Back Stories: Jan Hrdina

"Jan is another of Pittsburgh's stars from the Czech Republic. In 1998-99, he finished fourth among rookies in scoring and was the only Penguin to appear in all 82 games. 

And what made him fourth in scoring after playing in all 82 games? 13G, 29A, 42P. He was really all the Penguins could ask for and more, considering. He ended the season with 55 votes for the Calder, including 1 first place vote which I can't fathom who cast that one.

Hrdina went on to play 366 games for the Pens before being traded to the Coyotes during the 2002-03 season, in the midst of the continued dismantling of those 90s teams. We was sent to the desert along with Francois Leroux in exchange for Ramzi Abid, Dan Focht, and Guillaume Lefebvre. Household names for sure.

 

 

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Back Stories: Morozov Memories

"Aleksey set career highs in goals (20), assists (29) and points (49) in 2001-02, eclipsing his previous bests (12 G, 19 A, 31 P) from 1999-2000, when he wore this Pens home sweater."

Notice in the wording it says "this Pens home sweater", assuming they mean this exact one we see here. As in, "We tracked down the sweater that was in this exact photo on here, cut it up, and stuck a small piece of it in this card that you now hold in your hand. Enjoy!" 

At least, that is certainly the way I'm taking it now and will into the future. It's way better than the typical BS that is printed on many cards these days. Something more like, "This piece of whatever it is in this trading card was worn or used or looked at or possible was in the same room as the person/place/thing in the picture. We can no longer confirm or deny it's authenticity. Best of luck to you in the future. Happy collecting!"

Cards were different 20 some years ago.

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Like what you read? Have a comment? Be sure to leave one below. 

 Check out TheRealDFG on Twitter @therealdfg. 

Be sure to check out the latest #PuckJunkPodcast. 

Just search and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Podchaser, PocketCasts, Castbox, Castro, Overcast, TuneIn or SoundCloud.