Trade List > Hockey > 2008-09

The following cards are available for trade. If you see anything that interests you, please feel free to drop me an email.

2008-09 O-Pee-Chee: 4, 6 (2), 7 (2), 8, 10 (3), 11, 12 (3), 13 (2), 14 (2), 15 (2), 16, 17 (4), 20 (2), 22 (3), 26, 27 (2), 28 (2), 29 (3), 30, 34, 38, 39, 41, 42 (2), 46 (2), 47, 49 (2), 50, 52 (2), 54, 55, 63, 64 (3), 65 (2), 69, 71 (2), 79, 80, 81, 82 (2), 84, 87, 88, 90, 91, 95, 97 (3), 100, 102, 107, 110 (2), 116, 119 (2), 122, 124 (2), 125 (2), 129 (2), 130 (2), 131 (3), 132, 134, 136, 137, 138 (3), 140 (2), 148, 149 (2), 154, 163, 165 (2), 166, 167, 168 (2), 169, 171 (2), 176, 177, 180, 181 (2), 182 (2), 184, 190, 191 (2), 194, 195, 198, 203, 212 (2), 213 (2), 218, 220, 223, 227, 229, 230 (2), 231 (2), 232, 233 (2), 235 (2), 236 (3), 237, 238, 239, 242 (2), 243 (3), 245, 246, 254 (2), 263, 270 (2), 271, 272 (2), 274, 277 (2), 282 (2), 283 (2), 284, 285, 291, 294, 299, 308 (3), 311, 312, 313 (2), 314, 316, 317, 319 (2), 322 (3), 324 (2), 326 (2), 327, 331 (2), 334 (2), 335, 337, 339, 340, 342, 343 (3), 344, 349 (2), 352 (2), 353, 354, 357 (3), 358, 360, 361 (2), 364 (3), 365, 366, 371 (2), 375, 379, 382, 383, 384 (2), 387, 393, 395, 396, 398, 399, 401, 403, 406 (3), 407, 408 (2), 409 (2), 410 (2), 411, 413, 414, 416, 418, 421, 424 (2), 427 (2), 428 (2), 429 (2), 430 (2), 433, 434 (2), 437, 439, 440 (2), 445, 447, 448 (2), 450, 452, 456, 463 (2), 465, 467, 470, 472 (2), 476, 478 (3), 479, 480 (2), 481, 484, 486, 487, 488 (3), 491 (2), 498 (2), 500

Marquee Rookies SPs:
551. Tim Conboy, Carolina Hurricanes

Legends SPs:
569. Peter Stastny, Quebec Nordiques
570. Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins (3)
575. Mark Messier, Edmonton Oilers
577. Mike Bossy, New York Islanders
578. Pat Lafontaine, New York Islanders
580. Jean Beliveau, Montreal Canadiens

1978-79 Retro Parallel:
111. Eric Nystrom, Calgary Flames
210. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
439. Chris Phillips, Ottawa Senators

Season Highlights:
SH-18. Johan Franzen, Detroit Red Wings 

Winter Classic:

WC25. Jaroslav Spacek, Buffalo Sabres

2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Update: 605

1978-79 Retro Parallel: 

603. Mathieu Schneider, Atlanta Thrashers

631. Keith Ballard, Florida Panthers

632. Cory Stillman, Florida Panthers

644. Robert Lang, Montreal Canadiens

649. Nikolai Zherdev, New York Rangers

650. Wade Redden, New York Rangers

688. Steve Eminger, Tampa Bay Lightning

692. Ryan Hollweg, Toronto Maple Leafs

695. Steve Bernier, Vancouver Canucks

703. Cory Schneider, Vancouver Canucks

718. Aaron Johnson, Chicago Blackhawks

754. Brandon Sutter, Carolina Hurricanes

757. Nikita Filatov, Columbus Blue Jackets

765. Oscar Moller, Los Angeles Kings

766. Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings

779. Andreas Nodl, Philadelphia Flyers
789. Ben Bishop, St. Louis Blues

Metal:

57. Kyle Wellwood, Vancouver Canucks

67. Niklas Kronwall, Detroit Red Wings

136. Chris Kunitz, Anaheim Ducks

209. Alexi Kovalev, Montreal Canadiens

259. Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks

277. Jim Slater, Atlanta Thrashers

285. Bill Guerin, New York Islanders

545. Andrew Murray, Columbus Blue Jackets "Marquee Rookies"

578. Pat LaFontaine, New York Islanders "Legends"

652. Filip Kuba, Ottawa Senators

705. Karl Alzner, Washington Capitals "Marquee Rookies"

709. Andrew Ference, Boston Bruins
724. Kendall McArdle, Florida Panthers "Marquee Rookies"

730. Matt Greene, Los Angeles Kings

786. Janne Pesonen, Pittsburgh Penguins "Marquee Rookies"

Metal X:

508. Tom Cavanagh, San Jose Sharks "Marquee Rookies"

517. Ilya Zubov, Ottawa Senators "Marquee Rookies"

2008-09 Upper Deck Masterpieces: 83

2008-09 Upper Deck MVP: 3, 7, 58, 102, 129 (2), 151, 154, 192, 256

Choice Reserve:
112. Matt Stajan, Toronto Maple Leafs
195. Vesa Toskala, Toronto Maple Leafs

Choice Reserve Gold:
232. T.J. Oshie, St. Louis Blues (Rookie)

Cupquest:
CQ-39. Brenden Morrow, Dallas Stars (2nd Round)
CQ-77. Rick Nash, Columbus Blue Jackets (Semi-Finals) 

2008-09 Upper Deck National Hockey Card Day:
HCD1. Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
HCD5. Derick Brassard, Columbus Blue Jackets
HCD10. Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils
HCD12. Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
HCD13. "Mr. Hockey" Gordie Howe

2008-09  Victory: 53, 58, 91, 133

Rookies: 
222. Pascal Pelletier, Boston Bruins

Gold:
207. Ilya Zubov, Ottawa Senators (Rookie) 

One of Kobe Bryant's Last Upper Deck Cards Isn't an Easy Find

If it weren't for 2009-10 Upper Deck Exquisite, this would have been Upper Deck's final fully licensed NBA card:

From the front, it's got the same design as 2008-09 Upper Deck Basketball, which is odd considering there's also a 2009-10 Upper Deck Basketball set. So how can this be one of Upper Deck's last NBA cards? The back tells the story of the card's origins:

This is a promo card released in the DVD of the Spike Lee documentary Kobe Doin' Work. While the title is horrible, the movie's not bad. It follows Bryant through an entire game in April, 2008 and articulates his greatness as a player. If you care, here's my review for it. The DVD was released in late November, while Exquisite hit shelves only a short time after.

Be careful, though. If you go to track down the card and buy the DVD, mine was very damaged. It was inserted loosely in the case and flopped around in transit leaving the card pretty beat up. And I'm not sure if every DVD has the card as well, so I can't make any promises.

Upper Deck and the Curious Case of Lost Originality

When Upper Deck burst onto the scene in 1989 they revoltuionized the hobby with the slick cardstock, holograms and buck-a-pack pricepoint. Over the past couple of decades they've been in the middle of some the hobby's biggest innovations: in-pack autographs in 1990, winking holograms in the mid-1990s, jersey swatches in 1997 (although I believe it was Press Pass that first had memorabilia cards a year-or-so earlier), the intorduction of the mega-premium "pack" with the launch of Exquisite. The list is a pretty big and respectible one.

But today I'm disgusted by their lack of originality and their insistance on copying their main competitor and dancing around the fact that they're doing so. I'm pretty stocked about 2009 O-Pee-Chee Baseball, but I also recognize that while the parallel inserts may mimic the O-Pee-Chee design, one also has to acknowledge that these were originally Topps designs. It's a blatant rip-off in my books, even if they do own all things O-Pee-Chee.

After opening a couple of packs of 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Update Hockey, the ripoff status has reached an entirely new level. Not only do you get a 1978-79 Retro variation in every pack (another old school Topps/OPC ripoff) but the composition of the set is exactly like the Topps Traded sets from 2001 and 2002. Every pack has a second parallel named OPC Metal. Topps Chrome anyone? And what's Topps Chrome without your refrectors. But wait, the refractor name is copyright. So instead they're Metal X parallels. Sounds an awful lot like the format for 2001 Topps Traded Baseball. Actually, that's exactly like 2001 Topps Traded Baseball. Who are they trying to kid that "Chrome" is different from "Metal"?

Give me a break! Following hobby trends is one thing. Creating entire sets that copy just about everything from your competitors is lazy, boring, insulting and just plain lame. Does Upper Deck not understand that by "borrowing," "paying homage," "tributing," whatever polite term you want to call it, from your competitor and their history that you make yourself look like a joke. It only makes what they do seem better.

Upper Deck needs to understand that they need to balance building from ideas and just plain taking others' ideas. By copying Topps to this extent they're losing their own brand identity. Topps has the market for nostalgia and history sets. Get over it and do your own thing. Upper Deck has built a fanbase for their high-end products. That's their angle. And just like Upper Deck normally fails at "old time" sets, Topps often does the same with high-end product.

My venting comes partially from the fact that this year's cards are pretty boring. There's nothing new going on in any of the sports that I can see. With the economic downturn and several licenses coming to pass, the era of risk-taking is gone. Instead it's A throwing B's poop against the wall, pretending it's C's and hoping that some of it sticks.

I want to see a little risk-taking for once. Something that doesn't involve Photoshopping in a politician. Something that doesn't copy a competitor. Something that's been missing for a while now - originality.

2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Update Hockey:

You've got your base cards, Metal parallel and Metal X. Seems familiar.

2001 Topps Traded Baseball:

 

base cards, Metal Chrome parallel, Metal X Refractors (or Retrofrators as Topps called them for a year or two)

Slow Sales Lead In the Game to Cut Production

I just received an email blast from In the Game that openly speaks of poor sales for their upcoming goalie-centric 2008-09 Between the Pipes Hockey set. Rather than cancelling the set entirely or delaying it, production was cut resulting in better insertion rates for autograph, memorabilia and Masked Men inserts. So if you are busting boxes, you're going to get better value than what the packaging tells you. Exactly how much more wasn't announced, though.

This announcement says a couple of things about the current state of the hobby. The first is that these are tough times for the manufacturers. In the last two weeks we've had Inkworks go under and Donruss sold to Panini. Coming out and publicly saying sales stink shows that others are hurting too.

That leads into my second point. By letting the cat out of the bag about better than originally stated insertion rates, In the Game is giving collectors a sales pitch. That's when it was said in advance. Now those that might have been on the fence before might be swayed by something a little extra. That's what happened with me a few months back with Topps' Indiana Jones Masterpieces. At first it was one sketch card per box. When the product hit everyone was getting two. Yet Topps didn't advertise the obvious slash in production. However, it was enough to sway me into getting a box.

The production slash will also give the appearance of a short run. But isn't it more with supply meeting demand? I'm sure there will be a bit of a sales blip for In the Game. Maybe it'll be big. But in the bigger scheme of things, if these are the new sales tactics, I can't help but wonder if there's bigger issues on the horizon for another manufacturer.

In the Game Loves the Devil

In the Game hasn't wasted any time celebrating New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur's fete of becoming the winningest goalie in NHL history. Moments after his historic victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, ITG announced an online offering for the 2008-09 Martin Brodeur Record Breaking Super Box. 

Each Super Box will have ten packs of each of the following sets: 2006-07 Between the Pipes, 2007-08 Between the Pipes and 2008-09 Between the Pipes. Each will also have a specially stamped 1-of-1 autograph or memorabilia card.

Just 80 BrodeurSuper Boxes will be made. Forty will contain stamped versions of previously released ITG Brodeur chase cards, while the other half of the run will have one of 40 new memorabilia cards celebrating various Brodeur milestones. This will be the only place to find these milestone cards.

Each Super Box carries a price tag of $159.95. For a complete checklist of the special inserts and ordering information, click here.