Hockey History As Told By Cardboard - Andy Moog

On March 8, 1988, Edmonton Oilers netminder Andy Moog was traded to the Boston Bruins.  Unhappy with his situation, Moog held out and instead joined the Canadian Olympic program where he could be the starter.  Despite the Stanley Cup victories, he was tired of not getting a shot in net as his time in Edmonton was mostly spent backing up HOFer Grant Fuhr.  

Moog said, "My leaving was all about opportunity. I felt that I could be a starter elsewhere, and after three championships in Edmonton, I believed that the time was right for me to become the player and leader I knew I could be."  He wasn't going to get that opportunity in Edmonton so leaving for the Olympic team made him the best available free-agent goaltender that technically wasn't in the NHL.

Rumors floated around quite a bit prior to the trade and most folks were sure he would soon be a Pittsburgh Penguins. However, his new digs would ultimately be in the same colors but a different city.  Oilers GM Glen Sather made Boston's GM Harry Sinden an offer he couldn't pass up and Pittsburgh was priced out of the Andy Moog sweepstakes.  In a package that included Boston's Bill Ranford, Geoff Courtnall, and a draft pick, Moog was sent the Bruins.  The Oilers would win another Cup with Ranford backing up Fuhr in both 1988 and 1990. The team they beat??  Andy Moog and the Boston Bruins, both times.

Hockey History As Told By Cardboard - Ryan Smyth

Something that hadn't been done since 1919 occurred on October 12, 2006. Ryan Smyth of the Edmonton Oilers, along with Jonathan Cheechoo on the opposing bench, both scored natural hat tricks. 

Smyth scored his Natty Hatty in a 2:01 span early on in the third period, triggering a 6-4 comeback victory for the Oilers over the Sharks.  But the milestones kept coming as Smyth's feat broke Wayne Gretzky's team record of fastest three goals scored in a game, which held at 2:18.  This was also Smyth's 500 career point.

Edmonton's coach Craig MacTavish said, "Any time you beat one of the Great One's records, it is a pretty good night.  Good for Ryan. For a guy that grew up idolizing Wayne to get one of his records, it couldn't be placed in a better spot. I'm sure he would appreciate something like that."

I Can't Believe It's Not Cardboard - Highlighting Other Personal Collectibles (Comrie Bobble)

Back in 2002-03 it was a weird time in hockey card collecting. Companies were prevalent with Upper Deck, Topps, In The Game, and Pacific all manufacturing sets and competing for the almighty hobby dollar. But when it came to gimmicks, no one could touch Pacific Trading Cards.

Randomly "inserted" in hobby boxes and made available as redemptions in retail boxes, Pacific gave the literal treatment to its' Head's Up release with ceramic bobble head dolls. With a checklist of 14 players available (12 the previous year), the dolls feature the player in their various team uniforms atop a bluish colored base. The bases have the Pacific logo as well as the player last name. These are supposedly limited to 1,000 dolls of each player.

As you can see, I was fortunate enough to pick up a hobby box of this back in 2011 at a show in Chicago from the Atlanta Sportscards guys. My pull was then Oiler, and pre-Mr. Duff, Mike Comrie. Interestingly enough, Comrie was on the checklist the prior year but never was produced.  If anyone pulled the redemption card for him, it was redeemable for another random bobble head replacement. So despite the checklist designation, this Comrie was really his first Pacific bobble head (and last).

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