2024-25 Synergy Hockey Cards Box Break

The 2024-25 Synergy Hockey set came out in mid-January of 2025. Other than Upper Deck’s flagship release and O-Pee-Chee – which are always released during the season they represent – nowadays, it seems odd to have a 2024-25 set of cards released, you know, actually during the ’24-25 season. 

When it launched, Synergy was about $110 a box. Now it is around $100. Hobby boxes have eight packs containing three cards each. That’s about $4.50 per card, which to me is a lot considering that not all cards are serial-numbered, nor does every box have an autographed card. 

I recently opened up a box of 2024-25 Synergy. Let’s see what I got. 

0 Base Cards

Ah yes – zero base cards. That’s not a misprint. Base cards for Synergy are actually serial numbered out of 15. That makes no sense to me, because you get one “Red Parallel” in every pack, which are NOT serial numbered. Wouldn’t that make the Red Parallels the REAL base set? 

Parallels! 

According to the back of the box, Red Parallel cards are found one per pack. I got one in each of my eight packs. 

4 Red Parallel Cards

Synergy cards are two layers thick. The bottom layer is clear red plastic with silver foil printed on it, while the upper layer is die-cut and printed on shiny foilboard. 

Card backs have one year of statistics, player vitals like height and weight, and a short biographical blurb. 

4 Red Parallel Cards – Code Variants

So, not only are the Red versions of Synergy base cards parallels, but there are variations of these parallels. (Would that make these parallels of parallels?) 

Four of the eight Red Parallels I pulled had a scratch-off area on the back that reveals a code for Upper Deck’s Bounty Program. The first 25 collectors who completed the full 125-card Red Parallels – Code Variants set and redeemed the codes were given a Gold Parallel set, serial numbered out of 25. All 25 Gold Parallel sets have been won, which is why box prices of 2024-25 Synergy has since gone down. 

Inserts

The more I think about it, the more I realize that Synergy is really about the inserts. Consider that you get two inserts per pack and only one Red Parallel per pack. So, if you buy Synergy – and not for the Bounty Program – then you must be in it for the inserts, right? 

Anyway, here’s a rundown of the inserts in my box. 

2 Colorways

Colorways are printed on clear plastic. I got Mathew Barzal and Philipp Kurashev. I think a lot of collectors like these types of cards that are printed on plastic. Colorways insert cards are not serial numbered. However…

1 Colorways – Pink Variant

…the parallel versions are serial numbered. This Colorways Pink Variant of American Hero Matthew Tkachuk is serial numbered 11/49. 

2 NHL Impressions

Next up, we have NHL Impressions. I’m not sure what the “hook” is here, other than superimposing a player over a team logo on a shiny background. These inserts might be more fitting in a set like Metal Universe. The two NHL Impressions cards in my box were of Anze Kopitar and Logan Morrison. These cards are found one in every 10 packs, though cards of Rookies (1:13), Goalies (1:20) or Legends (1:40) have longer odds. 

1 NHL Impressions – Magenta Variant

There are also parallel versions of the NHL Impressions cards. This NHL Impressions Magenta Variant of Mavrik Bourque is serial numbered 042/599. I must say that I like this variant better, as the player really “pops” and stands out from the background. 

1 NHL Monuments

NHL Monuments spotlight 18 of the game’s best players and are found on in every nine packs or so. I can never complain about getting a Sidney Crosby card. 

1 Rookie Journey Away 

There are Rookie Journey “Away” and “Home” insert sets this season. Pictured here is Brennan Othmann, who leads all rookies with the most letter “Ns” in his name. 

1 Rookie Journey Away – Green

Yep, there are parallels of the Rookie Journey cards, too. Here is Cutter Gautier, who made headlines last year when he refused to sign with the Philadelphia Flyers, so he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks. This card is serial numbered 009/199. 

1 New Game

More shiny!!! New Game cards are found one in five packs and feature the NHL’s young stars, like Matt Boldy. I absolutely love the North Stars-inspired Wild jerseys. 

1 Start Your Engines

Start Your Engines is another insert set that pictures young NHL players, such as Bradley Nadeau of the Carolina Hurricanes Chicago Wolves. I’m not sure if I like the whole race car theme of these inserts, which are found one in seven packs. 

1 Synergistic Duos

Synergistic Duos are found one in 22 packs and picture two players from the same team, such as Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point of the Tampa Bay Lightning. There are also “Stars and Rookies” and “Stars and Legends” Synergistic Duos, as well as multiple color variations. 

1 #1 Hits

#1 Hits fall one in every 16 packs and feature ten of the league’s top players like Alex Ovechkin. I guess this is supposed to evoke the Billboard Top 40 chart or something like that. This card will go nicely in my binder full of Ovechkin cards. (Ovech-cards?) 

1 All-Star Assembly

All-Star Assembly cards picture players in their All-Star Game uniforms and are found one in every 32 packs – or about one in four boxes. Here is Connor McDavid playing for…Team McDavid! 

1 Generators 

Generators are found one per box and picture players…who generate offense, I guess. Robert Thomas was the Generators card in my box. 

And Finally, a Hit! 

Odds of getting an autographed card are one in 22 packs – about one in every three boxes. But, as they say in the Hunger Games, “May the odds be in your favor.” And this time, they were. 

Autograph: 1 New Game Signatures 

This is a New Game Signatures card of Kings winger Quinton Byfield. It is signed in Blue Sharpie Marker on a sticker that has been applied to the card. I don’t mind sticker autos as long as the sticker fits nicely on the design and was put on straight. Both of those requirements were met on this card, so no complaints here.

From what I understand, this will be the last Synergy set, as Upper Deck has no plans to release Synergy for 2025-26. It was a good run. Synergy has been around since 2017-18, but I guess it may have grown a bit stale. It’s an expensive product if you consider that you are spending $100+ on a box that doesn’t guarantee an autograph, and that the cost-per-card is nearly $5 each. But Upper Deck’s new EX-2000 set is slated to come out later this season, which will probably become the de facto multi-layered, shiny, die-cut, high end set that Synergy supposedly is.

Look, I don’t dislike Synergy, but I don’t love it either. It’s an expensive set to put together if you tried to get a full run of Red Parallels. And the sheer number of insert sets are overwhelming; adding to that feeling are all the parallels upon parallels. I don’t necessarily mind paying over $100 for a box of cards, though other sets with similar prices get you more cards. 

But that’s just my opinion. As always, collect what you like. 

Are you collecting Synergy for 2024-25? What do you think of these cards? Leave a reply and let me know. 

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