Buybacks on Ice - Inaugural Upper Deck Lot

It's no secret that I'm a lover of buyback cards, so it should come as no surprise that this love extends into the two different versions of 1990-91 Upper Deck hockey buybacks that exist out there.  Today I've got a group of ten to add to my collection, courtesy of a large lot of 2010-11 20th Anniversary buybacks I picked up on eBay last year.

You don't see these around all that often, as I believe they were only included in the French version of the 2010-11 Upper Deck flagship set, and were seeded at just one or two per box.  I pounced on this lot immediately when it triggered my saved eBay search, as not only did it contain a large number of buybacks, but it was at a price point that worked out to well under a dollar per card.

Let's take a look at the first ten here...

Gerald Diduck actually began the 1990-91 season with Montreal, as the Islanders dealt him there in early September 1990.  Doesn't seem like the Canadiens were all that impressed, as they turned around and dealt him to Vancouver just four months later!

Known as a great two-way forward, Mike McPhee finished fifth in Selke Trophy voting after the 1990-91 season.  This was part of a stretch of six straight seasons where McPhee received at least one vote for the Selke.

This card is somewhat of a rarity, as it depicts Daniel Berthiaume in one of just five career games he played with the Minnesota North Stars.  He sure did have an incredible goalie mask painted up for that short stint!

Stay-at-home defenseman Dean Kennedy carved out a 12-season career at the NHL level, yet I recall almost nothing about the man.  That's coming from someone who was borderline obsessed with hockey throughout the '90s, too.

Glen Wesley I have many recollections of, on the other hand.  The Whalers and Bruins had a heated rivalry throughout the early days of my hockey fandom, so even though I was a Whalers fan I knew all the Bruins from this era.  Wesley of course would later join the Hartford Whalers, which I think many fans felt conflicted about.

Brian MacLellan is better known these days as the GM of the Washington Capitals!  Were the lights off in this rink or something?  Seems awfully dark beyond the boards there...

Bruce Driver manned the blue line for the Devils for many years throughout the '80s and early '90s.  Won a Stanley Cup with the team in 1995 before being traded to the Rangers.

Kevin Dineen's brother Gord didn't exactly get the most flattering photograph on his '90-91 Upper Deck card.  He was fortunate enough to be with the Penguins (technically) during their Stanley Cup Championships back in the early '90s, but played just a handful of games each of those seasons with the big club, and spent most of his time at the IHL level those years.

Injuries had started to take their toll on Chris Nilan by this stage in his career.  In fact, he spent the 1990-91 season with the Bruins after a 2 1/2 year stint with the Rangers saw him miss a ton of games.  Very fitting that he's sporting a black eye in this photo.

We'll finish off today's proceedings with Troy Loney.  Troy won back-to-back Stanley Cups with Pittsburgh before the Anaheim Mighty Ducks drafted him in 1993 to be that franchises first captain!

While there weren't exactly any HOFers in this lot, it's nice to add ten of these buybacks in one swoop like this.  I brought my total number of these 2010-11 20th Anniversary buybacks up from 18 to 28 with today's additions.  Best of all, there are still plenty in the lot that I picked up to dip into another day!

Until then though, thanks as always for stopping by...