Big Deal...

Zdeno Chara
2010-11 Upper Deck Artifacts #97

Hard to believe that big Zdeno Chara is now a member of the Washington Capitals...

As the largest player to ever play in the NHL, he was a force to be reckoned with.

He became the Boston Bruins' captain upon joining the team in 2006 (coinciding with the departure of Joe Thornton).

Zdeno Chara received the Norris Trophy as top defenceman in 2009, and helped lead the Bruins to a Stanley Cup Championship in 2011.

No longer his prime, and getting slower with every passing game, he's not quite ready to hang 'em up. He'll join fellow Czech Richard Panik in the Capitals' lineup, and will be 44 years old by the playoffs... At least they signed him for a bargain price. To Chara's credit, his plus / minus has steadily improved over the past five seasons.

After a decade and a half as captain, it will be strange to see him without the "C" on his uniform. Chara is associated with jersey number 33, and it seems to suit him. He wore number 3 with the Islanders and Senators before being traded to the Bruins.

Zdeno Chara
2009-10 Upper Deck #4

When Zdeno Chara arrived in Boston, his usual number 3 was unavailable due to it being retired in honor of Lionel Hitchman (playing career 1925–1934). Hitchman was actually the very first player in Boston Bruins' history to have his jersey retired.

Was surprised to learn that Chara briefly wore number 53 at the beginning of his career with the New York Islanders. (He'd switched to jersey number 3 by the time the Isles organization had decided to start wearing the infamous Captain Highliner "Fish Sticks" jerseys).

Game of Inches...

Kirk McLean
1995-96 Upper Deck #136

This is why I pick up stacks of random cards... To enjoy amazing images like this.

Kirk McLean gets some luck as the shot rings off the post, from Brett Hull of all people.

Even the St Louis crowd is taking in the excitement, some of them already celebrating what they think is a goal.

Kirk McLean
1995-96 Upper Deck #136
(card back)

Had often noticed a red "horse demon" appearing on Kirk McLean's mask sometime around 1995.

Kirk McLean
1995-96 Collector's Choice #91

This shot from 1995-96 Collector's Choice is offers another look at the creature.

Looking Out For Number One...

Craig Billington
1995-96 Upper Deck #112

Nobody cares about a stack of loose cards from 1995-96 Upper Deck. Since there are huge gaps in my collection, I'll snatch up random handfuls for the simple pleasure of sifting through them.

Craig Billington wore the oldschool number 1 jersey for every team he played for, including Boston Bruins.

Kinda find it strange to see jersey number 1 still being worn in Boston...

Most of the Original Six teams have retired the number 1 jersey, and honored it with the name of (at least) one former netminder.

Gerry Cheevers
1968-69 O-Pee-Chee #140

This got me wondering about Gerry Cheevers' number 30, not currently retired by the organization.

He won 2 Stanley Cups as a member of the Boston Bruins.

(Jersey number 30 has subsequently backstopped the Bruins to a Stanley Cup in 2011, worn by the now controversial Tim Thomas)

While Cheevers did briefly wear jersey number 1, he's more commonly associated with number 30.

Just happened to add this one to my collection a few days later.

Tiny Thompson
2004-05 In The Game Franchises #331

Also couldn't resist scanning this one, found in a re-pack.

Current goalie Tuukka Rask has recently become the all time wins leader in Bruins history, second only to this guy...

Hall of Fame goaltender Tiny Thompson helped the Bruins win their first ever Stanley Cup in 1929. He also won the Vezina Trophy four times during his ten-plus seasons in Boston.

It was a different era, and while the Bruins may never raise this guy's name to the rafters, the fact that his name still stands with 252 wins in a Boston uniform is pretty impressive... Especially since the NHL season was considerably shorter back then.

Just glad to have neat little tidbits like this.

Mikhail Shtalenkov
1995-96 Upper Deck #91

Only have a couple cards of goaltender Mikhail Shtalenkov.

This one caught my eye because of the action in front of the net. An opposing player has been knocked down, with a visible skate of another player in the mix.

Jim Carey
1995-96 Upper Deck #344

Blessed and cursed by sharing a name with a Hollywood celeb (albeit with different spelling). This earned him goofy nicknames like "The Net Dectective", but didn't stop Jim Carey from winning the Vezina Trophy as top goaltender in 1995-96.

He quietly left the hockey world around the turn of the millennium.

Jim Carey
1995-96 Upper Deck #344
(card back)

A better look at Carey's AHL Portland Pirates mask. The color scheme actually fit perfectly with the original Washington uniforms. He did get another painted mask with an eagle at some point.

1996-97 Topps NHL Picks - O-Pee-Chee

Bernie Nicholls
1996-97 Topps NHL Picks
O-Pee-Chee #131

Because the hobby wasn't nearly confusing enough at the turn of the century, this particular 1996-97 set had Topps produce the odd numbered-cards, while Fleer released the even numbers.

To make things even more interesting, this one's a shiny silver insert card from what I believe is an O-Pee-Chee parallel set.

An insert card, which appears to be a parallel of the main set. (As usual with shiny cards, the card looks much better in hand than scanned)

(card back)

My collection is without an actual card of Bernie Nicholls in a Sharks' uniform...

Somehow, they predicted he would score 75 points with his new team...

Coming off 51 & 40 point seasons with the Hawks, he managed 12 goals, 33 assists for 45 points in 1996-97.

2017 Eastern Conference Finals (Pittsburgh VS Ottawa)

Matt Murray
2019-20 Upper Deck #103

Although the series was ultimately decided in double overtime of Game 7, Game 5 of this series saw the Pittsburgh Penguins defeat the Ottawa Senators by a score of 7-0. Matt Murray of the Penguins earning the shutout with 25 saves.

Matt Murray is now a member of the Ottawa Senators, although I highly doubt that the team will have many of the same faces in three long churning years of the hockey business.

Looking at my page of cards from 2019-20 Upper Deck, half of them have already switched teams or are currently on the trading block.

It will definitely be a change of pace for Matt Murray to watching the NHL playoffs on TV instead of starting in goal...

Richter Scale...

Mike Richter / Bernie Parent
1991-92 Pinnacle #384

YES! Gotta love a card with an old time goalie mask on it...

Now have three of these "The Idols" cards from 1991-92 Pinnacle.


From the back of the card:

"If, like Mike Richter, you were an aspiring goaltender growing up in Philadelphia during the mid-'70's, the NHL player you modeled yourself after was Bernie Parent..."

Never knew that Richter grew up in Philly...

Mike Richter
1996-97 Ultra #110

Mike Richter, coming off a World Cup of Hockey Championship.

Have only a handful of from 1996-97 Fleer Ultra. So far, I like the cards I've managed to collect.

A relatively simple design, with the emphasis on the player's name and team colors with sporty lettering.

Mike Richter
1996-97 Ultra #110
(card back)

Back of the card design is OK, but could use a bit of improvement... At least they managed to include an alternate player photograph.

Random Re-Pack...

Hungry for hockey, I busted open a random re-pack from my stash.

Only one third were duplicates.  I take it as a win anytime the majority of these "value packs" contain cards that I don't already own.

Andrei Vasilevskiy
2019-20 Upper Deck Artifacts #15

A modern card of this season's Stanley Cup winning goaltender.
Vasilevskiy was voted best netminder the previous season.

Ever notice that guys who win the Vezina trophy eventually seem to backstop a team to a Stanley Cup?

(Tom Barasso, Ed Belfour, Dominik Hasek, Tim Thomas, Brayden Holtby)

This makes a total of three cards from this set in my collection.
One of the better Artifacts card designs, in my opinion.

Semyon Varlamov
2013-14 Panini Contenders #18

Thought I already had this card of Semyon Varlamov...
(Turns out I have his Panini Prizm card from the same year)

2013-14 Panini Contenders
Total Cards: 287

Overall, it's a half decent looking card. The Photoshop effect almost looks like a pencil drawing, which is kinda neat. Including the back of the card however, they've managed to use the same photo three times...

Eric Fichaud, Zigmund Palffy, Todd Bertuzzi
3 Star Selection
1996-97 Collector's Choice #323

New York Islanders card, featuring the combination of an unpopular team logo with a highly controversial player...

Have mixed feelings tucking this one into my collection, but every hockey card is a piece of history, pretty or not.