This week is all about returns! A few Toronto Maple Leafs are on their way to joining the lineup if they haven’t already. And Erik Karlsson made his first trip to Ottawa as a player on the opposing team.
News & Views
Opinion: The NHL Needs Its Own Day
Or Maybe Even Its Own Month
I’ve been thinking about this for a long time now. Most major sports own a specific day or time of year that helps turn all the attention in the sports world to them — but not the NHL.
Best of the Worst: 2018-19 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey
While we all loosen our belts and pass on the leftover green bean casserole, like every NHL team that passed on Jaromir Jagr’s contract last season, let’s take a deep dive into the Upper Deck’s latest offering of fresh, hot hockey photography from the 2018-19 Series One flagship set.
Continue reading “Best of the Worst: 2018-19 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey”
Blake’s Takes: Can Ovie Top Gretzky?
The NHL had another big week, and so did I. This week I focused on my trip to Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit to see the Red Wings, and a few big goal scorers.
Blake’s Takes: The Good, the Bad and the Penguins
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: The Good, the Bad and the Penguins”
Changes In Store For COMC.com
How the New Fees Affects Card Flippers
Over the last 10+ years, COMC.com (or Check Out My Cards) has been toiling away in the trading card marketplace, striving to become one of, if not THE leader in individual trading card sales. After having evolved from a small web portal known as LowPriceCards.com into the juggernaut that it is in a few years, COMC has emerged with an inventory of over 18.3 Million cards and sells and ships more singles to collectors all over the world than any other service provider.
Led by a sort of “grass-roots” style guerrilla marketing campaign (which to me appeared to be based mainly on word of mouth and appearances by COMC people at the big sports shows), I have seen COMC grow from servicing about 3 million cards in their inventory when I first joined to over six times that amount today. First joining COMC in the fall of 2013, I happened on the website after meeting the owner, Tim Getsch, at the National Sports Collectors Convention. The former Microsoft employee’s pitch was simple enough. “Just try it out,” he told me. “If you like it, stick around. If you don’t, feel free to email me personally and tell me why.” That’s what brought me into the fold as a user. Customer service and the feeling like the owner gets it will most likely win out with me in the end.
Fast forward to this past weekend and the “Huge Announcement” from COMC. Like any company that is looking to survive for a long period of time, the goal has to be to make money. Sure you want the customer experience to be the best and people to love you all the time and what you do but the existential aspect of running a business will eventually give way to the fact that pats on the back don’t pay bills. Continue reading “Changes In Store For COMC.com”
Fall 2018 Sport Card & Memorabilia Expo Recap
This weekend marked the latest entry for the Sport Card & Memorabilia Expo, which was held the weekend of November 9 to 11 in Toronto.
The show is fully stocked, from top-to-bottom, with exceptional memorabilia, unique autograph and VIP experiences, and of course cards. The show provides something for just about every type of collector in the market and you would be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t have a good time while in attendance.
Although most of the dealers stay the same from show to show, their offerings remain fluid and the inventory they carry has a decent turnover rate. This gives each show something new and exciting to look at every time.
The first thing that strikes me as I enter the show is the number of fake jerseys I see hanging from the vendor’s displays. They range from marginally horrible to outright hideous.
Continue reading “Fall 2018 Sport Card & Memorabilia Expo Recap”
Blake’s Takes: Pacioretty, Plekanec, Pettersson; Quenneville, Crosby & Ovechkin!
Welcome to the fourth installment of Blake’s Takes. Here is who stood out to me during this past week in hockey.
1. Joel Quenneville
Why the Chicago Blackhawks 2019 Winter Classic Jersey is a Winner
Not the new Chicago Blackhawks Winter Classic jerseys! Those are black and white — but red is nowhere to be found. Yesterday, the team unveiled the jerseys that they will wear at the Winter Classic against the Boston Bruins on January 1, 2019, and I absolutely love this design. Continue reading “Why the Chicago Blackhawks 2019 Winter Classic Jersey is a Winner”
The Quenneville Era is Over in Chicago
Coach Q Fired After 10 Seasons.
Will His Replacement Last 10 Months?
The biggest news in the hockey world on Tuesday — and probably for this entire week — was the firing of Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville. Because when a team fires the second-winningest coach in NHL history, it’s kind of a big deal.
Quenneville’s departure comes on the heels of a five-game losing streak and a 6-6-3 record to start the 2018-19 season. Jeremy Colliton, the head coach of the Blackhawks AHL affiliate, was named Quenneville’s successor. Assistant coaches Ulf Samuelsson and Kevin Dineen were also let go, while Barry Smith was moved from the ‘Hawks front office to an assistant coaching role.
Like a lot of Blackhawks fans, I am disappointed that Coach Q was fired. Quenneville was to the Blackhawks what Mike Ditka was to the Bears or Phil Jackson was to the Bulls. Continue reading “The Quenneville Era is Over in Chicago”