BEHIND THE MASKS - Leaf Masked Men

Well.....two in two days.  I'm pretty sure this trend won't continue.  But let's enjoy it.

As I mentioned yesterday, I've been scanning some of the stuff on my desk, doing a little spring summer cleanup.  These cards come from one of the very few eBay pickups I've made this summer.

A couple weeks back I saw a tweet from a well respected hobby board member who mentioned he had a nice lot of cards up for grabs on eBay.  Included were a few of the latest Leaf Masked Men set.  I hadn't started building that particular set yet so I decided to pick up the auction.  After all, it was a very reasonable price and it had a nice bonus card to end things with.

So with that, let's take a look at what might be the least exciting Masked Men product I've seen in a mighty long time.  (For those who might not have seen some of my comments on the product from earlier....here you go).

OK....first off, this is not a mask.  It's a helmet-cage combo.  And really, out of all the incredible goalie masks that have been worn in the almost 60 years of its existence, this is the best you could come up with?

Please, no need for Tretiak, Osgood, Dan Cloudier and Arturs Irbe.  Their "masks" just don't cut it in my opinion.

No....this scan is not in black & white because I forgot to hit the "add color" button.  It's black & white because this is the best Grant Fuhr pic Leaf could muster up.

No doubt that if it were in color it would be a terrific card.

But....it's not.

This Gilles Villemure offering is pretty solid.  Maybe a little grainy and thus oddly cut out....but I like that it pays homage to one of the all-time great masks.

A set that can offer a full checklist like this would be a start.

Beezer is another one of those "can't go wrong if you add him" players to a mask set.  I even like the angle of the photo.  It really showcases the mask effectively.

So it's official....I'm building the set.  These won't be something I aggressively hunt down - I'll only grab them when the price is right....real right.

But I do like my goalie mask sets so it'll be a fun build nonetheless.


Now, in addition to these four mask cards, there were some other inserts and rookie cards (nothing to really wow anyone with) but there was one card that had me think that this lot was a must-have.

A nice Carey Price Fire On Ice insert.  It's shiny and sparkly (good qualities for a card)

Oh....and it's numbered to just 25.

That'll do just fine.

LINDEN CARD(s) OF THE WEEK - My Recent Additions

Holy cow!!!  It's been forever since I last posted.  It's been a combination of a number of things.  First, I've been busy - really busy at work.  Busiest summer I've had there.  Second, I've taken a bit of an unplanned card hiatus.  Finances just aren't jiving with collecting right now (and that's ok).  Third, I just haven't been too excited about collecting right now.  I still enjoy it, but it's not at the forefront of my mind these days.  Lastly.......well there is no lastly.  I just haven't been posting.

Sue me.  :)

Anyways, I had some time tonight to try and get a few things sorted off my desk and I decided to pull the scanner out and share some of the Linden cards I've picked up this year (yeah....that's how long it feels).  A couple generous gifts, a few nice bargains and really that's about it.  Nothing jaw dropping.

THIS ONE IS NOT MINE....but I thought I'd share it as it's from Dr. Price's (of In The Game fame) newest venture - President's Choice Trading Cards.  These are not distributed in boxes or packs, but rather made available through his website.  Lots of nice stuff on there but I'd love it if there was some sort of database so I knew what Linden cards have been made available (once it's bought....it's gone from the site).

I was lucky enough to snag a screen grab of this before it sold.  Not sure who bought it (I didn't) but it's definitely a nice addition to his/her collection.

This was a generous gift from a fellow player collector.  Dave knew that I was a diehard Linden guy and simply asked if I needed it.  He fired it off immediately.

Much thanks Dave.  I like the red jersey piece as you don't see too many Linden cards with that jersey colour.

Solid looking card, but Leaf has really done it with the parallels.  One of the few reasons why I'm just not attacking them like I used to.

Another gift from a longtime Linden collector.  Kevin sent this off to me and I really didn't know what to make of it at first.  Looks like a simple ruby parallel of an almost 20 year old card.

But....when you take a look at the back of the card you will notice the lack of a serial number.

No "show card" designation so we are left to assume it's an error of sorts or a backdoored item that just sat in inventory.  Regardless, I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff.  Kevin even mentioned he has a gold and green version as well (would love to see those one day).

Thanks very much Kevin.  You've always been a great part of my collecting world.

Here's an eBay pickup I decided to snag after learning that the seller was local and would even go so far as to drop the card off at my house personally.  Normally I'm not a fan of that but he said he didn't mind.  Turns out I used to play hockey as a kid with him.  Not sure he recognized me, but I certainly did - especially after I read the name.

I remember him because he would always take obscene shift lengths - to the point where all of the coaches and players would scream his last name over and over to get him off the ice.  I laughed at that memory.

This "limited" parallel auto is a nice one to scratch off the list.  Should've been an easy one to snag but took longer than I thought.

Love the hard signed sigs.  They are the best.

Leaf Stickwork.  Nothing to write home about and this dual memorabilia card /8 can attest to that.  I did't pay much for it (and wouldn't have).  Nice to grab it....but doesn't do much for me.

I remember when I first saw these Trilogy Tryptichs cards.  I thought they looked pretty good.  A decent print run of 60 made them a bit of a challenge but not overwhelming.

And I like this type of signature way more than sticker autos.  Looks clean (when the signature fits in the die cut).

Same can be said of this Black Diamond Placard.  A really nice design and a solid looking card.  The silver on black really works here.

But I think if UD just made the area for the auto to come through a little bigger....it's be a complete winner.

I jumped the gun on this one and bought it not looking completely at the auction description.  There was a bit of paper in the upper right that peeled away and left the corner white.

I took a pencil to it to cover it up a bit.  (I know....for shame).

I'll be looking for an upgrade one day.  These are after all manufactured patches.

This one is not however...and I got it for real cheap.

I had my eye on one for months that had what looked to be part of the NHL crest as a piece of Linden's patch.  I made a fair offer on it but was declined.  I got this one for about a quarter of the price.

Funny thing is the other card is still for sale and I've seen it numerous times listed for less than what I offered on it.  Should've taken it while he had the chance.

Lastly, this simple.....SIMPLE jersey/auto numbered to just 9 is the replacement I got from one I bought that was lost in the mail.

I was sad to not see it come as I bought it for a good price.  While I did get my money refunded, I wasn't sure I'd get that kind of a deal again.

Lucky me....I did.  Pretty much the same price.


Well, that's about it for my Linden adds.  I've got a couple other things to share over the next couple weeks (if my work schedule doesn't kill me).  Might get me back in the groove of posting as I do miss blogging.

Hope everyone is having a good summer.

(There....no more Messier as the lead photo on my blog)!!!!