LINDEN CARD OF THE WEEK - 2014/15 O-Pee-Chee

It was an interesting summer for my Trevor Linden collection.  When I decided to go on my hiatus, I was curious to see the Linden landscape upon my return.  How many new cards would I have to chase?  How many rare pulls would have come and gone?  How long would it take just to get my list updated?

Well, I was pleasantly surprised to find that a bit of a lull had occurred with new Linden cards.  Getting back on track took next to no time.

There were no In The Game additions over the summer.  It looks like ITG took the summer off too.  I've heard that they merged with Leaf and will be releasing products via a team effort.  I'm very interested to see what they come up with moving forward.  ITG has been a definite love/hate relationship but I can never complain about not having some great looking Linden cards to chase.

Panini, in their final months of releasing hockey products (before Upper Deck begins its exclusive deal with the NHL) didn't provide much until their final push - National Treasures.  I'm adding one card from Playoff Contenders (/499) and four (non 1/1) cards from NT.  A very reasonable chase.

Upper Deck, who normally leaves Linden out of their products (except for The Cup it seems recently), added him into their Ultimate Collection checklist (a nice hard-signed autograph card) and then the ever-popular O-Pee-Chee release.

I've enjoyed the OPC releases for years now.  I think the overall look and build of the product for its price point is one of the best on the market.  A big, beefy base checklist, some simple short-print cards, inserts, parallels and the odd big hit make this a fun break for all levels of collectors.

With Linden in the mix, there are six new cards added to my wantlist.  I landed the first one a couple weeks ago.

2014/15 O-Pee-Chee

#563 Marquee Legend

They aren't breaking any new ground with the design this year, but I do enjoy the look of this card.  I would have loved a photo of him in the yellow, orange and black but what can you do.

There are five parallels of this card still on the list.  A blank back, Rainbow, Rainbow Black (/100), Red and (what I'm looking forward to most) Retro.

I don't see any of those cards breaking the bank (although the blank back could be a tough find....I'm still looking for one from the 08/09 product).

While I was updating my list this morning I decided to scan the other two cards I picked up this summer.  My little cheat from the hiatus if you will.

2012/13 In The Game

History Of Hockey

#3439 ITG Buyback 2002/03 BAP Signature Series

These slabbed ITG History Of Hockey cards have always intrigued me.  Such a low-end card in a high-end product.  They never took off the way I think some anticipated they would.  I never really saw any huge appeal or big dollar value to them....so I stayed away for the most part.

I did pick up his slabbed OPC rookie card (as there are only 7 copies of it) and one other buyback auto (the 10/11 Decades 80's...which by my numbering is the only one they made of it).

This 02/03 Signature Series auto has 6 copies in three different numbering designations.  Please note...I'm still trying to figure out the whole checklist for this.  It's quite confusing.  And I've seen the card pop up numerous times over the months since it hit the open market.

It wasn't until it dropped to under $10 that I decided to pull the trigger.  Heck, just slabbing the card itself costs that much.  I thought it was finally the right price.

2013/14 In The Game

In The Game Used

#CC-10 Captain C Gold

Another release that had me patiently wait for prices to ease back down, this Captain C Gold version (limited to 10 copies) was in no rush to hit my collection.

When the card first came out it would've gone for $40-50.  I paid $15 for my copy (which was just a little more than the regular Silver version).  Patience pays off.


So that's it.  My Linden collection is back up to date.  A few more cards on the list, but all in all a very manageable climb.

What I have noticed though is how passive I have been with ebay since the start of September.  I see cards that I normally would have struck at, but right now the aggressiveness just isn't there.  Have I become too patient?

Let's check back on that in a month or so.