Punching Out...

Ray Emery
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory #288

The Razor's Edge

Ray Emery was known as a goaltender who seemed to enjoy fighting - Participated in countless brawls, often squaring off against other players (including non-goaltenders). He would even don a few masks featuring boxer Mike Tyson.




Backstopped the Ottawa Senators to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007 (wearing the oldschool jersey number 1).

Was credited with a Stanley Cup win as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013 (a season in which he posted a ridiculous 17-1 record).

Shared the 2012-13 Jennings Award (fewest goals scored against) with teammate Corey Crawford in Chicago.


NHL Career: 2002-2015:
145 wins, 86 losses in 287 career games.
Posted 16 shutouts with a 2.70 Goals Against Average.

(Ottawa, Philadelphia, Anaheim, Chicago, returned for two additional seasons in Philadelphia.)




In July of 2015, Ray Emery jumped into the water for a morning swim and did not resurface.
His death officially ruled "non-criminal" with a mention of "misadventure".

Granted, the incident occurred in the offseason, and he did embrace somewhat of a partying lifestyle which one could draw endless speculation from. But there's just something about a 31-year old athlete kicking off during his morning workout that doesn't sit right...

Ray Emery
2009-10 Upper Deck Victory #288
(card back)

Back to the 2009-10 Victory cards, trying to make sense of which cardsets they fit into...

2009-10 Upper Deck Victory
Total Cards: 250

This being card number 288, I had to scratch my head for a moment...

Back of the card says 2009-10 Upper Deck Victory Series II.

Apparently, card numbers 251-350

"were inserted into Series Two packs of 2009-10 Upper Deck and are listed as an insert within that set."
-tcdb.com

Simply including the cards as a bonus would be sufficient...
But tuning a hundred base cards into an insert set within an unrelated set is needlessly confusing.

So is this considered a base card or an insert? Technically it's both - Although the odds of actually completing this particular base set are instantly discouraging.

Yet another brilliant marketing strategy as the NHL and Upper Deck do everything they can think of to maximize profits and drive away lifelong fans.

The NHL (and shareholders) would claim that it makes the items "more collectible".
I say it makes the collecting experience "less fun".
They would say that enjoying record profits is "more fun".
Who am I to argue.