Re-Imagining the 1995 NHL Entry Draft

With the 2020 NHL Entry Draft finally taking place this week, it is time for my annual retro fantasy redraft. This time, we’re traveling back 25 years to 1995 — the year that the New Jersey Devils won their first Stanley Cup and “The Macarena” ruled the airwaves.

The 1995 NHL Entry Draft was the second draft in a row where the top two players selected were defensemen. In fact, the top three picks in 1995 were d-men. Meanwhile, a future 600-goal scorer was taken 11th overall, while a future Vezina Trophy winner wouldn’t be selected until the 5th round!

Knowing what we know today, what would the first round of the 1995 NHL Entry Draft look like? Who would go first overall? Fifth overall? Twenty-fifth-overall? Let’s find out! 

“And with the first-overall pick, the Ottawa Senators select…”

Continue reading “Re-Imagining the 1995 NHL Entry Draft”

Titillating Sports: 2020 Stanley Cup Finals Recap


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Sal Barry was a guest on “Titillating Sports with Rick Tittle” to talk about the 2020 Stanley Cup Finals and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Plus, what team might Henrik Lundqvist end up playing for now that he and the New York Rangers have parted ways.

You can learn more about Rick Tittle here and listen to full episodes of his show here. Special thanks to Sports Byline USA for providing this audio clip.

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Rick Tittle on Twitter @RickTittle. 
Follow Sports Byline USA on Twitter @SportsBylineUSA. ■

Blake’s Takes: Lightning One Win Away

After everything that’s happened since the league paused for COVID-19 back in March, the Stanley Cup will be lifted this week. Tampa Bay won three straight games, but couldn’t close it out against Dallas in Game 5. They’ll face off again in Game 6 tonight with Tampa up 3-2 in the series.

The Stanley Cup Finals has provided its share of storylines, from the return of Steven Stamkos, the dominance of Joe Pavelski, and bad luck of Tyler Seguin.

Outside of the Stanley Cup, the other 30 teams have been busy handing out extensions and making trades.

You can find five of my favorite storylines below.

Also, here’s the best song I heard last week!
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Lightning One Win Away”

Titillating Sports: Oddball Hockey Collectibles


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Sal Barry was a guest on “Titillating Sports with Rick Tittle” to talk about oddball hockey collectibles, such as hockey postcards from Russia, hockey stickers and strange hockey cards that picture non-hockey players. The clip is preceded by Rick Tittle asking NASCAR driver Joey Logano about playing hockey as a kid and his hockey card. 

You can learn more about Rick Tittle here and listen to full episodes of his show here. Special thanks to Sports Byline USA for providing this audio clip.

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Rick Tittle on Twitter @RickTittle. 
Follow Sports Byline USA on Twitter @SportsBylineUSA. ■

Blake’s Takes: Dallas Takes 1-0 Lead in Stanley Cup Final

Saturday marked the first day of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Dallas Stars. Tampa was without their captain Steven Stamkos, and it looks like they could use him. I’ll share my thoughts on Dallas’ big win in Game 1.

Outside of the bubble, the other 29 teams were busy making moves and on the personnel and marketing side. I’ll spit out some hot takes on everything that happened around the league, including a horrific logo change.

Happy Monday!

Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Dallas Takes 1-0 Lead in Stanley Cup Final”

Titillating Sports: 2020 Stanley Cup Finals Preview


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Sal Barry was a guest on “Titillating Sports with Rick Tittle” today to share his thoughts on the upcoming 2020 Stanley Cup Finals between the Dallas Stars and the Tampa Bay Lightning. He also gives his prediction on who he thinks will win the Stanley Cup win and why. 

You can learn more about Rick Tittle here and listen to full episodes of his show here. Special thanks to Sports Byline USA for providing this audio clip.

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Rick Tittle on Twitter @RickTittle. 
Follow Sports Byline USA on Twitter @SportsBylineUSA. ■

Puck Junk Podcast: September 15, 2020

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game Hockey

In this episode of the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast, Sal Barry and Tim Parish talk about the 2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game Hockey card set, which has an impressive lineup of Hall of Famers and hometown heroes. They also talk about the latest hockey collectibles from Upper Deck and Topps. This episode is 90 minutes of pure hockey goodness.

Show Notes, Links and Images:
Topps Now Hockey Stickers archive with print run info (Topps)
Upper Deck Game Dated Moments for Week 49 (Upper Deck Blog)
Fake “New Kids on the Ice” hockey card (Puck Junk)
Wayne Gretzky Fake Indianapolis Racers hockey card (Puck Junk)
2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game Checklist (Trading Card DB)

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game card images: 

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #1 – Gordie Howe…er, I mean Mr. Hockey 

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #1 – Mr. Hockey (back) 

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #87 – Rick Kehoe

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #87 – Rick Kehoe (back)

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #72 – Mike Bossy

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #81 – Mario Lemieux

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #19 – Tony Esposito

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #64 – Chico Resch

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #59 – Michel Goulet

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #26 – Ulf Nilsson

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #88 – Gump Worsley 

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #20 – Guy Lapointe
Allegedly, Lapointe will not autograph this card.

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #34 – Wendel Cark

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game #70 – Rick Middleton

2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game Sealed Hobby Box

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.

Subscribe to the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Podchaser, PocketCasts, Castbox , Castro,
Overcast, TuneIn and SoundCloud.

Love hockey? Join the new Puck Junk Facebook Group and subscribe to Puck Junk on YouTube. 

Support this podcast and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■

Blake’s Takes: Cup Finals Almost Set

After everything the NHL has been through since March, we’re a maximum of six games away from the Stanley Cup Finals. Both series are going into Game 5 with one team up 3-1. I’ll highlight each series as well as a few other notable storylines around the NHL.

P.S. I need the Stanley Cup Finals to start ASAP to take my mind off another soul-crushing Detroit Lions loss.

Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Cup Finals Almost Set”

Titillating Sports: 2020 Stanley Cup Conference Finals

Sal Barry was a guest on “Titillating Sports with Rick Tittle” to talk about the 2020 Stanley Cup Conference Finals, with the New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning in the East, and the Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights in the West.

You can learn more about Rick Tittle here and listen to full episodes of his show here. Special thanks to Sports Byline USA for providing this audio clip.

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Rick Tittle on Twitter @RickTittle. 
Follow Sports Byline USA on Twitter @SportsBylineUSA. ■

Blake’s Takes: Game Sevens Galore

2020 finally showed us mercy and gave us three game sevens in one round of playoff hockey. We deserved it. In all seriousness, last week was an awesome week for the NHL, as three out of four playoff series went to a game seven. I’ll share my thoughts on each of those series as well as a few notable stories that impacted the hockey world.

Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Game Sevens Galore”