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

An interview with Michael Rigitano, creator of the Bottle Cap Stanley Cup

Alternate_Headline_ImageBlackhawks fans are a passionate bunch, so it takes something above and beyond your typical jersey or face paint to stand out in this sea of red. But lifelong ‘Hawks fan Michael Rigitano is anything but typical. After the team won the Stanley Cup in 2010, he exceeded the normal boundaries of fandom and descended into something much deeper. On a dare, he built a life-size replica of Lord Stanley’s Cup — using bottle caps. Many, many thousands of bottle caps.

Since then, the Bottle Cap Stanley Cup has had a life of its own. Rigitano — a college student who also teaches children and adults how to play hockey — and his trophy were guests at the United Center and have appeared on TV, on the radio and in newspapers around Chicago. His creation helped raise money for breast cancer research at a Chicago Steel (USHL) game. The NHL even arranged for the “Cap Cup,” as he calls it, to be photographed with the real deal.

I spoke with Rigitano to learn what drove him to undertake such a monumental task.

Sal Barry: I’m going to just cut right to it — why did you make a replica of the Stanley Cup out of bottle caps?

Michael Rigitano:. I was working in a bar in 2010. It all started with a ten dollar bet that I couldn’t make a Stanley Cup out of bottle caps. I ended up winning that money. Continue reading “An interview with Michael Rigitano, creator of the Bottle Cap Stanley Cup”

Free Hawks rally tickets hawked on eBay

ticketThe plan for this year’s Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup victory parade and subsequent rally was flawed from the get-go.

First, the parade is on a Thursday. A Thursday! Who wants to call in sick to work on Thursday, only to come back to work on Friday and pretend they’re still nursing a summer cold?

The other problem is that the rally afterward is a ticketed event at Soldier Field,  home of the NFL’s Chicago Bears. The rally tickets were free through the Ticketmaster website at noon Wednesday. The 75,000 available tickets sold out in 20 minutes, and — to the disappointment of many Blackhawks fans — were being scalped on eBay moments later. Continue reading “Free Hawks rally tickets hawked on eBay”

Rookie Cards of Every 2015 Chicago Blackhawks Player – Plus the Coaches

2015_Blackhawks_RCsThe Chicago Blackhawks are Stanley Cup Champions for the third time in six years. But the ‘Hawks aren’t just the champions — they’re a dynasty, too. So said Gary Bettman last night before presenting team captain Jonathan Toews with the Stanley Cup.

One rewarding collecting project is to acquire a rookie card of every player on a championship team. I’ve put together rookie card sets of the 2010 and 2013 Blackhawks, as well as the 1985 Chicago Bears — but that’s another story (and another sport).

The good news for budget-conscious collectors is that most of the 2015 Blackhawks players have numerous rookie cards to choose from, ranging from several dollars to several hundred dollars, so you won’t break the bank if you don’t want to. Here’s a rundown of the rookie cards for everyone on the team. Continue reading “Rookie Cards of Every 2015 Chicago Blackhawks Player – Plus the Coaches”

Patrick Kane’s “First” Hockey Card

1994-95 Pinnacle #288: Sylvain Turgeon

1994-95_pinnacle_turgeonNo NHL players can boast appearing on a hockey card 12 years before their career began — except Patrick Kane. On Sylvain Turgeon’s 1994-95 Pinnacle hockey card, you see the Senators winger trying not to fall flat on his face in a game against the Sabres from the previous year. This photo actually makes for a pretty good metaphor for the Senators’ 1993-94 season, when they went 14-61-9 in 84 games.

Now, take a closer look at the wide-eyed kid in the stands.

Continue reading “Patrick Kane’s “First” Hockey Card”

Book Review: The Third Best Hull

cover_third_best_hullHear the name “Hull” and you instantly think either “Bobby” or “Brett,” depending on your age. “The Third Best Hull,” is about Dennis Hull — Bobby’s younger brother and Brett’s uncle. He might be the third-best hockey player named Hull, but Dennis is a first-rate author who knows how to tell a good story.

Continue reading “Book Review: The Third Best Hull”

Puck Junk Podcast #5 – June 8, 2015

…with your hosts, Sal Barry & Tim Parish.


Player not working? Listen to the podcast on SoundClloud.

FIVE GOLDEN PODCASTS!!!! OK, maybe they haven’t been exactly “golden,” but this is our fifth podcast in five weeks. Let’s keep this streak alive. This time, Sal and Tim (@TheRealDFG) talk about:

  • Game 1 and 2 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals (0:01 – 2:53)
  • The overabundance of statistics that really aren’t really statistics (2:54 – 7:55)
  • Ben Bishop leaving Game 2 before Game 2 was over (7:56 – 11:30)
  • The 1984-85 Topps and O-Pee-Chee Hockey card sets, also touching on the 1991-92 Pinnacle Hockey and 2010-11 Upper Deck Hockey sets (11:31 – 24:34)

You can view images of some of these cards after the jump. Continue reading “Puck Junk Podcast #5 – June 8, 2015”

A Regal Lion Gave Me Some Cards

bailey_mascotBailey, team mascot of the Los Angeles Kings, is a cool cat. One minute, we were talking about hockey cards on Twitter. The next moment, he offered to send me some cards that I needed to help finish my set. This is the first time a team mascot has given me anything besides the creeps. Continue reading “A Regal Lion Gave Me Some Cards”

Puck Junk Podcast #4 – June 2, 2015

…with your hosts, Sal Barry & Tim Parish. Plus special guest Justin Godfrey.


Player not working? Listen to the podcast on Soundcloud.

In Podcast #4, Sal, Tim (The Real DFG) and special guest Justin Godfrey preview the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals, which start Wednesday night. Here’s a breakdown of the episode:

  • We talk about the Chicago Blackhawks, including a wrap-up of their series against the Anaheim Ducks, and their prospects of beating the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Finals (0:01 to 18:34)
  • Sal is then joined by Justin Godfrey, who blogs about the Tampa Bay Lightning on his website, The Hopeful Chase. Justin gives us a rundown on what to expect from the Bolts (18:35 to 28:48).

No card talk this week — because it’s the Cup! (And because Sal doesn’t have the dough to buy a box of Masterpieces yet.)

Who do you think will win the Stanley Cup this year? Leave a comment and tell us which team will win it all and why.

PODCAST INTRO AND ENDING MUSIC CREDITS:

“Boop Rock Jingle’” Tony Bullard (tonybullard.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

The Best Hockey Card of 2014-15

stlouis_fThis 2014-15 Upper Deck hockey card of Martin St. Louis does not have an autograph on it, nor does it have a piece of jersey embedded in it. And you know what? It doesn’t need any of those gimmicks to be the best hockey card of the season. All it needed was this amazing photograph that, coincidentally, was taken exactly one year ago today.

Continue reading “The Best Hockey Card of 2014-15”