2018-19 Upper Deck #192: Dustin Byfuglien
This hockey card recently came to my attention, so of course I had to give it my spin.
File this one under good hair days. Gold Star Medals McGee back there is absolutely besides himself at the sight of Big Buff, being all footloose and fancy-free. He must be cut from the same cloth as Brian Burke.
Meanwhile, the rest of us wonder how Byfuglien fits all that hair under his helmet.
Don’t get me wrong — it’s a good card. It’s definitely not a Panini card where someone has to taser AND tranquilize me to get my heart rate down. Big Buff is a very photogenic man, whether he’s working crazy suits after winning the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 2010…
… or getting mug shots taken after drinking and boating.
The other thing that makes this card nice is the pregame warm-up jersey Byfuglien wore for Canadian military night. Most of us are familiar with the practice: a team honors military heroes before the game that evening, while players skate in special military-themed warm-up jerseys that are usually auctioned off later to raise money for charity. Some teams have silent auctions at the arena, but the Jets, being a large draw, will auction off their jerseys online. This particular Big Buff jersey raked in a cool $1,000 after 23 bids.
And the picture, originally posted to the Jets’ Facebook page back on February 12, was so nice that Upper Deck decided to later use it on Byfuglien’s hockey card this fall.
And special thanks to Jon Orr for bringing this card to my attention. Be sure to check out his hockey blog, The Caniac Collector. ■
Jim Howard is a Carolina Hurricanes fan and reformed baseball card collector who is trying to keep the hockey collection from becoming overwhelming. And while he wishes he could give Crosby the business with his mitt, he is in fact NOT the goalie for the Red Wings.
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