Puck Junk

Blake’s Takes: The Playoffs Are Set

Sunday night marked the end of the Qualifying round and the beginning of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The most important takeaway of that sentence is that the NHL has succeeded in building a bubble to protect players and staff from COVID-19. Because of that, the odds that a Stanley Cup champion will be crowned in 2020 look higher than ever.

The Qualifying Round was exciting and upsets were plentiful. In this week’s column, I’ll revisit some of the most notable matchups of the Qualifying Round and a few other interesting tidbits from the last week.

Keep staying safe everyone.

Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: The Playoffs Are Set”

Puck Junk Podcast: August 6, 2020

Episode 66: Collecting Mario Lemieux

In Episode #66 of the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast, Sal Barry and Tim Parish focus on the greatest “Number 66” ever: Mario Lemieux! They discuss the many, many different Mario Lemieux insert and tribute sets that were issued over the years, as well as some of the more offbeat Super Mario cards. Sal and Tim also talk about the new “Red Penguins” hockey documentary, the NHL playoffs so far and new hockey cards released this week.

Show Notes, Links and Images:
Profile on CBC announcer Jim Hughson (CBC)
“Red Penguins” streaming links (iTunes & Amazon Prime Video)
Topps Now Hockey stickers (Topps)
Panini hockey cards at the Panini online store (Panini)
Upper Deck Game Dated Moment card for Week 43 (Upper Deck Blog)
More about the LeBron James card that sold for $1.8M (Sports Byline USA)
The card that Randy Carlyle won’t autograph (Puck Junk)
Career In Cards: Mario Lemieux (Puck Junk)
More about Warren Young, Mario Lemieux’s teammate (Puck Junk)
Tim’s list of Mario Lemieux insert and tribute sets (PDF)

Images and set reviews of various Mario Lemieux cards.

1985-86 Topps #9 – Mario Lemieux (rookie card) – set review here.

1992-93 Clark Bun Mario Lemieux card – set review here.

1993-94 Leaf Mario Lemieux Collection #3 – set review here.

1997 Mario Lemieux Moments Card #13

1997 Mario Lemieux Moments Empty Wrapper for Pack #6

1983 Canadian National Junior Mario Lemieux postcard – set review here

2001-02 Topps #328 – Mario Returns

1996-97 Metallic Impressions Mario Lemieux Set

1997-98 Pacific #66 Mario Lemieux (found in packs of 2001-02 Pacific)

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

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“Red Penguins” Movie Released Today

“Red Penguins” is a new hockey documentary about the strange partnership between the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Russian Red Army hockey team and the Walt Disney Corporation. Back in the early 1990s, the famed Red Army hockey team was broke, so it reached out to NHL teams for help. The Pittsburgh Penguins answered the call, and for two seasons co-owned the Red Army team, re-branding it as the Russian Penguins.

Things went well at first. Pittsburgh Penguins ownership brought in a marketing team that introduced “North American Hockey” to an unsuspecting Russian fan base — from opening-night theatrics, game-night giveaways, strippers (seriously), bears drinking beer and more. It was nothing like Russian hockey fans had ever seen. Unfortunately, this also drew the attention of the Russian Mob, who wanted a piece of the action, too. And that’s when things really go off the rails.

If this story sounds familiar to you, it is because I wrote about it last year for The Hockey News. Last fall, “Red Penguins” was featured at the Toronto International Film Festival and received strong reviews. The film was set to be released in theaters this spring, but then the COVID-19 pandemic swept the continent and closed theaters.

However, “Red Penguins” is finally available as of today via streaming services. You can stream “Red Penguins” on iTunes and on Amazon Prime Video for $5.99.

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.

Love hockey? Join the Puck Junk Facebook Group, subscribe to Puck Junk on YouTube, and support this site and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■

Blake’s Takes: Welcome Seattle

After a week off, I’m back to share some takes with you all. If you want to see some pictures of my (socially-distanced) road trip vacation, here you go.

Otherwise, the last two weeks could not have been a busier week in the NHL. Real, live, hockey games took place and the NHL is back! Also, Seattle finally announced the name of their new franchise, the Seattle Kraken.

Keep reading to find out my thoughts on what’s going on in the world of hockey.

Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Welcome Seattle”

Video: We Make Fun of Bad Hockey Cards

Last month, Sal Barry and Tim Parish were guests at the Sport Card Expo’s “Virtual Expo,” hosting the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast live and making fun of some bad hockey cards. Of course, some of these cards you probably know already, such as “Mad” Mel Bridgeman and “Cowboy” Doug Gilmor. But there are sure to be a few surprises here too. Video is 30 minutes long.

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

Love hockey? Join the Puck Junk Facebook Group, subscribe to Puck Junk on YouTube, and support this site and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■

Video: 2019-20 Upper Deck Ice Two-Box Break & Review

Sal Barry and Tim Parish break two boxes and then review 2019-20 Upper Deck Ice hockey cards in the latest Puck Junk Video.

Ice was released out earlier this summer, with boxes selling in the $100-$120 range. Each box has five packs and each pack has five cards. There are 50 base cards and 100 rookie cards in the set, with some RCs being signed and limited to just 99 copies each.

Who got the bigger hits? Who gave Ice a better score? All these questions and more are answered in the video. Watch it, then leave a comment and let us know what you think about 2019-20 Upper Deck Ice hockey cards.

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

Love hockey? Join the Puck Junk Facebook Group, subscribe to Puck Junk on YouTube, and support this site and buy a shirt from the Puck Junk Online Shop. ■

Book Review: 99 Stories of the Game

Hey, Wayne! What is This Book? Please Explain.

Stumbling around in a discount book store last fall, I found a copy of 99 Stories of the Game by Wayne Gretzky sitting by the cash register. I’d seen this book before and had passing interest, as in I was mildly interested in reading it one day, but I’d always passed on it. But this one has a gold sticker in the corner advertizing it as a signed copy and I actually had to put my eyeballs on the ink to see if was real. It was! Who is going to turn down a $15 autograph of the man whose many accomplishments also include hawking a ready to eat soup mix from your own Stanley Cup?

I will say that the title is a little misleading, or it was for me. Continue reading “Book Review: 99 Stories of the Game”

Release the Kraken! We Crack Wise at Seattle’s NHL Team Identity

It’s been over a year of anticipation, but the newest NHL team finally has a name: the Seattle Kraken! On Thursday morning, the Seattle Hockey Partners revealed its name, logo, colors and uniform design. Last year, the writers at Puck Junk gave their suggestions for potential team names for the NHL’s 32nd franchise. Now, they’ve teamed up again to share their thoughts on Seattle’s brand identity.

Continue reading “Release the Kraken! We Crack Wise at Seattle’s NHL Team Identity”

Blake’s Takes: Two Weeks ‘Til Hockey

Hockey is right around the corner! The NHL will officially be back on August 1st. With that being said, the league has a lot of work to do before that. Just this week they announced most of their award finalists and have continued to test players for COVID-19. There was also some interesting news surrounding the league including a stupid lawsuit and an international signing.

Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Two Weeks ‘Til Hockey”

Are Any of Us Ready for Another Senators Jersey?

What is the worst kept “secret” in the NHL right now?

Definitely the announcement of the Ottawa Senators jersey re-branding, which uses a slightly modified version of the 1997 Senators logo.

Is it time?

Are we ready?

Will it help?

Continue reading “Are Any of Us Ready for Another Senators Jersey?”