LINDEN CARD(s) OF THE WEEK - A Closer Look At The SP Signature Legends Offerings

It's been a long time since a new product release has excited me as much as Upper Deck's SP Signature Legends. The cards look great, some of the insert sets will be very highly sought after and my guy has lots of cardboard sprinkled throughout.

A total of seven new Trevor Linden cards for me to add to my master checklist from this one product. Now, it's not the first time a new release has seen a multitude of Linden offerings...in fact, there have been some products that have flooded the Linden quotient (Leaf...I'm looking at you), but these new cards really tap into a number of things I love about fresh Linden cardboard.

We've already seen the base card from my box break. It's a standard card in the set and doesn't really offer any additional flair. That said, I love when a new Linden photo emerges in a product. Always appreciated.

This is the only card I currently own. The remaining photos are from cards that are (or have been) available through an online portal.

The gold foil version really compliments the photo. I love the look. And the gold background and border works beautifully for cards that have contrasting colours too. Very sharp.

The facsimile autograph is a nice touch...it's like a teaser for what's to come.

A nice hard-signed signature is something I'll always enjoy and appreciate. Someone made mention that Linden has a unique auto in the sense that it is two lines (first name on top, last name underneath). I'd never noticed it that way before. I had always just seen his signature as what it is.

Still...pretty cool.

The Decagons die-cut is a nice little insert for Trev to be included in. It's nothing to write home about but I like that he is added in more than just the base set.

I'd have to check, but there aren't too many die-cut Lindens in my collection. So that's something.

Of course, the real appeal to these Decagons are the signed variations - hard-signed at that.

This signature is not numbered (neither is the gold auto above) so I'm optimistic that I'll be able to land one at a reasonable price...though that time is most definitely not right now. Prices are a little crazy to say the least.

Here is the Ace of Spades. This All-Time Future Watch auto is pretty much everything I was hoping it would be. A nice card design with plenty of white space for a nice, full signature, and that photo is fantastic (the flying V shoulder and pant accents really take me back to the late 80's).

I love that this card is numbered to 199...a very reasonable number to chase. No rare birds here.

I've seen a live copy of one and know it'll be in my collection one day. Again, the biggest challenge will be finding one for the right price. This is a popular insert set.

Even more fun (possibly) is the unannounced acetate parallel of the Future Watch. Trev doesn't have many acetate cards either and the photo on this one just pops. It really rounds out the overall Linden chase that this product provides.

I'm not in any rush to knock these off the list, but these cards will be at a higher sense of awareness for me for quite a while. It's been a while since a new product has excited me this much.

Has there ever been a product release to really ignite your player collecting passion? What was it about that release to make you feel that way?