.

The Chicago Blackhawks never won another Stanley Cup after Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews went from roughly $6M per year to $10.5M; the Pittsburgh Penguins went to the Final in 2007-08 and won the Stanley Cup in 2008-09 before Evgeni Malkin reached Sidney Crosby's $8.7M cap hit and Kris Letang also got a significant raise, and they were irrelevant until the NHL salary cap went to $71.4M in 2015-16 and the Pens could afford to surround them with otehr quality players.

Which is to say I'm not blaming Carlsson and Gauthier for trying to earn what they feel they're worth; but perhaps they will come to regret going that far if the decision costs them wins, championships and success - assuming they're not just mercenaries or individualistic. Here is the yellow printing plate from Upper Deck's 2024-25 MVP set and It's Their Time sub-set:

Please forgive the COMC watermark; I pulled in on UD E-Pack, and I was in too much of a hurry to have it sent to myself.

This Week's Top 10s

(product links go to sponsored Amazon products, previous post links go to related pages on my blog, news and place links go to source pages)

Top 10 Songs:

10. MISTAKEN IDENTITY, Everlast (2026)
9. SCOTCH & POCHES, Bleu Jeans Bleu (2026)
8. MERCY, Bizarre (2026)
7. ALL THE THINGS SHE SAID, t.A.T.u. (2002)
6. GONE AWAY, The Offspring (1997)
5. DAI DAI, Shakira featuring Burna Boy (2026)
4. THE FATE OF OPHELIA, Taylor Swift (2026)
3. WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME, Olivia Rodrigo & Robert Smith (2026)
2. FABIEN K, Angine De Poitrine (2026)
1. FAUT QUE TU DISES WOW, Bleu Jeans Bleu (2026)

Capitals Preview: Rod Langway Autographed Card

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: Unlike in the distant past where I would post different texts on my personal blog (here) and my collectibles blog, I've been using a new format for the past couple of years, where I'll copy the same text on each one. As a father of two young kids, I just do not have enough time to write two separate posts per day on each blog. This year again, the entire scope of the analysis will take place first and the featured player will have a direct or perhaps indirect connection to what's written, below.

Caveats: At this point, despite training camp being underway, several players haven't found a team yet, (at least) three star players have active trade requests, and a few clubs are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much left to do.

Key Exits: Connor McMichael (C), Trevor van Riemsdyk (D), Brandon Duhaime (RW), Hendrix Lapierre (C), David Kämpf (C), Sonny Milano (LW), Brett Leason (RW/C), Milton Gastrin (C), Declan Chisholm (D)

Key Arrivals: Alex Tuch (RW), Jordan Kyrou (RW), Boone Jenner (C), Vincent Desharnais (D), Jonny Brodzinski (C), Josh Dunne (C), Justin Holl (D)

Top prospects: Cole Hutson (D, 20), Ilya Protas (C, 20), Oliver Suvanto (C, 18), Andrew Cristall (LW, 21), Lynden Lakovic (LW, 19), Terik Parascak (LW, 21)

The Washington Capitals have nearly completely overhauled their roster in the past two or three years, and most of those moves are net gains and pure positives, including and possibly starting with the addition of Pierre-Luc Dubois for the 2024-25 season, as he is thriving in this giant-sized forward lineup that includes brothers Ilya and Aliaksei Protas, Tom Wilson of course, Tuch, and long-tiem legendary captain playing his farewell season, Alexander Ovechkin.

What makes their odds look good:
This forward group can skate, bang, chase, bruise and plow through any team they come across, scoring 3 or 4 goals per game on most nights, with young guys like Ryan Leonard improving year by year and a highly-rated prospect group. Logan Thompson is the best Canadian goalie by a wide margin, and Charlie Lindgren is more than capable of handling backup duties. On defense, Hutson is looking like the real deal and worthy of sharing his older brother Cole's last name, while Jakob Chychrun has reached borderline elite status. GM Chris Patrick has the golden touch, and head coach Spencer Carbery looks like the second coming of Jon Cooper.

Question marks:
Are they satisfied with a 60-point #1 centre in Ryan Strome, or will they look to upgrade to knock the Carolina Hurricanes off the Metropolitan Division's top peg?

Outlook:
In the past 20 years, the Caps employed the best goal scorer in NHL history, a guy whose shot was so perfect that while everyone in the arena knew where it would come from, no team could nor goalie could defend; they won the Stanley Cup in 2018, then proceeded to bring youth in the team every year while always remaining good enough to either make the playoffs or come really close, without ever even thinking of going into a rebuild. As of now, they could stay put until their veterans all retire and will remain relevant for the next decade-plus. Not every expert has agreed with their moves, but the fact is that they have mostly worked out.

Prediction:
2nd in the Metropolitan Division.

The Norris Trophy gets a lot of flak for usually getting awarded to the highest-scoring defenseman instead of "to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position", which would be its official definition, but that isn't exactly true - sure, Erik Karlsson got it for a 100-point season with the San Jose Sharks in 2022-23, as did Paul Coffey with the high-flying Edmonton Oilers and lockout season Detroit Red Wings (58 points in 45 hames), but Tyson Barrie won the scoring title with the Oilers in 2020-21 and didn't get a single Norris vote (as a matter of fact, he has never received a single vote in his entire career), and Evan Bouchard had 95 points in 2025-26 and didn't end up a finalist either.

Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom won it seven times from 2001 until 2011, and one could argue he was more "perfect" than "offense-minded". Chris Pronger (1999-2000, St. Louis Blues) and Zdeno Chara (2008-09, Boston Bruins) were menaces in their own end as well as cannons from the blue line offensively, so I would consider them two-way "complete" defensemen, just like Zach Werenski (2025-26, Columbus Blue Jackets), Cale Makar (2022 and 2025, Colorado Avalanche), Victor Hedman (2017-18, Tampa Bay Lightning), Duncan Keith (2010 and 2016, Chicago Blackhawks), Scott Niedermayer (2003-04, New Jersey Devils) and Chris Chelios (1988-89, Montréal Canadiens, as well as 1993 and 1996 with the Blackhawks).

Drew Doughty (2015-16, Los Angeles Kings) is much more defensive than offensive, but not as much as Rod Langway (1983 and 1984, with the Capitals). The Secretary Of Defense was swift on his feet, despite standing at 6'3" and 218 pounds, and could end a play with a poke check, forcing an opponent against the board with steady positionning, or a clean hit. He was also one of the last players to be grandfathered in and be allowed to play without as helmet, as seen on card #197 from Pro Set's 1991-92 Parkhurst set, which he signed in blue sharpie:

On it, he's wearing the Caps' red (away) uniform, with his captain's "C" in view and the NHL's 75th Anniversary patch on the other side. In addition to his two Norrises, he was a First-Team All-Star twice, a Second-Team All-Star once, played in six consecutive All-Star Games and won the Stanley Cup with the Habs in 1978-79. He played internationally for Team USA.

Devils Preview: Two Autographed Stéphanie Richer Cards

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: Unlike in the distant past where I would post different texts on my personal blog (here) and my collectibles blog, I've been using a new format for the past couple of years, where I'll copy the same text on each one. As a father of two young kids, I just do not have enough time to write two separate posts per day on each blog. This year again, the entire scope of the analysis will take place first and the featured player will have a direct or perhaps indirect connection to what's written, below.

Caveats: At this point, despite training camp being underway, several players haven't found a team yet, (at least) three star players have active trade requests, and a few clubs are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much left to do.

Key Exits: Simon Nemec (D), Jacob Markstrom (G), Maxim Tsyplakov (RW), Angus Crookshank (C), Zack McEwen (RW), Paul Cotter (LW), Dennis Cholowski (D), Evgenii Dadonov (LW), Colton White (D), Juho Lammikko (C), Brian Halonen (LW)

Key Arrivals: Evan Rodrigues (C), Jesper Boqvist (C), Anthony Mantha (RW), David Rittich (G), Étienne Morin (D), Declan Chisholm (C), Ben Steeves (LW), Vladislav Kolyachonok (D), Riley Tufte (LW)

Top prospects: Alexander Command (C, 18), Anton Silayev (D, 20), Mikhail Yegorov (G, 20), Seamus Casey (D, 22), Lenni Hameenaho (RW, 21), Shane Lachance (LW, 22), Daniil Orlov (D, 22)

The New Jersey Devils are always so hard to pinpoint... They went from a sports-redefining defensive machine in the 1990s until the mid-00s to a high-scoring team with Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk in the late 00s and early 2010s to an up-and-coming juggernaut on paper that seemed to dampen in water in the 2020s; hopefully analytics-driven new GM Sonny Mehta can keep what works, improve weaknesses and get rid of the optical illusions to help his team reach the heights it was always supposed to when they drafted the likes of Jack and Luke Hughes, Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, and Dawson Mercer.

What makes their odds look good:
That offense, for sure. Hughes and Dougie Hamilton on defense, with four other serviceable NHLers. Jake Allen is a good 1B solution in net, likely to provide top-15 or top-20 goalie stats when playing 30 to 35 games a year.

Question marks:
What's Sheldon Keefe's shelf life under this new management, after coaching through the season that cost the previous GM his job and five very disappointing finishes with the Toronto Maple Leafs before that? What does it take for the Devils to be at least as good as the sum of their parts?

Outlook:
When I think they will take a step forward, they take a huge step back - usually because of injuries. When I have them missing the playoffs, they overachieve. Things seem to be looking up from where I stand, so make of that what you will.

Prediction:
3rd in the Metropolitan Division.

Only seven players in Montréal Canadiens history have scored at least 50 goals in a single season: Maurice Richard (the first in NHL history), Bernard "Boom Boom" Geoffrion, Guy Lafleur (six times), Steve Shutt, Pierre Larouche, Stéphane Richer (twice) and Cole Caufield last year.

People were wondering if Richer, as the team's last 50-goal scorer, had gotten in contact with Caufield to encourage him during his own race to 50, but Richer, remembering how difficult he found it as pressure mounted when he was chasing the mark, didn't want to break Caufield's concentration and add even more pressure. In 1987-88, Richer missed three games early in the season to an illness, and went into game #68 (of 80) with 40 goals, and scored four in that game before going goal-less for three straight, scoring one against the Winnipeg Jets, not scoring against the Chicago Blackhawks, and then missing two weeks with an injury, leaving him with 45 goals and just two games left, both against the Buffalo Sabres. A hat trick and a two-goal game got him to 50, but it wasn't easy.

That's why he waited until Caufield actually scored his 50th before reaching out in a phone call from Florida, where he currently resides.

After a 31-goal season in 1990-91 and perhaps a bit of a falling out with head coach Pat Burns, Richer was traded to the Devils with Tom Chorske for backup goalie Roland Melanson and All-Star centre Kirk Muller prior to the 1991-92 season. He would have seasons of 29, 38, 36, 23 and 20 goals in New Jersey at the dawn of the Dead Puck Era before the Canadiens brought him back in exchange for stay-at-home defenseman Lyle Odelein. The Réjean Houle years being tumultuous in Montréal, Richer was only back for a year and a half before being moved to the Tampa Bay Lightning. He would also suit up for the Detroit Vipers, and St. Louis Blues (25 points in 36 games to finish out the 1999-2000 season), took the 2000-01 season off, then came back with the Pittsburgh Penguins and a return to the Devils to finish his NHL career in 2001-02. He also suited up in the LNAH with the Sorel-Tracy Mission in 2004-05, putting up 8 points in 8 games.

He is a reserved man who has dealt with intense bouts of depression throughout his NHL career, which came at odds with knowing he had high-end skills (one of the hardest slap and snap shots of his era, to go with a power forward's size and speed, though perhaps not a willingness to battle the mid-1990s bears that populated NHL defenses in the day), wanting to be a difference-maker, and enjoying getting fans out of their seats. He knew what it meant to score 50-plus goals in a mad hockey market and wanted to be the guy who did it - not unlike the Seattle Gods of music from the late 1980s and early 1990s who made anthems for generations of fans and mostly loved playing live to them, but struggled with everything else in their daily lives. Here he is repping both of the Devils' uniforms, starting with the white (home) one on card #581 from Score's 1991-92 Score (Canadian Edition) set:

And here he is in the red (away) uniform, on card #152 from Fleer's 1993-94 Fleer Ultra set:

He signed them in flashy silver sharpie.

He won the Stanley Cup in 1986 (Canadiens) and 1995 (Devils), and reached the Final in 1989 with the Habs as well.

Golden Knights Previews: Alex Pietrangelo Jersey Card

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: Unlike in the distant past where I would post different texts on my personal blog (here) and my collectibles blog, I've been using a new format for the past couple of years, where I'll copy the same text on each one. As a father of two young kids, I just do not have enough time to write two separate posts per day on each blog. This year again, the entire scope of the analysis will take place first and the featured player will have a direct or perhaps indirect connection to what's written, below.

Caveats: At this point, despite training camp being underway, several players haven't found a team yet, (at least) three star players have active trade requests, and a few clubs are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much left to do.

Key Exits: Pavel Dorofeyev (RW), Reilly Smith (RW), Brandon Saad (LW), Colton Sissons (C), Kaedan Korczak (D), Keegan Kolesar (RW), Cole Smith (RW), Akira Schmidt (G), Ben Hutton (D)

Key Arrivals: Parker Wotherspoon (D), Victor Olofsson (LW), Marc Gatcomb (C), Ville Heinola (D), Adam Ginning (D)

Top prospects: Trevor Connelly (LW, 20), Juho Püparinen (D, 18), Carl Lindbom (G, 23), Lukas Cormier (D, 24), Mathieu Cataford (C, 21), Jakob Ihs-Wozniak (C, 19), Braeden Bowman (RW, 23)

No team other than the Vegas Golden Knights can lose two "brand-name" right-wingers and two more depth right-wingers withouut replacing them, with no young prospect due to take their place, and still be expected to finish at or near the top of their division - not because they're so strong at other positions (although they kind of are), but because the Pacific division might be the only one in hockey without an actual elite team to throne over it (or fight for the Presidents' Trophy).

What makes their odds look good:
Jack Eichel has become a 90-point elite two-way forward, Mark Stone can still complement him well for 60 games per season, Mitch Marner also fits that mold with even better playmaking skills, William Karlsson is back on track down the middle, and the top-four on defense is very strong. Plus, they have two capable goalies, and should they falter, GM Kelly McCrimmon will move swiftly to fix the issue.

Question marks:
What does Ryan Craig look like as an NHL head coach (and does it matter, see previous comment about the GM)? Who moves to the long-term injury list (LTIR) this year? What brand new shiny toy becomes available at the trade deadline and what package will the Golden Knights offer to get it?

Outlook:
Never count them out - they have been in the league for ten seasons and only missed the playoffs once, to say nothing of their three Stanley Cup Finals.

Prediction:
1st in the Pacific Division.

Speaking of LTIR, Alex Pietrangelo is not expected to ever play again, but the Golden Knights will have to decide whether they need him to be on LTRI before submitting their opening night roster, or go into the season with him on the cap and then put him on LTIR, which offers a little bit more flexibility.

Pietrangelo is a three-time All-Star Game participant, a three-time Second All-Star, a two-time Stanley Cup champion (2019 as captain of the St. Louis Blues, 2023 with Vegas), played in over 1,000 NHL games, and won World Juniors (2009), World Championships (2016) and Olympic (2014) gold with Team Canada. That is a padded resume (but probably not enough for a Hall of Fame nod).

Here he is playing in the 2024 Winter Classic:

It features a jersey swatch of the same off-white/beige as the one in the picture, but as Upper Deck is wont to do, they had to make the language on the card way too vague:

I mean, sure, the Winter Classic is an event, but it's also a regular-season game, so was it used in the game or not? And if not, was it in a practice, or modeling the jerseys during press interviews the day before? In any event, it's card #WCF-6 frokm UD's 2024-25 SP Game-Used Edition set and Winter Classic Fabrics sub-set.

Bruins Preview: Matt Bartkowski Autograph Card

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: Unlike in the distant past where I would post different texts on my personal blog (here) and my collectibles blog, I've been using a new format for the past couple of years, where I'll copy the same text on each one. As a father of two young kids, I just do not have enough time to write two separate posts per day on each blog. This year again, the entire scope of the analysis will take place first and the featured player will have a direct or perhaps indirect connection to what's written, below.

Caveats: At this point, despite training camp being underway, several players haven't found a team yet, (at least) three star players have active trade requests, and a few clubs are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much left to do.

Key Exits: Joonas Korpisalo (G), Viktor Arvidsson (LW), Fabian Lysell (RW), Andrew Peeke (D), Riley Tufte (LW), Victor Soderstrom (D), Michael Callahan (D), Matej Blumel (LW/RW)

Key Arrivals: J.J. Peterka (RW), Ivan Ivan (C), Jiri Patera (G), William Borgen (D), Connor Clifton (D), Brendan Gaunce (C), Brian Halonen (LW)

Top prospects: Dean Letourneau (C, 20), James Hagens (C, 19), Yuri Ivanov (G, 18), William Zellers (LW, 20), Matthew Poitras (C, 22), Georgii Merkulov (C, 25), Oskar Jellvik (LW, 23), Frédéric Brunet (D, 22)

First when Zdeno Chara retired, then when it was Patrice Bergeron's (and David Krjeci's) turn, the question was when the Boston Bruins would have to cut ties with their veterans and rebuild; yet they made it to the second rtound the following season, missed the playoffs the next, and lost a heavily contested series 4-2 to the Buffalo Sabres last year.

What makes their odds look good:
Never count the Bruins out, not with David Pastrnak, not with Jeremy Swayman, not with Charlie McAvoy, and not with Morgan Geekie last year, either.

Question marks:
Boston (GM Don Sweeney and President Cam Neely) sees top-six potential in Peterka, Fraser Minten and Hagens, which means that in the next year or two, they feel their top-nine will be able to rival the Florida Panthers'. We'll see - I just got my head around the fact that Geekie is a real, dependable 30-goal scorer.

Outlook:
They can finish anywhere between fourth and sixth seventh in their division through no fault of their own, the Atlantic is just that deep.

Prediction:
7th in the Atlantic Division.

The Bruins are the team that selected McAvoy 14th overall in 2016, behind Jesse Puljujarvi (4th, Edmonton Oilers), Olli Juolevi (5th, Vancouver Canucks), Alex Nylander (8th, Sabres), Tyson Jost (10th, Colorado Avalanche), Logan Brown (11th, Ottawa Senators), Michael McLeod (12th, New Jersey Devils), and Jake Bean (13th, Carolina Hurricanes).

They are also the team that had three consecutive draft picks in that same range in 2015 and only ended up with Jakub Zbořil, Jake DeBrusk, and Zachary Senyshyn.

Which is to say that their scouting staff is pretty hit-or-miss, which is how I felt when they acquired Matt Bartkowski from the Panthers with Dennis Seidenberg for Craig Weller, Byron Bitz and a second-round pick that ended up being Alexander Petrovic. Bartkowski was never an offensive force from the blue line, so he was expected to become a steady defender. The team did include him in their on-ice 2011 Stanley Cup celebrations, but left him off the Cup itself as he had only suited up in 6 regular-season games and none in the playoffs. He would never suit up for more than 64 games for Boston in any given year, and after 80 games with the Canucks in 2015-16, he would not suit up for more than 24 in an NHL season ever again.

Because of the time he spent with the Bruins (5 of his 11 NHL seasons), thatMs the team I think of most when I think of him; that, and the signed version of card #654 from Panini's 2011-12 Score set, Rookies And Traded and Hot Rookies sub-sets, that I got in a Presstine repack from a dollar store:

It shows him wearing the Bruins' black (home) uniform and features a blue-sharpied on-sticker autograph.

Jets Preview: Connor Hellebuyck Jersey Card

(team and product links go to sponsored Amazon products, player links go to related pages on my blog, news links go to source pages)

This will likely be the preface to all of this year's Season Preview posts: Unlike in the distant past where I would post different texts on my personal blog (here) and my collectibles blog, I've been using a new format for the past couple of years, where I'll copy the same text on each one. As a father of two young kids, I just do not have enough time to write two separate posts per day on each blog. This year again, the entire scope of the analysis will take place first and the featured player will have a direct or perhaps indirect connection to what's written, below.

Caveats: At this point, despite training camp starting today, several players haven't found a team yet, (at least) three star players have active trade requests, and a few clubs are currently above the salary cap, which means there is much left to do.

Key Exits: Jonathan Toews (C), Gustav Nyquist (RW), Colin Miller (D), Eric Comrie (G), Ville Heinola (D), Jacob Bryson (D)

Key Arrivals: Stuart Skinner (G), Mario Ferraro (D), Noah Gregor (LW), Jack St. Ivany (D), Henry Thrun (D)

Top prospects: Viggo Björck (C, 18), Brad Lambert (C, 22), Elias Salomonsson (D, 22), Brayden Yager (C, 21), Sascha Boumedienne (D, 19), Isak Rosen (LW, 23), Nikita Chibrikov (RW, 23), Colby Barlow (LW, 21)

Let's not kid ourselves - the entire Winnipeg Jets' season rests on whether star goalie Connor Hellebuyck gets traded, and what the return for him might be; he is currently one of three star players with very public active trade requests, and while it is generally believed his trade list is much larger than Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin's (three teams, all contenders, most tight against the salary cap), there seems to be no Canadian teams on it, making contenders such as the Montréal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers ineligible to offer assets for him, be they roster players, futures, draft picks, or a mix.

What makes their odds look good:
Three players with 30+ goals last season in Mark Scheifele (36, 103 points), Kyle Connor (39, 92 points), and Gabriel Vilardi (30, 69 points); one of the best all-around defensemen in the game in Josh Morrissey, and the best goaltender in the world (or what he is worth in trade chips) is a terrific starting point.

Question marks:
As much as I like both players, is there a better 2C option in the system or on the market than Adam Lowry or Vladislav Namestnikov? Should Skinner be given the reigns between the pipes, is this the year he finds consistency?

Outlook:
Pretty much this exact team finished first overall two years ago, and missed the playoffs entirely last year. With or without Hellebuyck, they should be half-way between those poles this season.

Prediction:
6th in the Central Division.

As expected, Hellebuyck didn't show up at training camp and was suspended by the team. And thus begins the chess match - or game of chicken. He is not slated to get paid until the regular season begins anyway, but in terms of performance, fellow star American goalie Jeremy Swayman missed training camp two years ago due to a contract dispute and had a very disappointing season trying to play catch-up, with a 22–29–7 record, 3.11 goals-against average, and an .892 save percentage. This is not out of the realm of possibility for Hellebuyck, even if he is the best at his profession. He could also declare himself ready to begin the season and rejoin the team on September 29th (the first day players get paid), at which point he would remain suspended for disciplinary reasons but it would be a way for the suspension to have an actual timeline - maybe a month, maybe a bit more, but I can't see the NHL allowing it to go longer than him forfeiting $1M of his $8.5M cap hit without forcing the NHLPA to step in with legal proceedings.

We are now three Vezinas, a Hart Trophy and an Olympic gold medal with Team USA (2026) removed from this fresh face, a promising fifth-round pick (130th overall in 2012) that ended up being, by far, the best of his class:

Notice he wore #30 in this photoshoot, probably the same one that this piece of light blue jersey is from, on card #FT-CH from Upper Deck's 2015-16 Ice collection and Fresh Threads sub-set.