Hockey cards, collectibles and culture
Those of you not from Chicago are probably unaware of the overwhelming–almost oppressive–amount of attention the Blackhawks have been getting during the playoffs. Especially during the Stanley Cup Finals. Continue reading “Blackhawks Mania Sweeps Chicago”
And now, the series we’ve all been waiting for…
Series: Chicago Blackhawsks (2-West) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (7-East)
My Prediction: Blackhawks in 5 games to win the Stanley Cup
Comments: Sweeps were rare in this year’s playoffs. Only the top-seeded Sharks got swept, being beaten in 4 straight by the Blackhawks.
Yes, the ‘Hawks certainly bring their “Eh Game” when playing great teams. They did sweep the Sharks, but needed 6 games to beat the Canucks and 6 to beat the Predators.
And the Blackhawks will need 5 to beat the Flyers.
No, it won’t be a sweep. The Flyers are good enough to steal a game from the Blackhawks, but not good enough to steal the series.
FYI, there’s still time to enter my Stanley Cup Contest.
Four teams enter, two teams leave…and the other two go to the Stanley Cup Finals!
Series: San Jose Sharks (1) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (2)
My Prediction: Blackhawks in 6 games.
What Actually Happened: Blackhawks SWEEP in 4 games.
Comments: This could end up being the only sweep in the 2010 playoffs.The games were close–being decided by only 1 or 2 goals–but the Blackhawks never seemed like they were going to lose.
And while I’m glad that my team won, I’m disappointed in the Sharks. The games were exciting…I guess I was secretly hoping for more of them.
Series: Philadelphia Flyers (7) vs. Montreal Canadiens (8)
My Prediction: Montreal UPSETS Philadelphia in 7 games.
What Actually Happened: Philadelphia won in 5 games.
Comments: Thanks, Montreal. Thanks for beating the two most exciting teams in the East, only to be beaten by one of the lamest. Oh, and if you haven’t guessed–I’m being sarcastic!
You killed all the giants, and now a dwarf has bested you for a trip to the Finals.
Chicago vs. Philadelphia? The same Flyers who didn’t make the playoffs until the last day of the season–and in a shootout, no less? This is who the ‘Hawks will face to win the Cup.At least if the Canadiens won, it would have been two Original Six teams in the Finals.
Granted, I like Chicago’s odds against Philly. They can–and should–win the Stanley Cup. But a Cup victory over a GOOD team would be more gratifying.
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Late Tuesday or early Wednesday I will announce my first contest on Puck Junk. Just got to scrounge up a few prizes first.
The Chicago Blackhawks have swept the San Jose Sharks. I’ve waited half a lifetime for this moment–for the ‘Hawks to return to the Stanley Cup Finals. The last time that happened was 1992, when the 17-year old version of me watched in horror as the team lost in 4 straight to the Pittsburgh Penguins. A disappointing end to an exciting year.
A few other notes about the Blackhawks…
Teeth 4 Keith: Duncan Keith lost
fourseven teeth in Game 4 against the Sharks. He still returned in the third period, and even answered everyone’s questions after the game. Sure, he sounded lispy, with the missing teeth and swollen lips, and woozy from the painkillers. But he handled the onslaught of questions well.
Yes, this is the only Niemi card I own.Pro Antti: Now that the ‘Hawks have made it to the Cup Finals, perhaps this will make all the anti-Antti Niemi folk pro-Niemi. There is no goaltending controversy, and no more doubts about Niemi. The ‘Hawks can win the Cup with a rookie netminder. Just ask Cam Ward. Or Patrick Roy. Or Ken Dryden.
Byfuglien? Damn Near Traded ‘Em!: Way back in November 2008, it was rumored that the Blackhawks were going to trade Dustin Byfuglien to the Washington Capitals for Michael Nylander. Eighteen months later, it is safe to assume that the Blackhawks organization are glad they didn’t engage in such stupidity. Nylander split this season between the AHL and Finland, while Byfuglien leads the ‘Hawks with 8 goals in the postseason–3 of them game-winners against the Sharks.
Stop Saying Chalmerson! As much as I like Mike Emrick, someone really needs to correct his pronunciation of Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson. Same goes for that other Versus announcer. It is pronounced YAL-mer-son, not CHAL-mer-son. Every time I hear “Chalmerson”, I think of The Simpsons for some reason. We need Eddie Olczyk to shout “Stop it right here!” and then Tellustrate the correct pronunciation.
See what I did there? Nice, huh?Speaking of Swedes…What happened to Kim Johnsson? If you recall, the ‘Hawks gave up Cam Barker for Johnsson and prospect Nick Leddy. Johnsson hasn’t played since March 13, and is believed to have sustained a serious concussion. I know the ‘Hawks are riding high now, but I’d still feel better if Barker was on the team.
“Serious” Extends Streak: Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews (aka “Captain Serious”) extended his playoff point-scoring streak to 13 games today. Two nights ago, he broke Stan Mikita’s team record, which was 11 games. That puts Toews in pretty good company.
Twelve wins down, 4 more to go. There’s still plenty of hockey to be played in Chicago.
And once the Blackhawks opponent for the Stanley Cup Finals is determined, check back later this week for Puck Junk’s first contest.
Back in October of 2009, I wrote my first letter to Upper Deck, returning a jersey card where the swatches didn’t match the photo. The card pictured 4 Minnesota Wild players, but two of the swatches used were from other teams (Nashville and Los Angeles).
Generally, I am lukewarm towards most jersey cards. However, getting a card that pictures a player with one team, but uses a jersey from another has been my number one collecting gripe.
In keeping my word, I sent back 3 mismatched jersey cards to Upper Deck…
I also sent back a Game Patch card because of a bent corner.
And here is the letter that I sent:
April 9, 2010
Dear Customer Service,
This year, Upper Deck has released a lot of great hockey cards. 99.9% of the cards that I have received in packs have been perfect. However, I have enclosed a few of the cards that have some flaw or problem. I was wondering if I could exchange them.
2009-10 Upper Deck Series 2 – UD Game Patch # GJ2-AH – Adam Hall 06/15
This has got to be one of the nicest cards I have ever pulled from an Upper Deck product. Unfortunately, the lower left corner is bent. Is there any way I could exchange this card for one without defects? Since the card is limited to only 15 copies, I understand if you cannot replace it. I would be willing to accept any other patch card that is free of defects.
2009-10 Fleer Ultra – Ultra Uniformity #UU-MF – Manny Fernandez
2009-10 Upper Deck Series 1 – UD Game Jersey #GJ-DC – Dino Ciccarelli
2009-10 Upper Deck Series 2 – UD Game Jersey #GJ2-RE – Ray Emery
Each of these uses a game-used jersey swatch that does not match up with the team that the player is pictured with. While I understand that the swatch on each card is from when the player was with a different team, this unfortunately has been one of the biggest drawbacks to collecting Upper Deck hockey cards. Take the Dino Ciccarelli card, for instance. If you are going to issue a card that features a piece of game-used jersey from his time with the Red Wings, why use a photo of him with the North Stars, and not the Red Wings? I know such matters are not controlled by Customer Service, so perhaps you could pass my feedback on to the brand team.
Anyway, I was also wondering if I could exchange these three cards for ones where the swatch matches the team depicted (e.g. a Bruins swatch on a Bruins card)? The player or team does not matter to me. Though I am partial to the Chicago Blackhawks, I would be happy with any replacements you could provide.
Thank you very much for your assistance in this matter.
Your customer,
Sal J. Barry
As you can see, I was very polite and clearly explained why I was not happy with those 3 jersey cards of Cicarelli, Emery and Turco.
I also suggested that they forward my feedback to the brand team, so that the people who actually make the decisions can see that hockey card collectors don’t like mismatched jersey cards.
About one month later, I got a reply…
Thank you for your recent replacement request. The Upper Deck Company strives to produce the highest quality trading cards on the market and we apologize that the card(s) you recently purchased did not meet these standards.
The “form letter” part of their response goes on for a bit, so I’ll cut to the chase…
This was in regard to the damaged Adam Hall Game Patch card. The replacement that they sent…
…was a Joffrey Lupul Game Patch card, number 1/15. I don’t think I’ve ever received a 1-out-of-anything before. I was pleasantly surprised with this card. Upper Deck is very good when replacing damaged cards.
But what about the other 3 cards of Ciccarellli, Emery and Turco? They were returned to me, with the following explanation at the end of the letter…
So there you have it. The NHL does not require–or does not care–if Upper Deck mismatches swatches and photos.
This bothers me because jersey cards drive up the price of a box of cards. If you compare a product like Victory ($1 per pack) and Upper Deck ($3 per pack) the only REAL difference is that you can get a few jersey cards in a box of Upper Deck cards. The jersey cards double or triple the price of a pack, but usually sell for only $3-$5 each. And putting the “wrong” swatch only makes the card harder to get rid of less desirable to collectors.
So I ask my fellow collectors to follow suit. If you get a crummy jersey card, send it back. Let Upper Deck know that you are tired of these garbage “hits” driving up the price of the cards you collect. Considering all the financial hardships Upper Deck has dealt with in the past few months, maybe they will finally listen to what their customers are saying.
It’s Round 3! The Final Four! The Conference Finals! Winners go to the Stanley Cup Finals, and losers have all summer to say “we were this close…”
Most of us knew that it would come down to these two teams.
Series: San Jose Sharks (1) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (2)
My Prediction: Blackhawks in 6 games.
Comments: The playoffs–probably this year more than any–have established that home ice advantage doesn’t really mean anything anymore. At least not since the lockout, and especially between two teams that finish a few points apart. In this case, the Sharks only finished 1 point ahead of the Hawks in the standings.
One thing about the Blackhawks is that they seem to up their game against better teams.beating the Sharks 3 out of 4 times this year. Their 1 loss was by only a goal. However, 1 of their 3 wins was a 7-2 rout, not unlike the 7-1 beating the Sharks took from the Red Wings in Game 4 the previous round.
The point? Though highly competitive, the Sharks sometimes fall apart in games, and the Blackahwks are just the team to take advantage of that.
We got a 7th seed against an 8th seed. This is the first time such a thing has happened in the NHL playoffs (thanks, Lenny).
Series: Philadelphia Flyers (7) vs. Montreal Canadiens (8)
My Prediction: Montreal UPSETS Philadelphia in 7 games.
Comments: Who would have thought that finishing 7th would have given you home ice advantage in the playoffs? And yet, the 7th-seeded Flyers do.They almost deserve home ice anyway, considering their feat in the previous round, coming back from a 3-0 deficit against the Bruins.
And the Canadiens? Sure, no one really thought they’d make it past the best team in the league (Washington) or last year’s Stanley Cup winner (Pittsburgh). And yet they did. So, beating the Flyers doesn’t seem so far fetched anymore, does it?
I also think that Montreal will win because every so often a team that barely makes the playoffs–the Cinderella team as everyone likes to call them–makes it to the Finals. But like Cinderella’s magical night out on the town, eventually that too comes to an end.
*******
Whoever wins the Western Conference Finals will win the Stanley Cup. There I said it. Of course they’ll have to beat the winning team from the East, but they will.
Expect the unexpected? Yes! And no! Two series played out as expected, while the other two surprised everyone. Here’s my look back at Round 2 of the 2010 NHL Playoffs.
Series: San Jose Sharks (1) vs. Detroit Red Wings (5)
My Prediction: Sharks in 7 games.
What Actually Happened: Sharks won in 5 games.
Comments: Every game Detroit lost was by only one goal. But the one game Detroit won was a 7-1 rout, thanks in part to a 4-goal, 2-assist performance by Johan Franzen. Suddenly, I’m kind of miss having this card…
Imagine if the whole series had been a series of one-sided stomp-fests, like the Chicago/Vancouver series. Speaking of which…
Series: Chicago Blackhawks (2) vs. Vancouver Canucks (3)
My Prediction: Blackhawks in 6 games.
What Actually Happened: Blackhawks won in 6 games.
Comments: I told ya so! This may have been the most even match-up in Round 2. When both teams “showed up” to play, the result was a relatively tight, evenly-matched game. But as soon as one team lapsed a bit–POW! Vancouver stomped Chicago 5-1 in Game 1, and Chicago won 5-1 in Game 6. All games in between were won by 2-goal or 3-goal margins.
The Canucks are a good team, but all the Sedins in the world would not have been enough to save them in this round.
Series: Pittsburgh Penguins (4) vs. Montreal Canadiens (8)
My Prediction:Penguins in 5 games.
What Actually Happened: Canadiens UPSET in 7 games.
Comments: Just like no one was expecting the Canadiens to beat the Washington Capitals, no one was expecting this colossal upset either.
Sniff, sniff…what’s that smell?
Oh, it’s the smell of my Jaroslav Halak rookie cards going up in value. Who knew it’d be so pungent?
So, the 8th seeded Canadiens bumped off the Capitals and the Penguins–the two teams everyone was expecting/hoping for in the conference finals (well, everyone except Captain Canuck, of course). Eventually, the Canadiens’ luck will run out–just ask the 1991 Minnesota North Stars or the 2006 Edmonton Oilers.
Series:Boston Bruins (6) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (7)
My Prediction: Bruins in 7 games.
What Actually Happened: Flyers UPSET in 7 games.
Comments: The fact that the Flyers won the series wasn’t really an upset. Both teams finished the regular season with 88 points, but the Bruins had 2 more wins. So the teams were pretty even.
What made this series so amazing is that the Bruins went up 3-0 in the series, and that the Flyers won the next 4 games straight. This has only been done 3 times in NHL history, the last time being in 1975!
The Bruins went up 3-0 in Game 7, just like they went up 3-0 in the series. Coincidentally, the Flyers scored the next 4 goals to win Game 7…just like they won the next 4 games to win the series.
******
The top two teams in the Western Conference won their series, as expected. The bottom two seeds in the Eastern Conference won too. Who–outside of Montreal or Philly–would have thunk it?
Stay tuned for my Round 3 predictions, which will be posted before the start of the Hawks/Sharks game on Sunday.
It has been quite a while since I’ve written about a bad hockey card, so what better way than to ease back into it by picking on an awfully airbrushed card from the 1980s. In this case, a card of former Pittsburgh Penguin left wing Warren Young. Continue reading “Painted Penguin”
