Sal Barry

Sal Barry is the editor and webmaster of Puck Junk. He is a freelance hockey writer, college professor and terrible hockey player. Follow him on Twitter @puckjunk

Puck Junk Will Be at the 2021 Natoinal

Puck Junk will have a presence at the 2021 National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago this weekend, July 28 to August 1. I’ll be splitting space with AU Sports at booth number 1011, right next to Memory Lane, and very close to the Main Entrance and the VIP Entrance. 

I will be selling hockey t-shirts at 20% off the regular price. 

And I’ll also be selling some complete hockey sets — from the late 1960s all the way to the modern era, as well as a bunch of single hockey cards from all years. 

Drop by Booth 1011, say hi, talk hockey with me, and grab one of my new “business trading cards,” which would look great in a nine-pocket page or top loader. (Speaking of which, I’ll have packs of top loaders for sale at the show, too.) 

I will also be giving away a limited number of these sweet-looking face masks with the Puck Junk logo printed on them.

These machine-washable masks are two-layered, have adjustable ear loops and an adjustable nose piece, which is essential for guys like me who wear glasses.

If you can’t remember my booth number, just keep an eye out for my banner. 

The National Sports Collectors Convention starts Wednesday, July 28 and runs until Sunday, August 1. Click here for more information about the NSCC and to buy tickets.

And if you do make it to the National, be sure to drop by Booth 1011, check out what I’ve got for sale, and talk some hockey! 

Love hockey? Join the Puck Junk Facebook Group, subscribe to Puck Junk on Apple Podcasts and  YouTube, and support this site at the Puck Junk Online Shop. 

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk. ■

1988-89 Topps Hockey Cards Set Checklist, Details & Review

Neon and pushpins make this set stick around

The 1988-89 Topps Hockey Card set has a fun-looking design, some notable rookie cards, and a historically significant card, too. This was the third year in a row that Topps released a hockey set with 198 cards. In addition to the 198 cards, there are 33 insert stickers and 16 “box bottom” cards that were found in four-card panels on the bottom of display boxes. 

This set features bright colors and a quirky design elements. Notable rookie cards include Brett Hull, Brendan Shanahan, Joe Nieuwendyk, and Bob Probert. The Wayne Gretzky card is significant because it is the first hockey card to use a press conference photo, as Gretzky was traded from the Oilers to the Kings that summer, and a photo of Gretzky suited up with the Kings was not yet available. 

Continue reading “1988-89 Topps Hockey Cards Set Checklist, Details & Review”

National Hockey Card Day 2021 is Saturday, July 24

Get Free Exclusive Hockey Cards — in the U.S., in Canada, and in Europe! 

Saturday, July 24 is National Hockey Card Day in the United States and in Canada — and, for the first time, several European countries as well! Card shops in the United States will give away packs of cards exclusive to the U.S. Several card stores in Germany, Austria, Sweden, the Czech Republic, and France will also give out the same packs given out in the U.S. Card shops in Canada, as well as Toys R Us and London Drugs,  will give cards exclusive to the Canadian market. 

Continue reading “National Hockey Card Day 2021 is Saturday, July 24”

The Fourth Annual Puck Junk Awards

A.K.A. 7 Awards the NHL Should Give

Each year, the NHL gives out awards to celebrate the best goalie, defenseman, coach, and all-around player, among others. But I’ve always found their awards lacking. Yes, scoring more goals — or allowing less goals — than your competitor wins the game, but hockey is about much more than that. 

So, back in 2018 I created the Puck Junk Awards to give props to the NHL’s biggest surprise player, toughest son-of-a-gun, and the guy that everyone hates, among others. And this year, Puck Junk Podcast cohost Tim Parish chipped in his two cents on who should win these awards that we wish were real. 

So, without further ado, here are your winners of the 2021 Puck Junk Awards!

Continue reading “The Fourth Annual Puck Junk Awards”

Puck Junk Podcast: The Duncan Keith Trade 

Episode #96: July 13, 2021

Sal Barry and Tim Parish talk about longtime Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith getting traded to the Edmonton Oilers, and give their opinions about the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, Vladimir Tarasenko wanting out of St. Louis, and the upcoming NHL Expansion Draft. Then they shift their focus to trading cards and discuss National Hockey Card Day, Upper Deck Extended Series Hockey, and the upcoming National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago. It’s an hour-forty of hockey goodness. 

Show Notes, Links, and Images: 
Oilers acquire star defenseman Duncan Keith from Blackhawks (ESPN)
What Haters Get Wrong about the Vegas Golden Knights (Puck Junk)
Topps Now Hockey Sticker print runs (Topps)
National Hockey Card Day images and retailer list (Upper Deck)
National Hockey Card Day trade group (Facebook)
National Sports Collectors Convention website

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. ■

1990-91 NHL Season Preview: A Special Advertising Supplement

If you subscribed to cable television in the 1980s and 1990s, you no doubt remember the monthly cable guide that was mailed to your home. Those thick, black-and-white magazines, usually printed on cheap newsprint-type paper, would list out everything that was scheduled to air on cable TV that month. When I was a kid, I would go through it page-by-page — hell, I’d study the thing like there was going to be a test about it — and note what hockey games were being televised that month. 

Back in October of 1990, my monthly cable guide  included this special, pull-out “1990-91 NHL Season Preview Special Advertising Supplement.” Measuring 5″ by 7-1/4″, it is an eight-page, full-color booklet printed on magazine paper instead of the typical newsprint. It has two hockey articles, some random trivia, and the burning questions for the season. 

This “advertising supplement” seems like the thing that most people would have read once and thrown away, and not carefully preserved for 30 years like I did. 

But I think we established that I am not like “most people,” and have saved some of the most random “puck junk” over the years. So, let’s take a look at what the big stories were prior to the 1990-91 NHL season. 

Continue reading “1990-91 NHL Season Preview: A Special Advertising Supplement”

2020-21 Upper Deck NHL Star Rookies Box Set Checklist & Review

While at my local Target store the other day, I decided to take a look at the trading card aisle, knowing full well that Target was currently not selling sports cards. But maybe I’d get lucky and find some top loaders or penny sleeves or — hey now, what’s this?

Yes! My local Target had a few of the 2020-21 Upper Deck NHL Star Rookies Box Sets in stock for $20 each. The set contains “one 25-card rookie set per box,” plus one in every 20 sets has an autographed card. 

Autograph or not. I was pretty happy to find this because I haven’t seen any sports cards at Target since May, and $20 for 25 cards seems like a bargain nowadays. And I’ve always been a sucker for boxed sets that focus on a particular subject — in this case, hockey rookies — and that I could just buy and be done with. 

So, let’s take a look and see what goodness $20 will bring me. 

Continue reading “2020-21 Upper Deck NHL Star Rookies Box Set Checklist & Review”

Re-imagining the 1991 NHL Entry Draft

Thirty years ago was the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. First-overall pick Eric Lindros was by far considered the best player available in the draft — a can’t-miss prospect who would be the next Wayne Gretzky. 

In fact, Lindros was called “The Next One” since he was 14 years old. And who could argue? He was 6’4″ and 230 pounds. He scored 149 points in just 57 games during his last season of major junior hockey. Lindros was a dominant force that could control the game. So, it wasn’t any surprise when the Quebec Nordiques selected Lindros with the first-overall pick. 

But was Lindros really the best player in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft? Would NHL scouts and GMs spend a first-overall pick on The Big E, or someone else, knowing then what we know now?

So, let’s imagine that we could re-do the first round of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. Let’s set our Wayback Machines to June 22, 1991, pack an iPad with Hockey DB and Hockey Reference already bookmarked — we’ll worry about finding a WiFi hot spot when we get there — and see how the first round of the 1991 Draft would have played out in our alternate timeline.

Continue reading “Re-imagining the 1991 NHL Entry Draft”

Puck Junk Podcast: Upcoming Hockey Cards for 2021

Episode #95: June 17, 2021

Sal Barry and Tim Parish discuss upcoming hockey releases, such as 2020-21 Upper Deck Extended Series, plus the 2021-22 O-Pee-Chee, MVP, Upper Deck Series One and Topps Sticker sets. They also talk about this weekend’s upcoming Sport Card Expo Virtual Edition and the hockey autograph guests at this summer’s National Sports Collectors Convention. It’s 90 minutes of hockey goodness! 

Show Notes, Links, and Images: 
Join the Puck Junk Facebook Group here.
Register to attend the Sport Card Expo Virtual Edition (link)
41st National Sports Collectors Convention website (link)
Chicago Sports Spectacular website (link)
Dallas Sport Card Show website (link)
Topps Now Hockey Sticker Archive (Topps)
Dunkin’ Donuts commercial with bubble hockey guys (YouTube)
Interview with Billy Celio of Upper Deck (Puck Junk)
Images and details about 2021-22 MVP (Beckett)
Images and details about 2021-22 O-Pee-Chee (Beckett)
Images and details about 2021-22 Upper Deck Series 1 (Beckett)
State Farm commercial with Andre Dawson (iSpot.tv)

Pictures of the upcoming 2021-22 Topps Hockey Sticker Collection

The Young Guns design for 2021-22 that some collectors are criticizing:

The Gritty “Gaming” card that will be in 2021-22 MVP Hockey:

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. ■

The 35 Best Hockey Cards from 1990-91

Hockey cards exploded in popularity during the 1990-91 season. Baseball, football and basketball cards had steadily gained momentum during the 1980s. In 1990, it was hockey’s turn. Upper Deck, Score and Pro Set joined incumbents Topps and O-Pee-Chee to release hockey card sets that season. This resulted in an arms race between the five companies, who tried to outdo each other and make cards of the best prospects and hottest rookies before their competitors did. 

As a result, a slew of great rookie cards were issued that year. The 1990-91 NHL season had arguably the best rookie class of any year for hockey card collectors. The NHL rookie of the year winners from 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1994 all had rookie cards made during the 1990-91 season. And over a dozen future Hall of Fame players had rookie cards in ’90-91. 

The downside was that most hockey cards from 1990-91 were produced in such vast amounts that it is considered the start of the “Junk Wax Era” for hockey cards. 

Yet not all hockey cards issued during the 1990-91 season are worthless. In addition to some great rookie cards, there are also some hidden gems and a legendary chase card. Plus, any card on this list with a high PSA or BGS grade can fetch a premium on the secondary market. 

But graded or ungraded, these are the 35 best hockey cards from 1990-91 that every hockey card collector should own. 

Continue reading “The 35 Best Hockey Cards from 1990-91”