I'm Lovin It...

Mike Richter
1992-93 Upper Deck McDonald's #McD-25

Randomly picked up a few complete sets of McDonald's NHL Cards.

Always enjoy obscure card sets like these. With 25-40 cards total, quality control and attention to detail are important: All the cards have to look slick and cool.

Flipping through the 1992-93 Upper Deck McDonald's All-Star set, and this card caught my eye...

All of the goalie cards in this set are great, but I absolutely love this action shot of Mike Richter making a save- On Brett Hull, of all people. The puck is still suspended in the air, almost rolling off his goal stick.

Hull would be named MVP of the 1992 All-Star Game, while Richter defeated Vancouver's Kirk Maclean to earn bragging rights as the top goaltender in the skills competition.

The goaltending duel between Richter and Maclean served as a preview of things to come - Their respective teams would meet for a showdown in the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals, one of the most epic series in the modern era.

Richter was still wearing a regular helmet, and would soon don the Statue of Liberty mask that he's best known for. A goaltender with a Cooper helmet in an All-Star Game is just something you just wouldn't see today...

Brett Hull
1991-92 Topps #303

Just for fun, here's a Brett Hull card with a Mike Richter cameo. Richter looks thrilled to have Hull skating through his crease...