January 2013 - Page 2 of 2

Hockey is back. Should I care?

The National Hockey League and the NHL Players’ Association finally came to an agreement in the wee hours of Sunday morning, after an epic, 16-hour negotiation marathon.

Am I glad that the NHL will have a 2012-13 season.

Yes.

But would I care if they cancelled the season outright?

Nope.

I did not care when the NHL cancelled their 2004-05 season–partially because the Chicago Blackhawks were so abysmal back then. Frankly, I was more upset from the 1994-95 lockout, but that’s another story.

Hockey is a big hobby of mine, but I always find a way to occupy my time. If not the NHL, then the AHL, movies, cartoons, comic books.

We live in an age where entertainment is not in short supply.

I actually find it hard understanding fans who said that they are done with the NHL, or that they feel angered or betrayed by the lockout.

I don’t feel betrayed. The NHL and the NHLPA butt heads every few years, then they work things out and the sport improves.

I love watching NHL games. I enjoy watching the players, and going to a game when finances allow. But if that’s removed from the picture, I just find other stuff to do with my free time.

And frankly, I’ve enjoyed the extra free time I’ve had by not having a hockey season.

We all knew the NHL would be back. It was just a matter of when.

So now we have a half-season, or 48-game season, or whatever. No Winter Classic. No All-Star Game.

But at least we still get the playoffs, right?

Review: 1993-94 Stadium Club All-Stars

46 greats from the ’93 All-Star Game

The 44th NHL All-Star Game, held at Montreal Forum on February 6 of 1993, was the end of an era for the league’s annual best-vs-best game. This was the last time the Wales Conference and Campbell Conference would square off; next season, they were renamed the Eastern Conference and Western Conferences, respectively. It was also the last time the All-Star Game uniforms would feature the familiar black, white and orange palette that had been the game’s color scheme since 1973.

1993-94 Stadium Club All-Stars - Mario Lemieux — Mario Lemieux

The 1993-94 Stadium Club Hockey set featured a striking, 23-card insert set dedicated to the 1993 All-Star Game. The cards were seeded 1 in every 24 packs of Series One. One side of each card had a portrait of a Campbell Conference All-Star; the other side, his Wales Conference counterpart. Its combination of great players, good portraits and a timeless design makes for a cool insert set worth owning. Continue reading “Review: 1993-94 Stadium Club All-Stars”

Custom Cards: 2007-08 O-Pee-Chee Jeremy Roenick & Curtis Joseph

Those of you who follow this website are probably familiar with my Autograph Blog. But few of you probably knew about my now-former Custom Hockey Card blog.

Yep, I had a custom hockey card blog. And I hadn’t updated it in 2 years, so I decided it was time to let that one go. If only all webmasters were so conscientious and would clean up cyberspace by deleting their abandoned blogs.

Anyway, I’m still going to make custom cards. And I am going to show off some of the cards I made in the past. Here are two customs from the 2007-08 O-Pee-Chee set.

Curtis Joseph appeared in 9 games for the Calgary Flames in 2007-08. All of his cards from that season picture him with his previous team, the Phoenix Coyotes. The following year, he’d play for the Toronto Maple Leafs. No cards were made of Joseph with the Flames, so I made a custom using the 2007-08 O-Pee-Chee set. It’s not the greatest looking set, but it is easy enough to spoof. I used this card to fill in a gap in my Career in Cards article about Joseph.

On the other hand, Jeremy Roenick did not get any cards made of him during the 2007-08 season, save for a few Jersey cards. Roenick said prior to the start of the season that he was going to retire, but San Jose Sharks General Manager (and former teammate of Roenick) Doug Wilson talked him into playing 2 more years with the Sharks. Like Joseph, I also did a Career in Cards article about Roenick, so I needed something to put for that season. J.R. netted his 500th goal in 2007-08, so it is disappointing that he didn’t get any cardboard that year.