Puck Junk Podcast: 2020-21 MVP Hockey Cards

Episode #71: October 22, 2020

In this episode of the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast, Sal Barry and Tim Parish talk about hockey announcer Mike “Doc” Emrick retiring and the new 2020-21 Upper Deck MVP Hockey cards. Plus, more details about the Virtual Expo 2.0. 

Show Notes, Links and Images:
Tim’s column on what Mike Emrick has meant for hockey (Puck Junk)
Virtual Expo 2.0 (show website) 
Andre Dawson State Farm Insurance commercial (YouTube) 
Penguins and Flyers “Reverse Retro” Jerseys (Icethetics)
The Penguins’ jerseys also featured a diagonal “PITTSBURGH” wordmark on home and road jerseys during the 1967-68 season, and again from 1992-93 to 1996-97 on road jerseys. 
The Joey Logano hockey card (Puck Junk)
President’s Choice Trading Cards Captains Row (link)
That time Evgeni Malkin  appeared twice in the same set (Puck Junk)
Joe Thornton’s 1995-96 junior league hockey card (Puck Junk)
2020-21 MVP Hockey checklist (Trading Card DB)

2020-21 MVP Hockey card images:

2020-21 MVP Hockey #106 – Alex Ovechkin

2020-21 MVP Hockey #106 – Alex Ovechkin (back)

2020-21 MVP Hockey #23 – Brock Nelson

2020-21 MVP Hockey #76 – Jamie Benn

2020-21 MVP Hockey #125 – Patrick Marleau
Even though Marleau was a Penguins player when this set came out, he is pictured with the Sharks. Coincidentally, Marleau signed with the Sharks after this card came out. 

2020-21 MVP Hockey #219 – Steven Stamkos (short print)

2020-21 MVP Hockey #230 – Gage Quinney (RC, short print)

2020-21 MVP Hockey #221 – Michael DiPietro (RC, short print)

2020-21 MVP Hockey – Puzzle Back Variants

2020-21 MVP Hockey #161 – Sebastian Aho Silver Scripts Parallel

2020-21 MVP Hockey #8 – Nick Foligno Super Script Parallel (16/25)

2020-21 MVP Hockey Retro Parallel #74 – Matthew Tkachuk

2020-21 MVP Hockey Colors and Contour #66 – Liam Foudy (160/250) 

2020-21 MVP Hockey Mirror Mirror insert #MM-9 – Brad Marchand

2020-21 MVP Hockey Net Crashers inserts #NC-2 – Nathan MacKinnon

2020-21 MVP Hockey High Speed inserts #HS-1 – Connor McDavid

2020-21 MVP Hockey – Unopened 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. ■

The Voice of Hockey Calls it a Career

Legendary NHL Broadcaster “Doc” Emrick Retires

Since 2005, when NBC acquired the rights to NHL broadcasting in the United States, there has been one consummate voice featured behind the microphone, serving up his eloquent and sometimes frantically excitable play-by-play for the feature games every week. On Monday, that voice decided to sign off for the last time. Mike “Doc” Emrick announced that after more than 50 years in the broadcasting business, he was retiring.

As the story goes, the first time Doc ever got the opportunity to cover a game in the NHL, he did so under the guise that he wasn’t getting paid anything…except a press credential. Continue reading “The Voice of Hockey Calls it a Career”

Blake’s Takes: More Free Agency Madness

In this week’s column, I’ll look at some of the major free-agent signings of the last few weeks. So much happened around the league during the first week of free agency that I couldn’t cover everything in my previous column. 

In addition to free agency news, I’ll highlight one of my favorite new uniforms released in the last few weeks. Happy Monday!

Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: More Free Agency Madness”

Puck Junk Podcast: 2020-21 O-Pee-Chee Hockey Cards

Episode #70: October 15, 2020

It’s been a month, but we’re back! In the latest Puck Junk Hockey Podcast, Sal Barry and Tim Parish discuss some of the offseason moves by NHL teams. They also talk about the upcoming Virtual Expo 2.0 and new hockey card releases. Then the guys take a long, detailed look at the 2020-21 O-Pee-Chee Hockey card set by Upper Deck. 

Show Notes, Links and Images:
The Virtual Expo 2.0 (Show Site)
President’s Choice Trading Cards Game Used (President’s Choice Website)
2020-21 O-Pee-Chee Hockey checklist (Cardboard Connection)

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee card images:

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #398 – Patrick Marleau
…forever immortalized as a Penguins player

Card backs have up to 10 seasons of stats.

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #330 – Mika Zibanejad

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #33 – Connor McDavid

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #289 – Sidney Crosby

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #521 – Gage Quinney (Marquee Rookies)

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #550 – Wayne Gretzky (Marquee Legends)

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #584 – Leon Draisaitl (League Leaders)

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #188 – Nathan Beaulieu (Blue Border Parallel) 

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #12 – Travis Zajac (Red Parallel, because WHY NOT?)

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #18 – Duncan Keith (Retro Parallel)

Retro Parallel card backs look a lot like early 1980s O-Pee-Chee card backs.

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee #213 – Phil Kessel (Retro Black Border Parallel)

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee – Premier “Tall Boys” Inserts #P-12 – Brent Burns.
Tall Boys or Small Boys? You decide. 

O-Pee-Chee Premier card backs are printed in full color.

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee – Playing Cards 3♥ – Pekka Rinne

Playing Card Backs are black with gold ink.

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee Hockey – sealed box

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee Hockey – sealed pack

2020-21 O-Pee-Chee Hockey packs are somewhat difficult to open. 

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: Offseason Moves

Last week was a busy one in the NHL. In one week we saw the start of free agency and the NHL Draft take place. I could rattle off 20 takes this week. I’ll stick to my usual five, but I’ll include some of this week’s news in future columns because there is so much to talk about.

This week, I’ll focus on the bigger transactions around the league as well as a major points jersey announcement . Happy Tuesday!

Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Offseason Moves”

The 11 Biggest Hockey Stories of 2019-20

By Sal Barry, Tim Parish, Blake Isaacs, Jim Howard & Kyle Scully

Before we turn our attention to the upcoming hockey season, we wanted to take a look back at the 2019-20 NHL season. And what a crazy season it was! A global pandemic halted the league for the first time in over 100 years. Players spoke up and spoke out against racial injustice in the United States. A Zamboni driver became a goaltending hero.  And that’s just the start of it. 

The past season was the longest NHL season, too, starting on October 2, 2019 and ending almost a full year later on September 28, 2020. The team at Puck Junk rounded up what they thought were the biggest stories of the 2019-20 season. Like the fictional band Spinal Tap, we couldn’t settle on just 10 — we turned it up to 11. So, here are the 11 biggest stories of the 2019-20 NHL season. 

Continue reading “The 11 Biggest Hockey Stories of 2019-20”

Blake’s Takes: Tampa Bay Wins the Stanley Cup

After the NHL season was paused in March, no one was sure if we would see the Stanley Cup lifted. Well, the circumstances surrounding the Stanley Cup Final may have been odd and unexpected, but, the Stanley Cup was awarded to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

In this week’s column, I’ll explore how the Lightning’s legacy has changed with their Stanley Cup win.

The rest of the league was busy last week, too! I’ll share my takes on a few notable signings and trades. Happy Tuesday!

Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Tampa Bay Wins the Stanley Cup”

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”

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”

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”