NJ Devils Cards

2007-08 SPx Winning Combos Martin Brodeur/Patrik Elias

2009-08-19T23:20:00.000-05:00

I haven't been much of a fan of the SPx product in recent years with the exception of the 2007-08 version. I just feel like everything from that year was designed very well, from the base, to the SPXtreme inserts, to the autogamers which included the Winning Combos set, as pictured above. A Winning Combos dual game-used jersey card is found at a rate of 1 in 18 packs, or 1 per box and (in most cases) features a combination of stars who share a common team or position. There is a VERY rare Radiance parallel to this set as well, which features autographs of both players depicted, and those are limited to just 10 copies. What I wouldn't give to have the Radiance version of this card....

2000-01 Titanium Game Gear Patches Scott Niedermayer /200

2009-08-13T23:45:00.002-05:00

Inserted into every hobby pack (1:49 retail) of 2000-01 Titanium is one of 155 different game-used memorabilia cards. Cards 1-50 are game-used stick cards, all of which are serially numbered, and include players such as Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, Peter Forsberg, Patrick Roy, Joe Sakic, and Brett Hull. Cards 151-155 are dual game-used cards with combos such as Lemieux/Jagr, Hull/Modano, and Forsberg/Sakic. Every other card in between is a game jersey card, which comes with a serially numbered patch variation, as shown above. There's nothing cooler than a boring, single-colored patch, is there?!?

2005-06 Ultimate Collection Jason Ryznar RC /599

2009-08-08T20:39:00.000-05:00

Jason Ryznar was selected by the Devils with the 64th overall pick of the 2002 NHL draft. After playing for the University of Michigan for four years, Ryznar played in 59 games for the Albany River Rats and 8 games for the big club in 2005-06. Those have been the only NHL games Jason has played in to date as he would remain in the AHL with Lowell the next two seasons. Following the 2007-08 season, he was invited to the training camp of the Minnesota Wild. From there, he was sent to their AHL affiliate, the Houston Aeros, for whom he played 77 games last season.

1998-99 Topps Gold Label Class 2 Red Scott Stevens /50

2009-08-04T23:48:00.001-05:00

Those of you who follow my other blog (you know the one) know that I'm a big fan of Topps' Gold Label line. What you may not have known is that Gold Label was instrumental in kicking off my hockey collection. When the product debuted in the late 90's, a good 90+% of my collection consisted of cards that I had acquired via trades or packs from my local card shop, a shop that hardly carried hockey at the time. Sometime in the year 2000, while at the mall with a couple friends, I happened to notice some retail packs being sold at an EBX store. One such pack was of 1999-00 Topps Gold Label Retail Hockey, the only one of its kind at the store. Having been a fan of hockey and Gold Label, I said "why not?" and bought the pack. There were only three cards in the pack but one of them was my first big hockey pull.

The card on the back had a gold back and I could tell it was an insert. When I saw the name, I could tell it was also a member of the hated Philadelphia Flyers. However, the numbering on the card made that irrelevant. I had pulled a Prime Gold Red Label of John LeClair serially numbered to 25! The odds of hitting one of those were well over 800-1 (probably more considering it was retail)! I was very impressed with the look of the cards and obviously, my pull.

Fast forward to the end of that year and the store was undergoing a change in ownership. The new owner carried a much bigger selection of cards (including hockey). Of course, I went after a bunch of '99-00 Gold Label (among lots of other products new to me) and eventually collated the set. Having seen my interest in the cards, the new owner began setting aside some Devils singles for me each time I visited his store. The collection has been growing ever since.

2008-09 UD Champ's Petr Vrana RC #176

2009-08-01T21:12:00.000-05:00

Petr Vrana was selected as the 42nd overall pick of the 2003 draft, making him the Devils' second pick that year (Zach Parise was their first at 17th). That year, Vrana won the QMJHL's Michel Bergeron trophy for Offensive Rookie of the Year (Sidney Crosby won it the following year). Petr has been playing for Devils AHL affiliates (first Albany then Lowell) since the 2005-06 season and put up a career-high 61 points two seasons ago. Vrana got his first taste of NHL experience last season, playing in 16 games and recording his first career goal against the Washington Capitals.

So far, this is the only card from Champ's that I own. I expect that to change very soon. These things are sweet.

2000-01 Pacific Gold Crown Die-Cuts Scott Gomez

2009-07-30T23:30:00.000-05:00

Overall, I don't particularly miss the Pacific brand with their seemingly endless, ridiculous parallels (not to mention third party game-used *coughcough*). However, I do miss inserts like these, Gold Crown Die-Cuts, which were inserted at a rate of 1 in 37 packs of 2000-01 Pacific. For some reason, I never particularly cared for the old Crown Royale sets, which were all die-cut and horizontal, but yet I love these. I'm strange, I guess. Of course, my scanner makes this card look 100 times crappier than it actually is. Yeah, I know this was a pretty half-assed post but....I had to show something.

2001-02 UD Top Shelf Sticks Martin Brodeur

2009-07-27T22:24:00.000-05:00

July is almost over so here's my obligatory Martin Brodeur post for the month. This card comes from 2001-02 UD Top Shelf. Top Shelf was product that most collectors have probably forgotten about as it only lasted for two years. In the inaugural product, boxes contained 12 packs per box and game-used cards were seeded at a rate of 3 per box: typically one jersey, one stick, and one piece of goalie memorabilia. Above is an example of a game-used stick card from this product. The piece of stick on this particular card is pretty boring but there are quite a few cards out there with really great, unique pieces (link). In addition, there is a gold parallel to this set and those are limited to just 50 copies. Of the 29 cards in this set, 5 are triple relics. Here's a triple (link) of Patrick Roy, Joe Sakic, and Peter Forsberg for the Avs fans out there.

2006-07 BAP Travis Zajac RC /999

2009-07-22T18:54:00.000-05:00

Earlier today, the Devils re-signed one of their core players, center Travis Zajac, to a multi-year contract (I think I heard four years somewhere). Zajac had filed for arbitration and was scheduled to have a hearing this Friday, but that will now thankfully be avoided. Last season, his third in the NHL, Zajac recorded a career-high 62 points and led the team with a +33 rating while playing a full season. Travis says he's happy to be with the Devils (link) and will look to take on more of a leader role this upcoming season.

I'm very happy to hear that Zajac re-signed. The last thing the Devils needed was to lose one of their top-6 forwards. This rookie card is serially numbered to 999 copies and was part of a small rookies lot I acquired a couple weeks ago. I'll be showing more from that lot shortly.

2000-01 Pacific Paramount Premiere Date Petr Sykora /45

2009-07-21T13:58:00.000-05:00

Here's a card from a set I basically knew nothing about until I picked this card up in a trade a couple years back. 2000-01 Pacific Paramount isn't exactly one of the more attractive sets in recent memory and the 'Premiere Date' parallel was one of the lamest of the 500,000 that Pacific used to insert in each of its products. Thanks to the stamp on this card, we find out that this product was released on October 25, 2000 and that this is the second of only 45 cards to have such a stamp.

It's been reported that Sykora, 32, won't be returning to the Pittsburgh Penguins next season and that possible suitors for the aging forward include the Tampa Bay Lightning and some Russian clubs (though Petr's agent has denied that). I'm shocked that Lou (Lamiorello) hasn't thrown some money Petr's way seeing how he's been on this big nostalgia trip the past couple years. I loved "The A Line" back in the day (perhaps the best line in franchise history), but I wouldn't personally care to see Sykora and Elias reunite (unless he comes cheap).

1995-96 BAP Autograph Neal Broten

2009-07-16T22:19:00.000-05:00

Neal Broten was drafted in 1979 by the Minnesota North Stars, the organization he would remain with until 1995, two years after the team had relocated to Dallas. Broten was traded to New Jersey in February 1995 and recorded 28 points in 30 regular season games. That postseason, Neal recorded 19 points in 20 games, helping the Devils earn their first Stanley Cup. A year and a half later, he was traded to Los Angeles for a short stint before ending up back in Dallas one last time. Altogether, Broten recorded 923 points in 1,099 career games. His number, 7, was retired by the Stars the year after he retired, 1998. He was voted by Minnesota Wild fans as the greatest player ever from that state.

I acquired this card recently in a trade with Fuji. With this acquisition, I now have autographs of both Broten brothers to play for New Jersey. To see Aaron's auto, click here.

1995-96 Topps #218

2009-07-13T23:46:00.001-05:00

Like you all probably know by now, the Devils introduced Jacques Lemaire as their new head coach, two years to the day that their last coach, Brent Sutter (who left for Calgary) began his reign as coach. Lemaire had previously coached New Jersey from 1993-98 and while he only coached them to one Stanley Cup championship, he was arguably the architect for all three championship teams. Jacques was also the only coach the Minnesota Wild had ever known before stepping down from the position this past April. Known for his defensive-minded system, Lemaire instituted a "trap" system that led to lower-scoring games and "ruined" hockey in the minds of many fans.

I'm curious as to how this move will pan out. It's unknown exactly how much longer Lemaire wants to coach and personally, I'm getting a little tired of the coaching carousel that the Devils have had over the past decade. I'm also hoping that this doesn't mean that guys like Zach Parise, Patrik Elias (who basically stepped into a time machine last year), and Travis Zajac will be slown down on the ice and not put up big numbers next year. We'll just have to wait and see but for now, check out this card that shows the result of Lemaire's second season coaching in New Jersey.

P.S. Sorry for the lack of border in the scan. My scanner does that with white.

2008-09 SP Game-Used Significant Numbers Patrik Elias /26

2009-07-12T20:55:00.001-05:00

Here is the newest addition to my autograph collection: a 2008-09 SP Game-Used Significant Numbers card of Patrik Elias. Every card in this set features one or two swatches of jersey (in number-shaped windows) accompanied by an autograph. As one might expect, print runs are based on the player's jersey number. This Elias is number 7 of 26. A few other names from this set: Sidney Crosby, Mike Bossy, Grant Fuhr, Jonathan Toews, Bobby Hull, and Martin St. Louis.

1986-87 OPC John MacLean #37

2009-07-09T21:21:00.001-05:00

Here's a card I picked up in a trade about two years ago. It's a 1986-87 O-Pee-Chee card of former Devils forward, now assistant coach (possible head coach?) John MacLean. Something I found interesting was that this card is listed as a rookie card yet prior to that year, Johnny Mac already had 158 career NHL games under his belt over three seasons in New Jersey. I'll admit that I don't know much about the cards from that era and that I own very few. Was this a common characteristic of "rookies" from that time?

1999-00 SPx Radiance Scott Niedermayer /100

2009-07-06T23:28:00.000-05:00

I know what you're probably thinking. There were blue X-fractors in 1999? Simply put, no. All 180 cards of the 1999-00 SPx set were mirrored by two parallels, Radiance and Spectrum. All the Radiance cards are covered in blue on both the front and the back and feature the exact same technology used in today's "X-Fractors." As for the Spectrum parallels, they are covered in red on both sides and feature a special type of technology that I'd describe as (for lack of a better word) "glittery." While Radiance cards have a print run of 100, Spectrums are 1/1s. The Tommy Salo from this set can be found in this auction.

I acquired this Niedermayer off the 'Bay last year.

2003-04 UD Ice Clear Cut Winners Scott Stevens

2009-07-05T11:24:00.001-05:00

Inserted into every tenth pack of 2003-04 UD Ice (on average, of course) is a thick acetate jersey card known as Clear Cut Winners. The set is a star-studded one featuring players such as Lemieux, Jagr, Hull, Roy, Yzerman, Messier, Sakic, and many more. Stevens is one of three Devils in the set, Martin Brodeur and Scott Gomez being the other two. A very rare patch variation is also included but those are limited to just 25 copies. See for yourself.

2003-04 OPC Gold Brian Gionta /50

2009-07-02T23:43:00.002-05:00

Wednesday was a nightmare for Devils fans. Like always, New Jersey sat around idly while other NHL teams threw money around at highly (and not so highly) coveted free agents, which included several Devils. New Jersey re-signed some of their young defensemen but also said goodbye to a longtime backup to Brodeur, a former Selke Trophy winner, and a man who scored the GWG in a Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, but the biggest loss was that of a man who has been a staple of the Devils' offense since after the NHL lockout, Brian Gionta. Gionta signed a 5-year, $25 million deal with the Montreal Canadiens and in the process, reunited himself with his old linemate, Scott Gomez.

During the 2005-06 season, Gionta set the Devils franchise record for goals in a season with 48, half of which came on the power play. It was at that time that Gionta and Gomez along with Patrik Elias developed great chemistry and the line accounted for a great chunk of the Devils offense. It comes as no surprise (at least to me) that Montreal went after Gionta after acquiring Gomez. Time will tell if those two will recreate the kind of magic they had four years ago. Still, Montreal certainly looks like they'll be a force to be reckoned with next year so.....good for them, and good for Captain Canuck. Oh, and good luck Gio and thank you. If you had to leave and sign with a team that wears red, white, and blue (or should I say bleu, blanc et rouge) .....

Thank you for not picking the Rangers.

2006-07 SP Game-Used Johnny Oduya RC /999

2009-07-01T09:58:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, while Scott Gomez, the man featured in my last post was traded to the Montreal Canadiens, the Devils re-signed defenseman Johnny Oduya to a three year extension. It was reported on NHL.com that the deal was worth about $3 million per but the Devils' official site claims that the terms were never disclosed due to club policy. Oduya is 27 and has spent all three years of his NHL career with New Jersey. Johnny is certainly coming into his own as a skilled puck mover and recorded a career-high 29 points last year. Johnny was one of five Devils to have played in every regular season game last year.

The card above is Oduya's rookie card from 2006-07 SP Game-Used. This is one of only two cards of him that I actually own. To see the other (much flashier) one I previously showcased in November, click here.

2000-01 UD Ice Clear Cut Autographs Scott Gomez

2009-06-29T21:18:00.002-05:00

Those of you who follow my non-Devils blog Old School Breaks know that I recently acquired a trio of game-used and autographed UD Sweet Shot cards of San Jose Sharks: a triple jersey card of Torrey Mitchell, a Stick Signings Jonathan Cheechoo /25, and an Ice Signings of Joe Thornton /100. All three cards have been moved via trade or sale. Above is one of a few Devils cards acquired in the trade, a 2000-01 UD Ice Clear Cut Autograph of Scott Gomez. As you can tell from my recent posts, I'm a big fan of '00/01 Ice but I think they could've designed the Clear Cut Autographs a little better. Something about the size of the signature space bugs me (especially compared to the size of the space where Gomez is). Despite this, I'm still very happy to add this card to my collection.

Clear Cut Autographs were seeded 1 in every 108 packs of Ice. Other notable names in the set include three members of the HHOF Class of 2009: Brian Leetch, Brett Hull, and Steve Yzerman.

2003-04 Pacific Supreme Paul Martin RC /775

2009-06-25T22:13:00.000-05:00

Lasting just one year, Pacific Supreme was a short-lived, fairly high-end product that focused on the year's rookie class and mixed in some autogamers to boot. At the time of release, boxes were selling for around $125-150. There were 10 packs per box, each containing a serially numbered rookie card like the Paul Martin card above and an extra parallel card. There were also several other inserts, two game jersey cards, and an autographed rookie card in each box. The rookie autograph checklist includes names like Joffrey Lupul, Joni Pitkanen, Milan Michalek, Dustin Brown, and Marc-Andre Fleury. Many online sites still list prices for Supreme boxes at or near the original MSRP but if you look hard enough, you'll be able to find them for less than $60.

2008-09 BAP Dual Signatures Zach Parise/Brian Gionta

2009-06-22T13:10:00.002-05:00

I recently got my first taste of 2008-09 BAP with this dual signature card of Zach Parise and Brian Gionta. As you probably all know, every box of this year's BAP product contains 8 packs with a guaranteed autograph in each pack (among other random goodies) and a guaranteed multi-player autograph in each box. This card can be easily had for about the price of a BAP pack (if not less). Come to think of it, I haven't opened a pack of BAP in years (and ignored it for the most part) and haven't really had any desire to do so. Perhaps all the fourth-line autos I used to pull in the past influenced me to stick with the singles. Now, I see there are rookie redemptions, jersey cards, and shortprinted rookies to 99 that I hadn't seen before which leads me to ask:

What do you think of the current BAP product? Has BAP improved in recent years or run its course?

2007-08 UD Ice Sheldon Brookbank RC /1999

2009-06-20T22:52:00.001-05:00

Sheldon Brookbank made his NHL debut during the 2006-07 season as a member of the Nashville Predators after toiling around the AHL with the affiliates of the Anaheim Ducks and said Preds. This was the same year he was named the AHL's top defenseman and First Team All-Star. That offseason, he was signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets but subsequently waived and claimed by the Devils exactly three months later. Brookbank played in 44 games during the 2007-08 season and recorded 8 assists as a Devil. In February 2009, Brookbank was traded to the organization that signed him to his first contract, the Ducks. In 29 games with Anaheim, Sheldon recorded 4 points, including his first NHL goal.

This acetate card comes from 2007-08 UD Ice and is an example of a Level 4 rookie card (the higher the level number, the lower the tier, Level 1 RC's are numbered to just 99). My scanner cut off the part at the bottom that says he's a Devils defenseman, but I think you could've figured that out already.

2000-01 UD Ice Stars Martin Brodeur /500

2009-06-16T23:31:00.000-05:00

Nowadays, UD Ice is a mid-level product that delivers autographed, game-used, and rookie (some extremely short-printed) acetate cards. However, in the earlier part of this decade, the acetate wasn't limited to just the inserts. The entire base set was made of acetate!

The card above comes from 2000-01 UD Ice. It's one of three parallels that mirror the set. Each parallel card is die-cut along the sides, has its own unique color scheme, and is serially numbered on the front. This gold card of Martin Brodeur is an example of the Ice Stars parallel and is limited to just 500. The other parallels are known as Ice Legends (/150) and Ice Immortals (/25).

This card has always been special to me for two reasons. First, 2000-01 Ice has always been one of my personal favorite sets. Second, out of the 633 cards of Martin Brodeur in my personal collection, this was one of about five or so that I've actually pulled from a pack myself.

2008-09 SP Game-Used Significance Travis Zajac /50

2009-06-15T13:09:00.000-05:00

Here's one of the newest additions to my collection, a 2008-09 SP Game-Used Significance autograph of Travis Zajac, serially numbered 20 of 50. Last season (his third in the NHL), Zajac broke out for 62 points while centering a line with Jamie Langenbrunner and team scoring leader Zach Parise. Hopefully, Travis will continue to produce for the Devils in years to come.

I picked this card off of eBay for less than half the price of a pack of SP Game-Used. Right now, my Zajac collection is still very small but you can expect to see more of him and other young Devils (including newbies nobody's heard of) on this blog soon.

1992-93 Upper Deck Bill Guerin #411

2009-06-12T22:17:00.001-05:00

Tonight, the NHL season officially came to a close as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Among the Pittsburgh players was Bill Guerin, who last won the Stanley Cup (ironically against Detroit) in 1995 as a New Jersey Devil.

Here Guerin is sporting the old "Christmas tree" uniform on his 1992-93 Upper Deck rookie card. Hmm, I need to start posting some more of these kinds of cards. Hell, I need to start posting more period! Sorry guys, I just haven't had the time to keep this blog up lately but expect to see some more frequent posts soon. I have some new stuff to show off. ;)

1999-00 BAP Gold Autograph Bobby Holik

2009-05-25T09:43:00.000-05:00

This weekend, it was announced that veteran center Bobby Holik has retired from hockey after 18 seasons with the Whalers, Devils, Rangers, and Thrashers. Holik was known for being a physical presence on the ice but was a capable scorer as well. Holik will be best remembered as a New Jersey Devil, the team he spent more than half of his career with, and as part of the "Crash Line" with Randy McKay and Mike Peluso. Together, they were part of the 1995 Stanley Cup championship team. It was the first of two championships that Holik and McKay would be a part of.

When Holik re-signed with the Devils last year, it was only for one season. It was unlikely that he would've been brought back for another season but it was still good to see him don the NJ sweater one more time before hanging it up. It was good to see him leave the game on his own terms and not because of an injury, as Holik himself noted. I wish Mr. Holik the best of luck in the future and thank him sincerely for the Cups he helped win.