The 90s Goalie Project - Askey me about it

  The 90's Goalie Project was first mentioned in a  post several months ago, and while it has been slow going, it is still on going.  I have added four or five to each Sportlots order. Let's look a few of the newer ones.

1998-99 Upper Deck

Tom Askey had a very brief NHL career, playing seven regular season games and one play-off game.  His NHL career was also winless, retiring with a record of 0-2-1. Tom played for Ohio State University before turning pro.  In four seasons, he went 17-68-10, with a 4.59 GAA.  Yikes, but it drew the attention of the Mighty Ducks who drafted him 186th in 1993.

  When Brian Hayward was traded from the Montreal Candiens, there was a glut of young goalies vying for the back-up job behind Patrick Roy.   Jean-Claude Bergeron was one of those young goalies.  1990-91 was JC's only season with the Canadiens.  In the 1991 expansion draft, the Tampa Bay Lightning selected goalie Fredric Chabot from the Montreal Canadiens.  The Canadiens protected two goalies, Patrick Roy (duh!) and JC Bergeron.  The very next day, either the Lightning or Canadiens realized they got the wrong man, the Lightning traded Chabot back to Montreal for J.C. Bergeron.  It was the first trade in the history of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

  This is an example of not using a player's rookie card.  Pauli Jaks had a rookie card in the 1991-92 Upper Deck update set.  Problem is, that he is part of the World Junior Championship subset.  I am looking for goalies' first NHL card, so his RC was ineligible for this project.  Pauli Jaks has only one NHL card, to go with his one NHL career game.  On January 25th, 1995, after allowing four goals in the first period against the Chicago Black Hawks, the LA Kings would bench Jamie Storr in favour for Pauli Jaks.  Jaks would allow 2 goals on 25 shots in 40 minutes. Jaks returned to Europe in the offseason.

 If you have been a dedicated reader of this blog, which I am sure you are, you already know that Glen Hanlon was the first NHL goalie to allow a goal to Wayne Gretzky and know you will know who was the last goalie the Great One beat.  It was Wade Flaherty.  On March 28th, 1999, Wayne Gretzky scored his 894th career NHL goal in a game against Flahety and the New York Islanders.  For Flaherty, it was the 245th goal scored against him in his career. 

  

TTM Success: Guy Hebert

  Guy Hebert is best known as a goalie for the Mighty Ducks of Anahiem.  He played 441 of of his 491 career games with the Ducks.  In fact he was in net for the Mighty Duck's inaugural game, a 7-2 thrashing at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings.  He would be Anahiem's #1 goalie until the 2000-01 season.  The emergence of J.S Giguere made Hebert expendable and Hebert was eventually picked up on waivers by the New York Rangers.  He retired at the end of that season..  I sent Guy 3 cards to sign and also included 2 cards for him to keep.  I believe he signed two out of the three I sent to be signed and also signed both of the ones I sent for him to keep.  I can't remember which card he kept.  I think it was a 1994 Donruss.  The return took 309 days.

  The next two are the ones I think I told him he could keep.  Since he returned them signed, they provide an excellent example of what type of cards you should not send to get signed.  The signature is really difficult to find on both cards.  Both cards have a lot of dark colours.  Ideally the card you send should have a light area about 1/3rd of the way up the card.  Most players will sign about a third of the way up the card and in blue or black marker.

TTM: Troy Loney

Troy Loney won two Stanley Cups while playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins and scored the Anahiem (Mighty) Ducks first Gordie Howe Hat Trick in franchise history.  Loney played 624 career NHL games and  also played in every single play-off game in the Pittsburgh Penguins back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992.  Mr. Loney signed 2 of 2, c/o home.

TTM: Travis Green

Travis Green played 970 NHL games over 14 NHL seasons.  He suited up for the Islanders, Ducks, Coyotes, Leafs, and Bruins.  In his final NHL season he made return trips to the Ducks and Leafs organizations.  Green also played for Team Canada in the World Championship of Hockey three times, earning gold and silver medals.  Travis Green was also part of the 1992-93 New York Islanders team that defeated the heavily favourite Pittsburgh Penguins in game 7 overtime.  I am going to start trying to collect autographs of members of the 1993-94 Islanders.  The overtime victory over the Penguins is a cherished childhood memory for me.  Mr. Green now works as an assistant coach for the Portland Winter Hawks of the WHL.

88-89 OPC Tribute: Lupul and Kariya

  Joffrey Lupul is having a career year.  His 67 points this season, has already shattered his previous career high of 53, from 2005-05.  Unfortunately for Lupul, the career season might be over, after suffering a separated shoulder in last night's game.

#90 - Joffrey Lupul 

  After reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in 2003, Paul Kariya basically admitted that the Anahiem Ducks Cup run was a fluke when he, and Teemu Selanne, took pay cuts and signed as free agents with the Colorado Avalanche, believing that the Avalanche were Stanley Cup favourties for 2003-04.  Kariya, took a $8.8 million pay cut to sign with the Avalanche.  Kariya battled injuries that season, missing 31 regular season games and then all but one play-off game as the Avalanche lost in the Quart-finals.  The Ducks missed the play-offs that season.  

  After the lock-out, Kariya signed with the Nashville Predators, while the Duck reached the Stanley Cup semi-finals before winning the Stanley Cup the following year.  Kariya, whose career was hampered by injuries, was forced into retirement with post-concussion syndrome.  He finished with 989 points in 989 games.

#120 - Paul Kariya

  That completes the 132 cards 1988-89 OPC Tribute set.  There were some tough decision and some omissions along the way.  I found the best part of doing this was also the worst part.  I often dreaded doing a write-up for each player but sometimes it was the best part since I got to learn some interesting bits about each player.  If you want to view the set, there is a link on the right side of the blog under Projects  for 1988-89 OPC Tribute Checklist.  I hope to have another addition to the project soon that I think will end it on a high note.  I hope you enjoyed the set and keep your eyes open for the last update coming soon.

TTM: Teemu Selanne

Where does Teemu Selanne find the time?  From the reports I have seen he is one of the most popular player to send a TTM and he is also one of the most reliable.  He is also known to occasionally send back an extra card or picture.  How many other active NHLers who are future Hall of Famers are so generous to their fans?   Mr. Selanne signed 3 of 3 in 23 days.  He kept a copy of the picture, as offered.  Thank you Mr. Selanne.

Teemu Selanne

88-89 OPC Tribute; Selanne, Pavelec and Hodgson

#60 - Teemu Selanne

  Teemu Selanne broke into the NHL with a bang.  He destroyed rookie records for goals, 76, and points, 132.  While Selanne has never approached those single season totals again, he did lead the league in goals two more times and won a Stanley Cup in 2007 with the Anahiem Ducks.  Selanne is only 45 points from passing Jari Kurri as the top career point scoring player from Finland.  Selanne is currently 13th in career goals, 642, and 24th in career points, 1354.

#61 - Ondrej Pavelec

  Ondrej Pavelec enters the season as the starting goalie for the Winnipeg Jets and hopes to build on his performance from last season.  In 2010-11, Pavelec may be best remembered for his on-ice collapse during a stoppage in play in October.  He received a concussion from his collapse and missed almost the first month of the season.  He finished the season with a 2.73 GAA and a .914 Save Pct.

#127 - Cody Hodgson

  It sometimes feels as if Cody Hodgson has been around forever.  The 10th overall pick of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, and CHL player of the year in 2009, finally made his debut last season.  He had 2 points in 8 games and also played 12 games during Vancouver's postseason run at the Cup.  This came a year after Hodgson lost almost the the entire 2009 season due to injuries.  In 12 games so far in 2011-12, he has 5 points.  Vancouver fans hopes he is well worth the wait.

88-89 OPC Tribute: Toews, Perry and Modano

#32 - Jonathan Toews

  The 3rd overall pick in the 2006 entry draft, Jonathan Toews, had an incredible 2009-10 season.  First he won an Olympic Gold Medal and then he won the Stanley Cup, as well as the Conn Smythe Trophy.  While 2010-11 didn't bring the same kind of team success, Toews set a personal best for points with 76.

#33 - Corey Perry

  Corey Perry not only looked like monster is 2010-11, he also played like one.  Perry won the Hart Trophy as league MVP and also won the Maurice Richard Trophy as top goal scorer.  Perry finished the season strong by scoring 19 goals in his final 16 games to vault himself into the goal scoring lead and he hit 50 in style by netting a hat trick.
  Perry's tear helped Anaheim to go 12-4-0 and to go from the outside looking in, to the #4 spot in the conference.

#103 - Mike Modano

  Mike Modano recently retired after a 21 year career.  He finished his career as 22nd on the career points list, with a total of 1374 points.  His 561 career goals is good for 23rd overall.  In 1999-2000, he was a key member of the Stanley Cup Champions, Dallas Stars.  Modano was also a member of the 1996 World Cup winning USA team, that shocked the Canada side and provide a new "Miracle on Ice" for a younger generation.

  Modano provided consistent production throughout his career, and was a lock for 80+ points for the majority of his career.  Modano never scored 100pts, and only once got 50 goals, but he lead his team in scoring 11 times over a 13 year stretch.
  Modano played 4 years with Minnesota, leading the team to the Stanley Cup finals before the team relocated to Dallas for the 93-94 season.  For this card, I had to have Modano in a Minnesota North Star.  It's actually the way I will remember him.

  There is no hockey legend for Mike Modano, perhaps in a few years there will be one.  Instead I will share this really well produced tribute video.

88-89 OPC Tribute; Getzlaf, Green, and Hull

  The captain of the Anahiem Ducks, Ryan Getzlaf, led his team in hits in the regular season and the play-offs. This card likely captures one of his 189 hits from last season.  Can't you just see #11, Danny Cleary, on his ass a second from now.  Even though Getzlaf missed 16 games, he still ended up in the top 15 in points last season.



#20 - Ryan Getzlaf

  This card is for the Sidney haters, Mike Green mauling Sidney Crosby during the 2010/11 season's Winter classic.  The offense seems to dropped out of Mike Green's game last season as he dropped from a point per game player in 2009-10, to average less than half a point per game in 2010-11.  Having trouble scoring, Green contributed in other facets, by increasing his block shot total while playing 26 less games compared to the previous season.


#21 - Mike Green



  The Golden Jet, Bobby Hull, once had his slap shot clocked at 118.4 MPH.  He has 610 career NHL goals, along with 303 WHA goals.  When Bobby Hull left the NHL to play for the Winnipge Jets in the WHA, he gave the fledgling league instant creditably.



#97 - Bobby Hull

I love how he talks about the fans and signing autographs.  I should put something together to try to get an auto TTM.



Remember to check out the updated checklist.  The link is on the right side of page, or you can view the 88-89 OPC Tribute Checklist here.