Tag: 2019-20

Top 10 Hockey Collectible Stories of 2020

A lot happened in the humble hobby of hockey card collecting in 2020. Not surprisingly, most of it was because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which cancelled card shows and affected releases, while also forcing many people to work at home or shelter at home. This, in turn, led to many rediscovering their card collections from their youth, rekindling their interest and causing a surge that the card collecting hobby hasn’t seen in 30 years. Here are the biggest 10 hockey collectible stories from 2020. 

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The Third Annual Puck Junk Awards

A.K.A. 7 NHL Awards We Need Right Now

The NHL gives out 17 individual awards at the end of the season. To some, that might seem excessive. Do we really need a Mark Messier Award for Leadership when the league already has two awards for MVPs? 

However, I would argue that the NHL needs more awards, so in 2018 I created some new ones. We all know who the highest scorer, top coach and best goalie are. Now, let’s give props to the toughest player, greatest surprise and biggest jerk, among others. Plus, there is a new Puck Junk Award for 2020. 

Here are your winners of the third-annual Puck Junk Awards. 

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Puck Junk Podcast: 2020-21 O-Pee-Chee Hockey Cards

Episode #70: October 15, 2020

It’s been a month, but we’re back! In the latest Puck Junk Hockey Podcast, Sal Barry and Tim Parish discuss some of the offseason moves by NHL teams. They also talk about the upcoming Virtual Expo 2.0 and new hockey card releases. Then the guys take a long, detailed look at the 2020-21 O-Pee-Chee Hockey card set by Upper Deck. 

Show Notes, Links and Images:
The Virtual Expo 2.0 (Show Site)
President’s Choice Trading Cards Game Used (President’s Choice Website)
2020-21 O-Pee-Chee Hockey checklist (Cardboard Connection)

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee card images:

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #398 – Patrick Marleau
…forever immortalized as a Penguins player

Card backs have up to 10 seasons of stats.

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #330 – Mika Zibanejad

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #33 – Connor McDavid

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #289 – Sidney Crosby

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #521 – Gage Quinney (Marquee Rookies)

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #550 – Wayne Gretzky (Marquee Legends)

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #584 – Leon Draisaitl (League Leaders)

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #188 – Nathan Beaulieu (Blue Border Parallel) 

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #12 – Travis Zajac (Red Parallel, because WHY NOT?)

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #18 – Duncan Keith (Retro Parallel)

Retro Parallel card backs look a lot like early 1980s O-Pee-Chee card backs.

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #213 – Phil Kessel (Retro Black Border Parallel)

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee – Premier “Tall Boys” Inserts #P-12 – Brent Burns.
Tall Boys or Small Boys? You decide. 

O-Pee-Chee Premier card backs are printed in full color.

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee – Playing Cards 3♥ – Pekka Rinne

Playing Card Backs are black with gold ink.

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee Hockey – sealed box

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee Hockey – sealed pack

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee Hockey packs are somewhat difficult to open. 

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.

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Support this podcast and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■

The 11 Biggest Hockey Stories of 2019-20

By Sal Barry, Tim Parish, Blake Isaacs, Jim Howard & Kyle Scully

Before we turn our attention to the upcoming hockey season, we wanted to take a look back at the 2019-20 NHL season. And what a crazy season it was! A global pandemic halted the league for the first time in over 100 years. Players spoke up and spoke out against racial injustice in the United States. A Zamboni driver became a goaltending hero.  And that’s just the start of it. 

The past season was the longest NHL season, too, starting on October 2, 2019 and ending almost a full year later on September 28, 2020. The team at Puck Junk rounded up what they thought were the biggest stories of the 2019-20 season. Like the fictional band Spinal Tap, we couldn’t settle on just 10 — we turned it up to 11. So, here are the 11 biggest stories of the 2019-20 NHL season. 

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Blake’s Takes: Tampa Bay Wins the Stanley Cup

After the NHL season was paused in March, no one was sure if we would see the Stanley Cup lifted. Well, the circumstances surrounding the Stanley Cup Final may have been odd and unexpected, but, the Stanley Cup was awarded to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

In this week’s column, I’ll explore how the Lightning’s legacy has changed with their Stanley Cup win.

The rest of the league was busy last week, too! I’ll share my takes on a few notable signings and trades. Happy Tuesday!

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Blake’s Takes: Lightning One Win Away

After everything that’s happened since the league paused for COVID-19 back in March, the Stanley Cup will be lifted this week. Tampa Bay won three straight games, but couldn’t close it out against Dallas in Game 5. They’ll face off again in Game 6 tonight with Tampa up 3-2 in the series.

The Stanley Cup Finals has provided its share of storylines, from the return of Steven Stamkos, the dominance of Joe Pavelski, and bad luck of Tyler Seguin.

Outside of the Stanley Cup, the other 30 teams have been busy handing out extensions and making trades.

You can find five of my favorite storylines below.

Also, here’s the best song I heard last week!
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Blake’s Takes: Dallas Takes 1-0 Lead in Stanley Cup Final

Saturday marked the first day of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Dallas Stars. Tampa was without their captain Steven Stamkos, and it looks like they could use him. I’ll share my thoughts on Dallas’ big win in Game 1.

Outside of the bubble, the other 29 teams were busy making moves and on the personnel and marketing side. I’ll spit out some hot takes on everything that happened around the league, including a horrific logo change.

Happy Monday!

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Blake’s Takes: Cup Finals Almost Set

After everything the NHL has been through since March, we’re a maximum of six games away from the Stanley Cup Finals. Both series are going into Game 5 with one team up 3-1. I’ll highlight each series as well as a few other notable storylines around the NHL.

P.S. I need the Stanley Cup Finals to start ASAP to take my mind off another soul-crushing Detroit Lions loss.

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Blake’s Takes: Game Sevens Galore

2020 finally showed us mercy and gave us three game sevens in one round of playoff hockey. We deserved it. In all seriousness, last week was an awesome week for the NHL, as three out of four playoff series went to a game seven. I’ll share my thoughts on each of those series as well as a few notable stories that impacted the hockey world.

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