The Presidents' Trophy

Boston Bruins, 1990 Winner
The Presidents' Trophy
1990-91 Pro Set #387

The Presidents' Trophy has been awarded to the NHL team finishing with the most points in the regular season (since 1985-86).

Many people are fascinated by the "Presidents' Trophy Curse". It's simply tougher to win in the playoffs than in the regular season.

(New York Rangers, 1992 Winner)
Presidents' Trophy
1992-93 Upper Deck #34

The first time I heard about "the curse" was when the 1991-92 regular season champion New York Rangers got eliminated in the 1992 playoffs. Not only did they lose in the division finals (to the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins), but to add insult to injury, the Rangers failed to make the Playoffs the following season (1992-93).

In 1993-94, the Rangers returned with a vengeance, and not only captured the President's Trophy, but also won the Stanley Cup Championship (ending a 54-year Stanley Cup drought).



Since then, other teams to successfully finish first in the regular season and go on to win the Stanley Cup are the Stars, Avs and Wings.


In recent history, the last team to win the President's Trophy and the Stanley Cup were the 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks - Although it should be noted that the 2012-13 lockout-shortened season was only 48 games... (Which seems to make for a more exciting season, fewer injuries and less burnout)

Blues Goalie Cameo...

Troy Murray
1990-91 Upper Deck #112

Didn't recognize the St. Louis Blues' netminder on Troy Murray's 1990-91 Upper Deck card...

It appears to be Greg Millen, who played over 600 NHL games. In 1988-89, Millen had a career-high (and league-leading) 6 shutouts.

Greg Millen also has his own card (#213) in 1990-91 Upper Deck.

Greg Millen
1989-90 O-Pee-Chee #137

Greg Millen's 1989-90 OPC card. Was curious about the number 8 patch on the sleeve of the Blues' jerseys, which I've learned was in honor of Blues legend Barclay Plager. (10 seasons as a player, and a few more as coach/assistant coach/interim coach)

Greg Millen
1990-91 Pro Set #56

This post goes full circle from Greg Millen appearing on a Blackhawks card, to actually being a member of the Blackhawks... Already had several copies of Greg Millen's Pro Set card. Pulled yet another one from a random re-packed pack.

Cards That Remind Me of Other Cards...

J.P. Dumont
2007-08 Upper Deck #8

Sometimes one card reminds me of another card.
A decade and a half apart, and from two different companies, this card instantly made me think of the one below...

Adam Graves
1991-92 Pro Set #67

An annoyed goaltender looking through the opposing player in his crease....

Cool Card: Paul Ysebaert (1992-93 Pro Set #41)

Paul Ysebaert
(1992-93 Pro Set #41)

Really enjoy the atmosphere of this card... It looks as if every single spectator is absolutely mesmerized by the game, and not distracted by their devices....

But the player featured on the card - I've often wondered... Who the hell was this guy? And how did he manage to lead the NHL in plus minus?

Being on a line with Sergei Federov definitely helps... Another example of how productive a decent player can be when paired with a superstar.

Leading the NHL's in plus/minus with +44 in 1991-92, Paul Ysebaert would ironically be -43 in with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1997-98, despite being the scoring leader on the struggling team.

WTF Hockey Card: Petri Skriko (1991-92 Pro Set #517)

Petri Skriko
1991-92 Pro Set #517

Another Pro Set card "highlight" involving obscure player Petri Skriko... (the other simply being a poorly aligned card within my collection)

On this card, one spectator in the front row appears to be having a great time... While the woman diagonally behind him is clearly reading a book while the game is in progress.

Looks like a freakin' novel. It's definitely not a game program or the back of a ticket stub that's she's reading...

Claude Lemieux
2002-03 Pacific #299

Kinda reminds me of this card... Which has become another one of my favorites... Couldn't care less for Claude Lemieux, but it's the fans in the background that make this an entertaining card to look at.

Most of them seem totally thrilled to be at an NHL game, and enjoy the battle taking place in front of them...

Except for the cold, disinterested blonde who's gazing off into the distance. I bet she's no fun at all. Kinda reminds me of that bitch Ceilia Hodes from the TV series Weeds.

Men in Black Masks (A. Raycroft, J. Blue, D. Berthiaume)

Andrew Raycroft
(2001-02 Be a Player #125)

Nothing screams "I just got traded" than a plain white goalie mask. (Might as well paint the word "Noob" on your helmet.)

Perhaps some goaltenders find they can track the puck easier with a white cage shield than a black one. But as far as the helmet goes, black just looks so badass and mysterious... Plus, it goes with everything.

I've managed to find three goaltender cards that feature goaltenders wearing plain black masks... Sometimes it's because it's what they wore until they got a painted mask... Other times, it's just what they seemed to prefer to wear throughout most of their career.

Before getting a mask with a killer paint job, Andrew Raycroft sported a plain black mask. The pads aren't trade proof, but that's a completely separate issue.

John Blue
(1993-94 Topps Premier #209)

John Blue gets traded to the Sabres, no big deal. He can still wear the same mask he wore with Boston. Although with Buffalo, he swapped the yellow cage for white (even though yellow coincidentally fit with Sabres' colors at the time).

Daniel Berthiaume
(1990-91 Pro Set #454)

Daniel Berthiaume kept the black motif when he was traded from Los Angeles to Boston... And then Ottawa...

Maybe he'd add a few small decals of the team logo to his black mask, but that's about it... Being traded makes you say "Fuck this shit".

(He began with the Winnipeg Jets, and actually did have a blue mask with red stars painted all over it)

WTF Hockey Cards: Minnesota North Stars (1991-92 Pro Set)

Dave Gagner
(1991-92 Pro Set #108)

Following their surprise run to the 1991 cup finals, the Minnesota North Stars decided to jinx themselves by ditching their green/yellow colors and logo.

(Likely a done deal before the playoffs even started. The following year, after winning the cup, the Penguins said "Hey what a bad idea... Let's try it!")

The North Stars took to the ice on the 1991-92 season wearing "STARS" on their jerseys with a black/gold/green.

The 1991-92 Pro Set hockey cards in Series I feature the old North Stars logo and uniforms... Many of them taken during the 1991 Stanley Cup Finals against Pittsburgh.










For Series II, they had enough time to get player photos with the new black & gold uniforms, with the new "STARS" logo above the player name on the card front... (It's easy to forget that they wore these uniforms for two more seasons in Minnesota before moving to Dallas for the 1993-94 season.)

Rob Ramage, Craig Ludwig
(1991-92 Pro Set #407, #411)

Just happened to notice a variation among the cards that I have...
Some of the Series I cards have the updated team logo, even though it's the exact same photo of the player wearing the old jersey. (Nevermind the fact that one of the Hanson brothers can be seen in the background)

Dave Gagner
1991-92 Pro Set #108
(English version, French version)

Seems as if the French version uses the newer, updated Stars logo on ALL the cards, including Series I.... Technically makes the English cards erroneous for having the incorrect logo that doesn't match Series II...

But it just looks odd when the team logo doesn't match the jersey in the photo. Seems kinda strange that they'd even go through the trouble of going back to change the Series I cards it in the first place.



I've stumbled upon a few French cards, but they're hard to spot... For the most part they look identical... Glance at the back and you might not even notice.

Dave Gagner
1991-92 Pro Set #108
(card back, French version)

Dave Gagner
1991-92 Pro Set #108
(card back, English version)

The occasional player has an accent in their name, which is about the only way to distinguish the French cards from the front.

Martin Gelinas
1991-92 Pro Set #66
(English version, French version)

Always neat to get an insight into how stuff is made...

Bart Simpson learns to how make a fine wine.
(The Simpsons Season 1, Episode 11)

WTF Hockey Card: Troy Loney (1990-91 Pro Set #237)

 Troy Loney
(1990-91 Pro Set #237)

Always noticed the absolutely huge yellow shoulder digits on Troy Loney's jersey in this photo...

I believe he's the only Penguin to be wearing a jersey like that in this set.

Starting in 1988-89, the Penguins wore black numbers located further down, on the yellow part of the sleeve.

Since Loney had been with the team for a few years, it's possible the photo is from 1987-88 or even the 1986-87 season.

Zarley Zalapski
(1990-91 Pro Set #242)

Since the cards were released in 1990, a good number of photographs were taken during the 1989-90, with many of the Penguins seen wearing the "All-Star" patch, for the All Star Game taking place in Pittsburgh that year.

Being Pro Set's first year in hockey cards, it's not like anyone was going to notice if they used a few outdated photos... (There were too many other mistakes to worry about!)

At one time, it was common practice to use a photo that was two or three seasons old... But the hockey card market has become so fierce and competitive, if they pull something like that today, the consumer will to rip into them for not using the most recent photo they could get their hands on.

Mario Lemieux
(1990-91 Pro Set #236)

Even superstar Mario is missing the "All-Star" patch on his shoulder. Although the photo could be from a pre-season game or from the previous season (1988-89).

WTF Hockey Card: Alexander Godynyuk (1991-92 Pro-Set #563)

Alexander Godynyuk
(1991-92 Pro-Set #563)

Alexander Godynyuk was a defenceman, which makes it all the more strange that he would be wearing number 93 with Toronto... With this exception, I cannot think of another defenceman who's worn a number higher than 77.

Always thought it was kinda ironic because Doug Gilmour (who wore 39 with Calgary), chose number 93 after being dealt to Toronto. Gilmour would famously wear 93 for the rest of his career.

I figured number 39 simply wasn't available in Toronto at the time, and assumed it was the common act of reversing the digits...

But it seems as if no one else playing for Toronto wore number 39 in this era. (Godynyuk would however wear 39 for a season with the Florida Panthers)

Doug Gilmour
(1991-92 Pro-Set #34)

Gilmour and Godynyuk were among eight other players involved with the infamous ten-man trade, the largest body swap in NHL history.

The more players involved in a deal, the more likely that some will wear each others' numbers...

Yet, only 17 players have ever worn 93.
(This statistic gets skewed by the current "I want to wear my birth year as a jersey number" phenomenon)

Five active players (Bennet, Nugent-Hopkins, Vesalainen, Voracek, and Mika Zibanejad) all wear 93.

Doug Gilmour
(1992-93 Pro-Set #184)

The most famous players to wear 93:
Franzen, Gilmour, Nedved, and goaltender Darren Puppa.

Other players who briefly wore 93 when their usual number wasn't available:
Doug Weight with the New York Islanders (2009-2011)
Nikolai Zherdev with Philadelphia (2011)
Mike Cammalleri with Calgary (2012)
Scott Gomez with St. Louis (2016)

WTF Hockey Card: Dan Marouelli (1990-91 NHL Pro-Set #692)

Dan Marouelli
1990-91 Pro Set #692

This is a rather memorable hockey card, and it's become one of my favorites. As you can see by the sharp corners and pristine edges, I treat this card with the same respect as I treat every official.

Nevermind the fact that cards for coaches and referees is already kinda fucked up in the first place... This is the only hockey card I know of that shows players engaged in an actual fight. Whoo! Gratuitous violence!

Not sure how it got approved for printing, because the I thought NHL doesn't want to promote fighting in the game. I'm sure something like this wouldn't happen today.

It would be interesting to know who the combatants are...
With a Chicago Blackhawks jersey and the letter "P", Mike Peluso is my best guess... Although he only played 2 games for the Hawks in 89-90, he did receive 15 penalty minutes...  Pretty sure the other guy is a member of the Minesota North Stars.

Now that I think about it, aren't the Linesmen normally responsible for separating the fighting players after they've tired themselves out?
Marouelli has the orange arm bands of a Referee, not a Linesman...

Joe Reekie
(1993-94 Topps Premier #433)

This little disagreement between Joe Reekie and Dallas Drake is the closest thing I've found to anything that resembles another fight on a hockey card....

WTF Hockey Card: Joe Mullen (1990-91 NHL Pro-Set #343)

Looking through old hockey cards, it's hard to find ones that are perfectly centered... Some designs lend themselves to more leeway than others. As long as the centering is decent, it'll do if I need it to complete a set...  But this has to be the most off-centered card in my collection...

Joe Mullen
(1990-91 NHL Pro-Set #343)

In this Joe Mullen All-Star card from 1990-91 Pro-Set, you can see just how far the card was cut to the left... Mullen's number 7 is almost at the right edge... And on the the left side, the edge of another card's photo can be seen.

Joe Mullen
1990-91 NHL Pro-Set #343(Card back)

Looks worse on the back. The card itself isn't even square! The Pro-Set, NHL and NHLPA logos are even sliced through. Normally it would piss me off that one of my favorite players' cards is screwed up like this...

Joe Mullen
(1990-91 NHL Pro-Set #343)

Fortunately, I have a better quality double of the same card in my binder. In the bottom right corner of the photo is the opposing player's leg that can be seen on the bottom left of the defective card.

What would normally be an undesirable piece of cardboard becomes an oddity within my collection, with a cool insight into how the cards were made.



Probably the next worst cut card in my Pro Set collection is this one...

Petri Skriko
(1990-91 NHL Pro-Set #306)

The card is square, but poorly top aligned. The circle for the team logo and the NHL logo just barely avoid being sliced. The bottom of the card even has part of the yellow stripe from the card beneath it on the sheet.

Petri Skriko
(1990-91 NHL Pro-Set #306 card back)

The card number narrowly avoided being chopped... As did the Pro Set logo.
On the far right, is just a tiny portion of the black circle that surround the player photo.

1990-91 NHL Pro-Set: The Errors & Mistakes...

Taking a look at some of the errors and inconsistencies within my collection of 1990-91 Pro-Set.

I absolutely love this set. Not sure if it's the colors or the magnitude of players. Even if it is a little corny by today's standards, it's undeniable that infamous sets like this one explored new territory, and helped shape the hockey card industry.

Ray "Borque"

(#1 Ray Bourque)

Even the first card of the set has a typo... At least they spelled his name correctly on the back of the card.

Another Misspelled Name

(#7 Garry Galley)

An extra "r" for Gary's first name on the back of the card.

"Goalie Goals"

(#9 Reggie Lemelin)

According to Reggie's stats, he's scored over 5,000 goals in his career. Pretty impressive, especially for a goaltender. That's what happens when player headers are listed over goalie stats.


Wrong Player Photo

(#54 Dave Manson ERROR, #54 Dave Manson CORRECTED)

This is Dave Manson's card, but the player pictured is actually Steve Konroyd, even on the back. A corrected version of this card was issued.

Change 'Em Up

(#175 Peter Stastny, #176 Patrik Sundstrom)

Teammates Peter Stastny and Patrik Sundstrom appear on each others cards... They accidentally used Stastny's photos on Sundstrom's cards and vice versa. The mix-up occurs on both the front and back of the cards.

I'm not sure if the error was ever corrected... Just for fun, here are the following year's cards from 91-92 Pro-Set.

1991-92 Pro-Set
(#141 Patrik Sundstrom, #143 Peter Stastny)

Kelly Buchberger / Pat Murray

(#441 Kelly Buchberger / #630 Pat Murray)

This card is supposed to be #441 Kelly Buchberger...
But on the back, it's card #630 Pat Murray




Wrong Jersey Number

(#495 David Shaw, #557 Scott Arniel, #613 Mike Craig)

 Several cards display the wrong player number.

"Upside down" cards...

(All Star Cards #361-369)

The card backs are facing the wrong way on several cards, including All Stars #360 Brian Propp, and #366 Pierre Turgeon. Since the backs are displayed sideways, you only really notice them when they're displayed in a binder with other cards.

For a more comprehensive list of the errors and variations within this set, check out this page:
1990-91 Pro Set Hockey Errors & Variations: Ongoing Checklist

1990-91 NHL Pro-Set: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly...

(#421 Jiri Hrdina)

There was just something about the 1990-91 Pro-Set hockey cards. Inconsistencies, tacky color schemes, coaches and referees, this 705 card set was absolutely insane. Series I featured cards 1-405, with the remainder (406-705) found in Series II.

Full of mistakes and glaring errors, somehow this fun set has an enduring charm that makes it one of my favorites. Featuring virtually every player from superstars, fighters, and fourth string goaltenders, this was the set that really lets you get to "know" all the gritty nuts and bolts that make up a team.

Rules of Enforcement

(#178 Ken Baumgartner,  #419 Rob Ray)

Despite retiring a decade and a half ago, the Rayzor is still the all-time penalty minute record holder for the Bufalo Sabres. Perhaps the best highlight footage is him beating the shit out of a foolish fan who decided to jump onto the ice to challenge the team. Absolutely priceless. (apparently one of the guy's buddies dared him to do it on a bet)

Trade mugshots. Everyone turn to the right.

(#40 Joe Mullen, #205 Chris Nilan, #464 Chris Dahlquist,  #474 Sylvain Turgeon)

Who can forget those ugly yellow/black trade stripes... Mullen, Nilan and Turgeon all have update cards in Series II, which features several players with their new teams.

There are still some decent looking cards in 90-91 Pro-Set.

A few of my favorites:

(#47 Mike Vernon, #58 Jeremy Roenick, #60 Al Secord ,  #79 Steve Yzerman)

And the Notable Rookies:

(#598 Ed Belfour, #604 Sergei Fedorov,  #632 Jaromir Jagr)

An update card for Chris Chelios in Series II, reflecting his recent trade to Chicago.

(# 147 Chris Chelios with Montreal, #427 Chris Chelios with Chicago)

Bryan Trottier also gets an update card after joining the Pittsburgh Penguins

(#192 & #511 Bryan Trottier)

Am I the only one who thinks that Bernie Nicholls looks like Nicholas Cage?

(#204 Bernie Nicholls)

Still on my 1990-91 Pro-Set Wish-List: #105 Ron Francis, #118 Wayne Gretzky, #125 Larry Robinson, #246 Dan Gillis (Error Card with bloody nose), #508 Joe Mullen (update card with Pittsburgh) #636 Mats Sundin RC