Hockey Card of the Day: 1989-90 OPC #192 Grant Fuhr

• I recently won this card on Twitter, and it's a pretty sharp copy.  A lot of 89-90 OPC cards have centering issues, but this isn't one of them.  
• 92 career playoff wins and 6 playoff shutouts shows that he was definitely a money goaltender.  4 Stanley Cup rings, and a below 3.00 GAA shows that he stepped up his game in the post season.
• Market watch:  23 copies of this card currently on COMC, ranging from 49 cents to $1.75!  I would believe that the lower end of the range is more appropriate for this card/set.

I have a thing for HOF jersey cards on the cheap

I've wondered in the past about how successful some players would have been had they not played on teams with Wayne Gretzky.  Naturally, the first player that comes to mind that benefited from Gretzky's greatness is his right winger, Jari Kurri.

Don't get me wrong, 601 goals is nothing to sneeze at.  And yes, the one season he played in Edmonton without Gretzky they won the Stanley Cup.  It does take some talent to have a 4 year run of 52, 71, 68 and 54 goals.   The one stat that jumps out during that 4 season run is his shooting percentage in each of those campaigns was over 25%, which is phenomenal.

Given all that, when I see a 2012-13 Artifacts dual jersey card of Finland's 2nd greatest hockey player for a measly $2.50 at a card show, it's a very easy pickup.  You'll probably see more Jari Kurri cards in the future here, as I do my best to rebuild the OPC lineup of sets between 1980 and 1987. 

thanks for reading, Robert

Box break: 2012-13 In the Game Between the Pipes

If you take away two things about me from my time spent writing on the blogs, you should know that:

1.  My preference is licensed over un-licensed products
2.  I have a hard time turning down a good deal.

When it comes to hockey cards, these two things can sometimes lead to internal conflict.   That's how it was when I spotted a great deal on a hobby box of 2012-13 In the Game Between the Pipes on the Dave & Adam's website.  For less than half the normal cost, I decided to give this product a try.

I was pleasantly surprised.

For me, the junior goalie cards are OK.  I don't know most of the players, but sometimes that's what is good about cards, you get a bit of an education.

One of the more famous junior teams in Ontario is the London Knights, and I found a history of the team here.  I haven't followed junior hockey in Canada on a regular basis since I was a teenager.   Maybe it's time to get back into it a little more.  Some of the logos and jerseys are fabulous.

Being a part time goaltender myself when I was younger, some of the cards that feature vintage masks are great.

History lessons are always good, so these cards that feature goaltenders from the original six days are a treat for me as well.

Even today's stars are part of the mix:

There's also no shortage of goodies in the box.   One of the more popular inserts over the years has been the Masked Men cards, and I was fortunate enough to pull 3 of them out of the box.

Naturally, the Felix Potvin becomes an instant favorite for me.  These cards scanned tremendously; they are really beautiful in hand.

As far as hits, I received 6 total.  The 3 autographs consisted of one junior player, and two goalies who had careers that lasted just under a decade apiece.

The names on the jersey cards I pulled were a lot more notable.

The dual jersey was of Ed Belfour and Brandon Whitney.  Whitney is a BlackHawks prospect, drafted in the 7th round in 2012.

The other two cards feature a goalie that earned his 300th victory this season, Henrik Lundqvist.

A great way to finish up the box. 

At $47, this box was a great rip.  The original price was over $100, which for me would be a bit too steep for an unlicensed product.  If ITG BTP was priced in the $70-80 range, I might be more tempted to pick up a box when it first comes out. 

I now know what everyone has been raving about over the years.  ITG does a great job for a company without a NHL license.  With Upper Deck owning an exclusive license by the NHL, it appears that ITG will be limited in what it can do for the foreseeable future.

thanks for reading, Robert

The bargain hunter in me won out

While running my contest on the main blog last week, I decided when shopping for the gift certificate from Dave & Adam's card world that I would treat myself as well.

Damn electronic shopping, makes life way too easy.   Especially when there are good deals to be had.

One of my hockey card weaknesses has always been the Black Diamond set.  For years, however, I've managed to stay away from this temptation.  Well, while shopping D&A's had a deal I couldn't resist.

2010-11 Black Diamond blister packs (3 packs of 5 cards each) for $3.99 apiece. 

Ouch.  When I see deals like this (1 pack normally is $3.99), I usually pounce.  So I bought 5 of them.   The deal with these packs is that they were returns from retail outlets.  When I see something like that, I don't get my hopes up.

In the end, I really didn't fare all that badly.  You know me though, I have to bitch a little.  Marty Turco was all over these packs!

That actually made me laugh.  I also pulled a couple of Jonas Hiller as well.  But this time, there was some good luck to go with the bad luck.

Double and triple diamonds, I pulled 3 each. 

Casey Wellman has played 12, 15, 14 and 13 games in each of his 4 NHL seasons.  That's just plain crazy.  Alex Plante has a grand total of 10 NHL games, and the hockey reference website has a transaction listed for him on July 18th of last year, but what it was, they don't know.   It's blank.  A little research and I found out that he signed in the Austrian hockey league. 

The other triple diamond and the doubles were all solid pulls, recognizable names always help when you pull rarer cards.

The quad diamonds?  I pulled two of those...not too shabby for me.

Jeff Skinner RC!!  Mike Richards is also a great pull.  Definitely no complaints there. 

Now, I never expect to get any jersey/auto cards from these types of packs, but I definitely was surprised with this card.

For me, that is one helluva pull.  Ryan Miller quad jersey!!  Even better was that all the swatches weren't just one color.  One of the best pulls in a while for me. 

Speaking of goalies, I also bought a box of a product that has nothing but goalies in it.  I'll show that off next time.

thanks for reading, Robert

2008-09 Upper Deck Masterpieces

I bought a couple of boxes of these back at the November Expo for $25 apiece.  I opened them not too long after that, but never posted a word about them until now. 

These cards are incredible.  Similar to the baseball releases, these artistic cards feature some of the greats of the game in some memorable poses.

How about the Cup presentation ceremony in '94 for the Rangers?

Even though Bettman is in the drawing, it's still a memorable moment.

Don Cherry's greatest player of all time, Bobby Orr, looks great in the '76 Canada Cup.  I can still remember Darryl Sittler's overtime goal to beat the Czech's. 

How about a pair of all time greats in the cage for the blue and white?

One of these days I will own actual vintage cards of both of these guys.  I still love watching interviews with the "China Wall" Johnny Bower. 

This set even includes a couple of cards depicting Lord Stanley and Lady Byng.

A history lesson never hurts when it comes to cards, especially when the people portrayed are responsible for part of the game's history.

The framed cards are also very cool.   I pulled a couple of Oilers from their 80's dynasty teams.

Finally, the jersey card that was in the box features a great red swatch from the "Big Bird", Larry Robinson.

One of these days,  I should be able to get these 2 boxes sorted and see if I have at least one set, if not 2. 

Thanks for reading, Robert