Hockey cards, collectibles and culture
After a three-year-plus hiatus, I’m back. After watching the entirety of the NHL’s 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, I had to share my thoughts on the tournament with the hockey community.
First off, it’s great to be back. I’m always grateful for Sal and the opportunity to write for Puck Junk.
Second, what a freaking tournament! Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: 4 Nations Face-Off Proves Hockey is Better than Hoops”
After almost four years of writing for Puck Junk, I’m officially announcing that I’ll be taking some time away. This will be my last column. It could be my last one forever. I’m not sure.
That doesn’t mean I’m not going to go out with a bang. In this week’s column, I’ll dig into one of my favorite fan moments, an intriguing contract extension, and a few other takes.
I’ll close with some thoughts about my last few years writing for Puck Junk. It’s been a ride. Let’s get down to it.
Last week was a great week for milestones and great plays. Four out of five of this week’s takes are from those two categories. The last take is rather sad; it’s about Ben Bishop and an injury that will cost him the rest of his playing career.
I won’t keep everyone down in the dumps for too long. It’s the holiday season and there is still a lot of hockey to be played.
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Ben Bishop’s Career Has Come to an End”
For those who celebrated, I hope you all had a great Hanukkah. For those who don’t, Christmas is right around the corner. In this week’s column, I’ll lead off with my favorite topic, another big extension. This week’s recipient is none other than former first-overall pick, Jack Hughes. I’ll comment on Hughes’ newfound wealth as well as the most-recent player to receive the honor of a jersey retirement.
Those weren’t the only two things to happen in hockey last week. I’ll also take a look at the two new Stadium Series jerseys and a few of my favorite plays.
Happy Monday!
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: The Jack Hughes Contract Extension”
A day late, but better than never! Last week was a huge week around the NHL. This week, I’ll share my thoughts on Evander Kane’s potential return to the ice as well as a dustup involving two of the league’s most frequent offenders.
On a lighter note, a few new uniforms were released last week and they are deserving of my attention. I wrote more than a few words about those uniforms as well another take or two.
Happy Tuesday and Happy Hanukkah!
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Jerseys in Jersey and Happy Hanukkah”
In this week’s column, I’ll highlight two of my favorite players that have resurrected their careers this season. There were also a few notable milestones reached last week that I want to write about. Get ready for another great column and let’s have a great week.
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Career Resurrections and Milestones”
Last week wasn’t kind to coaches and GMs around the league, as two of them are out of a job. I’ll share my thoughts on those two vacancies. More importantly, I’ll shed some light on two of my favorite positive storylines around the NHL and share a video that should provide you all with some laughs.
Happy Monday!
I didn’t pick the best week to go on vacation. While I was gone, the Blackhawks scandal developed in full, and Jack Eichel was finally traded. I’ll lead off with both of those topics in this column. As usual, I’ll share my thoughts on a few other notable stories across the NHL.
Happy Monday!
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Blackhawks Scandal Continues and Jack Eichel Gets Traded”
We enter week two of NHL games and my fantasy hockey team looks better than ever. My takes this week have some variety. From players with damaged reputations, extensions, and major business deals, these takes have it all.
Happy Monday!
The 2021-22 NHL season has officially begun. It’s been an exciting first week. The Seattle Kraken took the ice for the very first time as an NHL team. NHL GMs decided to get some last-minute work in signing a few massive extensions, too. So many extensions in fact I won’t be able to get to all of them this week. I will provide my two cents on the Kraken, one extension, as well as a few other notable stories around the NHL.
Happy Monday!
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: The 2021-22 Season is Underway”