Ten Great Hockey Cards

Free time has been a rare commodity lately, and I'm falling severely behind in thank you posts as a result.  I can think of half a dozen people off the top of my head who have sent me cards in the last couple of weeks that I've yet to thank.  Please bear with me, I assure you I haven't forgotten and the fact that I'm dragging my feet does not mean that I appreciate the cards any less.

In the meantime, here's ten random hockey cards that I already had scanned, from a Sportlots order back at the beginning of December.  The best of the bunch might be the Canvas card of the latest member of the 500 goal club above.  It's the most expensive card in this post at an even $1, a price I was happy to pay for such a unique card of such a talented player.

I've professed my love for early Fleer Ultra inserts many times over, and since this seller had quite a few that I needed at the minimum price allowed by the site, I decided to plug some holes in my collection after all these years.

These Premier Pivot cards scream mid-'90s.

There are ten cards in the insert set.  I had only one prior to this order (Sergei Fedorov); this trio leaves me with half a dozen to track down including Wayne Gretzky.

From the following year's Ultra set, here's a Red Light Special insert of the man still lighting the lamp in the NHL this season!  Jagr is quickly becoming one of my favorite players of all-time due to the fact that he just continues to produce points after so many years in the league.  If the Bruins don't win the Stanley Cup this year, then I really hope the Panthers do.

Another set that takes me right back to my childhood collecting days, Skybox Emotion.  Without really trying, I seem to be accumulating quite a few Joe Sakic cards lately.

Playing hockey myself as a kid, I was enamored with the powerhouse Flyers teams of the '90s.  Some of my favorite players to watch, and collect cards of, were guys like Lindros, Leclair, and Mikael Renberg here.  Couldn't resist adding a new one for $.18.

Finally landed a copy of this great Canvas insert of my favorite Boston Bruin for about the past eight years and counting now.  I like the appearance of a Red Sox cap in the foreground on this one.

My obsession with the 1994 Rink Collection/Museum Collection parallels continues.  Ron Francis is in my top five favorite players of all-time, and though I wish he was still with the Whalers when this set was printed up this is a fine card regardless.  I've always thought Ron was one of the most criminally under-rated players when it comes to the value of his cards.  It's amazing how little cash it takes to acquire his rookie, or certified autographs, compared to other players of his caliber.

Here's the last card for tonight, a really nice addition to my Stanley Cup on cards collection.  What an awesome moment captured on cardboard.  I can't imagine the feeling of elation Ray must have felt at this exact point in time, finally hoisting the Cup after more than 1,600 games played in his long career...