Bob Murdoch

Sent: 2/2/12
Received: 2/22/12
Time: 20 Days
Address: Home
Item Sent: 1977-78 O-Pee-Chee, 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee 
Item Received: 1977-78 O-Pee-Chee, 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee.  Both signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
Bob Murdoch followed a similar career path as fellow California Golden Seals/Cleveland Barons defenseman Rick Hampton (whom I received a response from just one day earlier).  Both were offensively talented defensemen who had just started their NHL careers before the Seals moved to Cleveland.  Both played for both seasons of the Barons existence.  Both were dealt away by the North Stars following the merger and dispersal draft.  And both were out of the NHL at a fairly young age after approximately one more season.  Murdoch was an All-Star during his rookie year for the Golden Seals in 1975-76.  His 49 points that season were a career high.

Rick Hampton

Sent: 2/1/12
Received: 2/21/12
Time: 20 Days
Address: Work
Item Sent: 1977-78 O-Pee-Chee, 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee 
Item Received: 1977-78 O-Pee-Chee, 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee.  Both signed in blue Sharpie.

Notes:
Cool addition to my obscure little Cleveland Barons collection!  Rick Hampton was an offensively gifted defenseman for the doomed Seals/Barons franchise.  In his sophomore season, at the age of 19, he scored 51 points for the final Golden Seals club.  The next year - the first in Cleveland - he put up 40 points in 56 games.  He had loads of promise, but those years ended up being the highlights. After the Barons-North Stars merger, Hampton landed with the Los Angeles Kings, where he hung around for one full season followed by three final NHL games the next year.

Mike Christie

Sent: 2/1/12
Received: 2/10/12
Time: 9 Days
Address: Home
Item Sent: 1977-78 O-Pee-Chee, 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee 
Item Received: 1977-78 O-Pee-Chee, 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee.  Both signed in blue Sharpie.

Notes:
Physical, no-nonsense defenseman Mike Christie is a poster boy for defunct franchises.  He broke in with the California Golden Seals and moved with them to Cleveland.  Halfway through the Barons second and final season, he was dealt to the Colorado Rockies, for whom he had he longest NHL tenure and even served a season as team captain for coach Don Cherry.

Wayne Merrick

Sent: 7/29/11
Received: 8/22/11
Time: 24 Days
Address: Home
Item Sent: 1977-78 O-Pee-Chee, 1979-80 Topps
Item Received: 1977-78 O-Pee-Chee, 1979-80 Topps.  Both signed in blue Sharpie.

Notes:
Wayne Merrick was a top center for the St. Louis Blues, and then for the doomed California Golden Seals/Cleveland Barons franchise.  During the 1977-78 season, he was dealt to the upstart New York Islanders.  It was there where he would gel with future Hall of Famers Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin, and Clark Gillies, as well as longtime linemates Bob Nystrom and John Tonelli.  Merrick was an integral part of the Islanders' four consecutive Stanley Cups.  His biggest individual moment was scoring the Cup-winning goal against the Minnesota North Stars in game five of the 1981 Finals.

Gilles Meloche

Sent: 3/10/11
Received: 4/2/11
Time: 23 Days
Address: c/o Pittsburgh Penguins
Item Sent: 1977-78 O-Pee-Chee, 1979-80 Topps, 1984-85 Topps
Item Received: 1977-78 O-Pee-Chee, 1979-80 Topps, 1984-85 Topps.  All signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
Can you think of a better name for a goalie?  To me, Gilles Meloche is a snapshot of the early 1980s.  What better way to learn about the NHL than a wily veteran goalie with a bushy mustache and that name.  More than just a name, though, Meloche was part of a terrific tandem (with the equally wonderfully named Don Beaupre) that captured my heart upon discovering the North Stars.  He finished his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and has been their goaltending coach for over twenty years now, winning Stanley Cups in 1991, 1992, and 2009.

Greg Smith

Sent: 10/23/10
Received: 11/4/10
Time: 12 Days
Address: Home
Item Sent: 1977-78 O-Pee-Chee, 1979-80 Topps, 1981-82 Topps
Item Received: 1977-78 O-Pee-Chee, 1979-80 Topps, 1981-82 Topps.  All signed in black marker.

Notes:
Greg Smith came to the North Stars in their 1978 merger with the Cleveland Barons.  He spent three seasons at the Met Center as a physical stay-at-home defenseman before being dealt to the Red Wings following the Stars' 1981 Stanley Cup runner-up season.