Hockey cards, collectibles and culture
It’s been a slower few weeks around the NHL and hockey community. It gives me some time to catch up on a few of the major stories that dominated headlines over the last week or two. This week, I’ll address a few notable extensions, EA Sports’ NHL 22 cover star, and unfortunate death in the hockey community.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Auston Matthews Named NHL 22 Cover Athlete”
Today, 15-year NHL veteran David Backes signed a one-day contract with the St. Louis Blues so that he could retire as a member of the team he spent most of his career with. The Blues picked Backes in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft in the second round, 62nd overall. Five years later, Backes made his NHL debut, played 10 seasons with the Blues, and then another five seasons split between the Boston Bruins and the Anaheim Ducks.
But 20 years ago, a fresh-faced, 18-year old Backes was playing Junior A hockey with the Lincoln Stars of the USHL and was included in the team’s 2001-02 trading card set. Of course, back then Backes was a little shorter and a lot lighter
I took a two-week hiatus but I’m back. Hockey news did not stop while I was away. The most notable news was that the NHL will allow the players to return to the Olympics in 2022. That’s incredibly exciting. In this week’s column, I’ll also explore some offer sheet drama, one of my favorite uniforms, and an unfortunate retirement.
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: NHL Players Return to the Olympics”
Yesterday, Sal Barry and Tim Parish were guests on the “About the Cards” Podcast. They joined show hosts Ben and Stephan to talk about the new NHL Seattle Kraken expansion team, Fanatics buying up all the sport trading card licenses, how this could affect hockey cards and Upper Deck, and much more. The show is about 2 hours and 20 minutes, so give it a listen next time you need some good background banter.
Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Find more episodes of About the Cards on their YouTube Channel.
Love hockey? Join the Puck Junk Facebook Group, subscribe to Puck Junk on YouTube, and support this site and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■
Sal Barry and Tim Parish discuss the NHL’s decision to allow advertising patches on jerseys. Is this a great new way for the teams to make money, the beginning of the end, or both? Plus, they talk about how Fanatics acquisition of the Major League Baseball trading card license will affect the trading card industry — including hockey cards. Also: Henrik Lundqivst, the PWCC-eBay feud, and the time Wayne Gretzky hosted Saturday Night Live. It’s one hour and 38 minutes of hockey goodness!
Show Notes, Links and Images:
NHL team jersey fronts can have ads starting in 2022-23 season (ESPN)
Solitaire 2.0 cards (President’s Choice Trading Cards)
Video: Henrik Lundqivst blocks pies on The Tonight Show (YouTube)
Video: Henrik Lundqvist playing guitar on The Tonight Show (YouTube)
Video: Car commercial starring four Pittsburg Penguins (Puck Junk)
Video: Wayne Gretzky on Conan O’Brien (YouTube)
Fanatics Acquires Baseball Card Licenses (Sports Collectors Daily)
Here’s that Red Wings card that has a piece of a manufactured “Buy War Bonds” patch…
This is the patch that was used on this card:
Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast opening and closing music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.
Subscribe to the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Podchaser, PocketCasts, Castbox , Castro,
Overcast, TuneIn and SoundCloud.
Love hockey? Join the Puck Junk Facebook Group and subscribe to Puck Junk on YouTube.
Support this podcast and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■
One of the biggest pet peeves in the trading card hobby is the so-called “tape loader” — a perfectly-good trading card top loader that has clear tape stuck to the top of it. This is done to keep a card from sliding out of the top loader when sent in the mail. While that seems courteous of the sender, the problem is that it pretty much ruins the top loader. Peel off the tape and it leaves behind a sticky residue that will transfer to other top loaders that it is stored with. Leave the tape on and it becomes a trading card supply that you don’t want to look at. Either way, it’s pretty much useless. Price tags adhered to top loaders also cause a similar conundrum.
Many times, I’d just throw out a sullied top loader. That made sense when a 25-pack of top loaders cost $4 or $5. Who wants to spend time trying to salvage something that could be replaced so cheaply?
But now, standard-sized top loaders cost upwards of $10 per pack — if you can find them. Top loaders for jersey and game-used cards cost more. Top loaders are too expensive to throw out these days and are actually worth cleaning and re-using.
Here is how you can get rid of tape and tape residue from top loaders and make them as good as new.
Continue reading “How to Remove Tape from Trading Card Top Loaders”
Sal Barry and Tim Parish talk all about the 2020-21 Upper Deck Extended Series Hockey card set; what’s great about it, and what missed the mark? They also pay tribute to Blackhawks goaltending legend Tony Esposito, who passed away last week. Plus, Penguins broadcaster Mike Lange’s retirement, the Dave Parker “hockey” baseball card, upcoming releases, and more. It’s an hour forty-five of hockey goodness!
Show Notes, Links and Images:
Goodbye and Thank You, Tony Esposito (Puck Junk)
My Quest to Own a Tony-O Rookie Card (Puck Junk)
Ted Lindsay: Remembering a Legend (Puck Junk)
Why Dave Parker wore a goalie mask (Puck Junk)
Sal’s 3 Box Breaks of 2020-21 Upper Deck Extended (first, second, third)
The Topps Project70 Dave Parker card with him wearing a goalie mask:
Some images from 2020-21 Upper Deck Extended Series Hockey:
Zdeno Chara (base card)
Braden Holtby (base card)
Connor McDavid – All-Star Game (base card)
Alex Pietrangelo (“Plain Clothes” photo variant)
Bobby Ryan (French parallel variant)
Arthur Kaliyev (Young Guns rookie card)
Mika Zibanejad (2005-06 Tribute insert)
Auston Matthews (Ovation insert)
Mathew Barzal (SPX Finite insert – Spectrum parallel)
Bowen Byram (Rookie Class SE insert)
Ryan O’Reilly (UD3 insert)
Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast opening and closing music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.
Subscribe to the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Podchaser, PocketCasts, Castbox , Castro,
Overcast, TuneIn and SoundCloud.
Love hockey? Join the Puck Junk Facebook Group and subscribe to Puck Junk on YouTube.
Support this podcast and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■
Can you have too much of a good thing? Maybe so. My third and final box — for now, anyway — of 2020-21 Upper Deck Extended Series gave me some new surprise insets, as well as inserts that I’ve already grown a bit tired of.
As much as I love the retro-esque inserts in Extended Series, I seem to get the same types over and over, while there are other types of inserts that I have yet to see. And I don’t mean that I’m getting doubles of any insert cards. Collation for Extended Series has been great overall, and I did get a few types of insert cards that I didn’t get from my previous two boxes.
So, let’s take a look and see what surprises were inside my third box of Extended Series.
Continue reading “2020-21 Upper Deck Extended Series Hobby Box Break #3”
Since I am “all in” on building a set of 2020-21 Upper Deck Extended Series, I know that I will need at least two boxes to build the 200-card base set. Extended Series also has a plethora of insert sets designed to look like popular late 1990s Upper Deck releases such as HoloGr-FX, Ovation and Ultimate Victory, among others. (Click here for my first box break of 2020-21 Upper Deck Extended Series and for more general information about this set.)
Since the inserts you get in 2020-21 Upper Deck Extended Series can vary from box to box, I’ve decided to post another box break so you can see some of the inserts that I didn’t get in my first box.
Continue reading “2020-21 Upper Deck Extended Series Hobby Box Break #2”
As the offseason continues to roll on, it gives the NHL time to get their affairs in order, too. Last week, the NHL released its vaccination requirements for all league and team personnel. I’ll start with my thoughts on those requirements this week. As promised, the remainder of my takes will examine some major offseason transactions over the last week or two.
Happy Monday!
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: NHL Releases Vaccination Requirements”
