Custom Card: 1978-79 Topps Bobby Orr

It’s the 50th anniversary of Bobby Orr’s most memorable goal —  the one where he’s flying through the air and celebrating after clinching a Stanley Cup victory — and that got me thinking. Bobby Orr, the greatest defenseman to ever play the great game of hockey, never had a decent hockey card when he played for the Chicago Black Hawks. All of his card from 1976-77 and 1977-78 use photos that have been crudely repainted, while his final card from 1978-79 used a photo of Orr in a Team Canada uniform. 

That always bothered me. So, I decided to give Orr a final card that is more fitting for a player of his magnitude.  Continue reading “Custom Card: 1978-79 Topps Bobby Orr”

Blake’s Takes: American League Flirting

Last week was a busy one for the NHL. It was the first week in more than a month where I had backup takes (more on those next week). This week, I’ll touch on the interesting dynamic between AHL and NHL teams. Also, the Blackhawks made a huge move in their front office which warrants a look. Plenty more, too. Stay safe everyone!

Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: American League Flirting”

Puck Junk Podcast: May 4, 2020

The Carolina Hurricanes & Chicago Wolves Affiliation 

After a two-ish week hiatus, the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast is back! This time, Sal Barry and Tim Parish talk about the new affiliation agreement between the Carolina Hurricanes and the AHL’s Chicago Wolves — which leaves the Charlotte Checkers in limbo. They also discuss the new Pro Visions insert cards found in 2019-20 Upper Deck Credentials Hockey and the difficulties of packing and moving a card collection to a new home.

Show Notes and Links: 
The Chicago Wolfpack: Official Wolves Booster Club website
Charlotte Checkers’ statement on its NHL affiliation (Checkers website)
Spring Sport Card Expo website 
May Chicago Sports Spectacular website
National Sports Collectors Convention statement on 2020 show.
The 2020 Chicago Blackhawks Convention is Cancelled (Blackhawks)
Upper Deck Game Dated Moments for Week 30 (Upper Deck Blog)
2019-20 Credentials “Pro Visions” insert cards (Beckett)
2019-20 Upper Deck Credentials commercial (video)
Opening chase scene from Beverly Hills Cop (YouTube)

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 

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

Blake’s Takes: Canada’s B Team and Blue Jacket Extensions

I hope everyone is staying safe and social distancing. The NHL has been kind, giving me enough topics to write about. Last week was packed with hockey news with signings, interviews, and injury updates. So, sit back and relax as I cover two interesting extensions in Columbus, potential Olympic rosters, and a lot more!

Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Canada’s B Team and Blue Jacket Extensions”

Blake’s Takes: The Blues Stay Busy

For what was another slow week in hockey, I have a solid variety of takes. We can thank St. Louis Blues’ GM Doug Armstrong for staying busy. I’ll share my thoughts on his variety of moves and an update from the NHL regarding the Coronavirus pandemic. I’ll also take a look into a surprise retirement and a contract termination.

Stay safe everyone!

Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: The Blues Stay Busy”

Puck Junk Podcast: April 17, 2020

1973-74 Topps & O-Pee-Chee Hockey Cards

In today’s episode of the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast, Sal Barry and Tim Parish take a look back at the 1973-74 Topps and O-Pee-Chee hockey card sets. They also get caught up in all the hockey happenings in the news. This episode is 1 hour and 35 minutes of pure hockey goodness!

Show Notes, Links and Images:
Video: Sal’s appearance on Pittsburgh Hockey Now (Puck Junk)
Jessica’s “Genuine Heroes” trading card (Twitter)
Kris Versteeg retires — again! (ESPN)
1973-74 Topps Hockey checklist (Trading Card DB)
1973-74 O-Pee-Chee checklist (Trading Card DB)
The story of Dale Tallon wearing #9 for the Blackhawks (Puck Junk)

Here’s Sidney Crosby with a dog:

1973-74 Topps and O-Pee-Chee hockey card images: 

1973-74 Topps #162 – Billy Smith

1973-74 Topps #81 – Bill Barber

1973-74 Topps #149 – Dave Schultz (RC)

1973-74 O-Pee-Chee #237Larry Robinson (RC)

1973-74 Topps #119 – Doug Favell 

1973-74 Topps #129 – Dale Tallon

1973-74 Topps #32 – Dan Maloney

1973-74 O-Pee-Chee #3 – Phil Roberto

1973-74 O-Pee-Chee #124 – Steve Durbano (RC)

1973-74 Topps #173 – Jean Ratelle

1973-74 O-Pee-Chee #91 – Joe Watson

1973-74 Topps #31 – Wayne Stephenson

1973-74 Topps #85 – Dave Keon

1973-74 Topps #83 – Brian “Spinner” Spencer
(I accidentally called him “Dave” in the episode)

1973-74 Topps #10 – Ken Dryden

1973-74 O-Pee-Chee #121 – Mike Robitaille

…and the cartoon on the back. (More about that story here.)

1973-74 Topps #100 – Montreal Canadiens

1973-74 Topps #182 – Derek Sanderson

1973-74 Topps #15 – Gary Unger 

1973-74 Topps Insert Stickers – Bruins logo / Penguins flag

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 

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

The Day I was Paid to Play Hockey

Back in 2018, I was paid $250 to play hockey. No, it wasn’t on a professional tryout contract with a minor league team, but rather for a television commercial. That said, they would recruit practically anyone who owned hockey gear — including me, a guy who had been playing for less than five years at the time.

Continue reading “The Day I was Paid to Play Hockey”

Video: Sal Barry Guest Appearance on Pittsburgh Hockey Now

I was a guest on Pittsburgh Hockey Now, discussing my article for The Hockey News about the Russian Penguins. For those who don’t know, the Russian Penguins were a joint venture between Russia’s Red Army hockey club and the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins from 1993 to 1995. If that sounds like a crazy idea, well…it was. The Russian Penguins had everything from strippers to mobsters, as well as a few future NHL players, too. I also show off a few rare pieces of Penguins memorabilia. ■

Love hockey collectibles and/or hockey culture? Join the new Puck Junk Facebook Group and follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk. 

The 15 Best Hockey Cards from 1989-90

Hockey card collecting was on a precipice during the 1989-90 season. It hadn’t yet taken the plunge into the abyss of overproduction, inflated prices and rookie cards of practically anyone who got within 10 feet of an NHL uniform — succinctly known as the “Junk Wax Era.”  Hockey cards were rapidly becoming more and more popular, accelerated by the trade of Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988. 

Yet, only two companies issued mainstream sets that season. The 198-card Topps set was sold in the U.S. and its near-identical, though slightly larger, cousin O-Pee-Chee sold a 330-card set in Canada. 

But if you dig a little deeper, you will find that there were many other cards issued that year that stray from the beaten path — from team-issue cards to minor and junior league trading card sets, to cards printed on the side of food boxes. 

Here is a look at the 15 best hockey cards from the 1989-90 season. Keep in mind that most of these cards aren’t particularly valuable, with most ranging from $2 to $5 each — and even that might be pushing it. Anyone with a love of hockey cards and hockey history should consider having these in their cardboard collection. 

Continue reading “The 15 Best Hockey Cards from 1989-90”

The Quest for Khabibulin

One collector. One mission. 24 cards.

Collector Daniel Gilchrist has collected everything and anything related to Nikolai Khabibulin for 25 years. He owns several game-used goalie sticks, a game-used jersey and game-used goalie pads once worn by “The Bulin Wall.” He also has dozens of autographs and thousands of cards of Khabibulin, who is — if you haven’t guessed it by now — Gilchrist’s favorite player.

Gilchrist set out on one of his biggest collecting goals in 2016 when he decided to track down all 24 Nikolai Khabibulin logo patch cards from the 2013-14 Upper Deck Edmonton Oilers Collection trading card set. Although the pieces of Oilers logo aren’t from a game-worn jersey, they are still a sight to be seen when assembled. Gilchrist recently talked with Puck Junk about what challenges there were in his quest to collect all 24 logo patch cards of his favorite player.

Sal Barry: How long have you been a hockey card collector?

Daniel Gilchrist: Since I was 14. My family moved from Winnipeg to Edmonton in 1988, a few days after Wayne Gretzky was traded to the Kings. My cousins sent me a care package when we moved, and it had a bunch of hockey cards in it, including a Brett Hull rookie card. That’s how I got started.

SB: How did Nikolai Khabibulin become your favorite player?

DC: It’s actually a pretty funny story. Continue reading “The Quest for Khabibulin”