Jim Johnson

Sent: 3/21/12
Received: 5/10/12
Time: 50 Days
Address: c/o Washington Capitals
Item Sent: 1991-92 Pro Set, 1991-92 Score Canadian, 1991-92 Topps
Item Received: 1991-92 Pro Set, 1991-92 Score Canadian, 1991-92 Topps.  All signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
New Hope, Minnesota native Jim Johnson came home to the North Stars (along with fellow Minnesota-born blueliner Chris Dahlquist) in a trade with Pittsburgh during the 1990-91 season.  Of course those two teams would meet in the Stanley Cup Finals that year.  Johnson picked up 10 points in 44 games during the regular season for the North Stars, then played in 14 Stanley Cup Playoff games during the Stars' Cinderalla run to the Finals.  He remained with the Stars through the move to Dallas.  Since retiring, he has made the rounds as an NHL assistant coach.  This year he was added to the Capitals staff during their mid-season coaching shakeup.  He helped reinvent the Caps from the high scoring juggernaut they had been in previous years into a more defensive, well-rounded team.  Interim head coach Dale Hunter decided not to stick around after this year's playoffs, leaving that status of the rest of the staff in limbo, but I feel like Johnson had a positive enough impact in D.C. to be retained for next year.

Brooks Laich

Sent: 2/9/12
Received: 3/2/12
Time: 22 Days
Address: c/o Washington Capitals
Item Sent: 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Retro, 2011-12 Score
Item Received: 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Retro, 2011-12 Score.  Both signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
Brooks Laich played in one NHL game for the Ottawa Senators before being shipped to the Capitals as part of a trade-deadline package for Caps legend Peter Bondra in 2004.  Bondra was one of the greatest players in Capitals history, but Laich has been a pretty solid return.  Make no mistake, Laich is not a glamorous player in the mold of highly-skilled teammates Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Mike Green.  He's as hard-nosed as they come.  He has benefited from playing with those guys, tallying three 20 goal seasons and two 50 point campaigns.  He's at his best as a third-line checker, but has demonstrated the ability to score when needed.  Laich even put in a few games as a defenseman earlier this season when the Caps' blue line was decimated from injury.  He's not exactly the kind of player you draft for your fantasy hockey team, but he's one of my favorite players in the NHL.  Awesome return!

Mike Knuble

Sent: 11/3/11
Received: 2/13/12
Time: 102 Days
Address: c/o Washington Capitals
Item Sent: 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Retro, 2010-11 Upper Deck 20th Anniversary
Item Received: 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Retro, 2010-11 Upper Deck 20th Anniversary.  Both signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
Mike Knuble broke into the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings late in the 1996-97 season.  He would win Stanley Cups with the Wings in each of his first two years (although his name was only engraved on the cup after the 1997-98 title).  Since then he has made the rounds among some of the league's highest profile teams: the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, and now the Washington Capitals.  He has transformed from a bruising young fourth-liner, to a top scorer (peaking with 65 points for the Flyers in 2005-06), to an elder statesman.  Now 39 and battling through an injury-filled season in Washington, he is still trying to get back to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since his first two seasons in Hockeytown.

Dennis Hextall

Sent: 1/27/12
Received: 2/3/12
Time: 7 Days
Address: Home
Item Sent: 1973-74 Topps, 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee 
Item Received: 1973-74 Topps, 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee.  Both signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
Hailing from one of the great families in hockey, Dennis Hextall is the son of Hall of Famer Bryan Hextall, Sr., the brother of Bryan Hextall, Jr., and the uncle of Conn Smythe and Vezina Trophy winning goalie Ron Hextall.  The North Stars rescued him from the California Golden Seals in 1971, and his three full seasons in Bloomington were the three best of his fine career as he averaged about 80 points and 140 penalty minutes per season.

Tim Bergland

Sent: 11/16/11
Received: 12/21/11
Time: 35 Days
Address: Home
Item Sent: 1990-91 Pro Set, 1990-91 O-Pee-Chee, 1991-92 Stadium Club, 1992-93 Topps
Item Received: 1990-91 Pro Set, 1990-91 O-Pee-Chee, 1991-92 Stadium Club, 1992-93 Topps.  All signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
Tim Bergland was a great leader and outstanding two-way forward for the Minnesota Gophers in the mid 1980s.  Though he showed a knack for finding the net in college and in the minors, his ticket to the NHL was as a penalty killing, faceoff-winning defender.  He spent six years in the NHL with the Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning.  He is now back home in northwestern Minnesota, where he is the head coach for the Thief River Falls High School team.

Paul MacDermid

Sent: 11/12/11
Received: 12/9/11
Time: 27 Days
Address: Home
Item Sent: 1989-90 Topps, 1991-92 Score Canadian, 1992-93 Ultra
Item Received: 1989-90 Topps, 1991-92 Score Canadian, 1992-93 Ultra.  All signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
He spent most of his 15 NHL seasons in low-profile locales such as Hartford, Winnipeg, and Quebec City, so Paul MacDermid was never a household name.  For over a decade, though, he was a prototype NHL grinder.  He did the dirty work, shadowing the opponents' stars and would contribute around 30 points and 150 or so penalty minutes each season. 

Al Hangsleben

Sent: 11/29/11
Received: 12/8/11
Time: 9 Days
Address: Home
Item Sent: 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee, 1981-82 O-Pee-Chee
Item Received: 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee, 1981-82 O-Pee-Chee.  Both signed in blue Sharpie.

Notes:
Warroad, Minnesota native and University of North Dakota great Al Hangsleben had his finest professional years with the New England Whalers of the WHA.  He was a punishing hitter who excelled at clearing the front of the net, but also had a bit of scoring talent.  In fact, while with Washington, he even spent time filling in as a forward.

Mike Lalor

Sent: 11/21/11
Received: 12/1/11
Time: 10 Days
Address: Home
Item Sent: 1990-91 Upper Deck, 1991-92 Pro Set, 1991-92 Score Canadian
Item Received: 1990-91 Upper Deck, 1991-92 Pro Set, 1991-92 Score Canadian.  All signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
Mike Lalor was an all-guts/no-glory stay at home defenseman who broke into the NHL on the 1985-86 Stanley Cup Champion Montreal Canadiens.  He tallied a goal and two assists during the run to the Cup that year and spent eleven more years in the league with St. Louis, Washington, Winnipeg, San Jose, and Dallas, appearing in nearly 700 NHL games.

Ryan Walter

Sent: 11/14/11
Received: 11/28/11
Time: 14 Days
Address: c/o Abbotsford Heat
Item Sent: 1979-80 Topps, 1984-85 O-Pee-Chee, 1991-92 Score Canadian, 1991-92 Score Rookies & Traded
Item Received: 1979-80 Topps, 1984-85 O-Pee-Chee, 1991-92 Score Canadian, 1991-92 Score Rookies & Traded.  All signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
Ryan Walter is a hockey renaissance man.  Prior to his new job as President of the AHL Abbotsford Heat, his resumer looked like this: 15 year NHL career; Stanley Cup Champion (1986); NHL Man of the Year (1992); vice-president of the NHLPA; broadcaster; NHL assistant coach; head coach of the Canadian National Women's Hockey Team; author; motivational speaker; actor.  Either he's a very sharp dude or he has a severe fear of commitment!

Randy Burridge

Sent: 2/7/11
Received: 5/2/11
Time: 84 Days
Address: Home
Item Sent: 1990-91 Upper Deck, 1991-92 Score Canadian 1, 1991-92 Score Canadian 2, 1991-92 Score Rookie & Traded
Item Received: 1990-91 Upper Deck, 1991-92 Score Canadian 1, 1991-92 Score Canadian 2, 1991-92 Score Rookie & Traded.  All signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
Hard-nosed winger Randy Burridge had his most successful run with the Boston Bruins from 1986 to 1991, but his best individual season was probably his first in Washington in 1991-92.  He scored 67 points in 66 games (including a career high 44 assists) and earned his only All-Star Game selection.

Mike Gartner

Sent: 2/16/11
Received: 4/22/11
Time: 65 Days
Address: c/o National Training Rinks (Richmond Hill, Ontario)
Item Sent: 1984-85 Topps, 1989-90 O-Pee-Chee, 1991-92 Score Canadian
Item Received: 1984-85 Topps, 1989-90 O-Pee-Chee, 1991-92 Score Canadian.  All signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
You know I love the Minnesota North Stars, but they dropped the ball on Mike Gartner.  At the 1989 trading deadline, the stars dealt future Hall of Famer (and arguably the team's most popular player) Dino Ciccarelli to the Washington Capitals, along with defenseman Bob Rouse.  In return, they received Gartner and Larry Murphy.  Now, when you're trading away a future Hall of Famer, it's always nice to get another in return.  We got two.  Problem is, we didn't hang onto them.  After a prolific career in Washington, Gartner became the North Stars sole representative in the 1990 NHL All Star Game.  A few weeks later, he was dealt to the Rangers for Ulf Dahlen - a fine player and a key contributor on the 1991 Stanley Cup Finalists, but decidedly not a Hall of Famer.  Gartner would fire off three straight 40 goal seasons for the Rangers (making it four straight overall, counting his combined year with Minnesota and New York) en route to 708 career goals and hockey immortality.

Neil Sheehy

Sent: 2/19/11
Received: 2/23/11
Time: 4 Days
Address: c/o Sheehy Hockey, LLC
Item Sent: 1990-91 Topps, 1991-92 Score Rookie & Traded
Item Received: 1990-91 Topps, 1991-92 Score Rookie & Traded.  Both signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
This is my second success from Mr. Sheehy.  I originally wrote to him last may and received a signed 1991-92 Score Canadian card.  That was prior to my decision to try collecting that set.  I needed to get his Traded card signed for that set, so I coupled that with his 1990-91 Topps card.  Same lightning-fast result!

Todd Krygier

Sent: 1/13/11
Received: 1/29/11
Time: 16 Days
Address: Home
Item Sent: 1991-92 Score Canadian, 1991-92 Score Rookie & Traded
Item Received: 1991-92 Score Canadian, 1991-92 Score Rookie & Traded.  Both signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
I continue to make my way through second requests to players I had success with before I started focusing on specific sets.  Former Whalers and Capitals winger Todd Krygier signed four cards for me back in June.  While I do feel a little guilty about going to the well twice with these guys, I think being straight with them, thanking them for their signatures on the first request, and explaining why I'm bothering them again has definitely helped.

Shawn Chambers

Sent: 12/17/10
Received: 12/29/10
Time: 12 Days
Address: Home
Item Sent: 1991-92 Score Canadian
Item Received: 1991-92 Score Canadian, signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
If the sight of longtime Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars defenseman Shawn Chambers in a Washington Capitals sweater seems odd, it is.  Traded by the North Stars to the Capitals prior to the 1991 season, he appeared in just two games for Washington due to a serious knee injury.  This is my second success this year from Mr. Chambers.  As with a few other early successes, I re-sent to him to acquire a 1991-92 Score card for my set.

Dean Evason

Sent: 7/9/10
Received: 12/24/10
Time: 168 Days
Address: c/o Washington Capitals
Item Sent: 1990-91 Pro Set, 1990-91 Topps, 1991-92 Score Canadian
Item Received: 1990-91 Pro Set, 1990-91 Topps, 1991-92 Score Canadian.  All signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
I wrote to Dean Evason (now an assistant coach for the Capitals) during the offseason, figuring it could take a while to get a response.  Unfortunately, I had not yet decided to focus on specific sets yet when I sent the request.  While I did get one card here to add to my 1991 Score set, he has two more (one in the base set and one in the traded set) that I need.  So, I'll probably be writing again at some point.  Thanks, Dean!

Kelly Miller

Sent: 8/2/10
Received: 12/13/10
Time: 133 Days
Address: Home
Item Sent: 1990 Michigan State Collegiate Collection, 1991-92 Score Canadian, 1991-92 Score Canadian "NHL Brothers"
Item Received: 1990 Michigan State Collegiate Collection, 1991-92 Score Canadian, 1991-92 Score Canadian "NHL Brothers."  All signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
The oldest of three Miller brothers to play in the NHL in the '80s and '90s (Kevin and Kip being the others), Kelly had the most successful pro career of the bunch.  After breaking in with the New York Rangers, he was traded to the Washington Capitals in 1987 and spent the next dozen years as a solid two-way forward in D.C.  Of note, this is the first signature I've acquired from the "NHL Brothers" subset in the 1991 Score set.  It is now en route to Kevin, along with his own base card.  

UPDATE 12/25/10: Received a response from Kevin Miller, completing the "Brothers" card!

Doug Jarvis

Sent: 10/29/10
Received: 11/15/10
Time: 17 Days
Address: c/o Boston Bruins
Item Sent: 1979-80 Topps, 1984-85 Topps, 1990-91 Pro Set Minnesota North Stars Logo
Item Received: 1979-80 Topps, 1984-85 Topps, 1990-91 Pro Set Minnesota North Stars Logo.  All signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
The NHL's Cal Ripken, Doug Jarvis played a record 964 consecutive games from 1975 to 1987.  During the streak, he won four Stanley Cups and the Selke and Masterton Trophies.  He joined the North Stars as an assistant coach in 1988 and remained with them after the move to Dallas, eventually winning his fifth Cup (and first as a coach) in 1999 with the Stars.  He is now in his first season as an assistant for the Bruins.

Ken Sabourin

Sent: 7/14/10
Received: 7/22/10
Time: 8 Days
Address: Home
Item Sent: 1991-92 Score Canadian, 1991-92 Upper Deck
Item Received: 1991-92 Score Canadian, 1991-92 Upper Deck.  Both signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
Another return for my 1991-92 Score set comes from former Flames and Capitals defenceman Ken Sabourin, who currently serves as the Capitals radio analyst.  Thanks for the quick return, Ken!

Don Beaupre

Sent: 6/12/10
Received: 7/10/10
Time: 28 Days
Address: Home
Item Sent: 1981-82 Topps, 1984-85 O-Pee-Chee, 1991-92 Upper Deck
Item Received: 1981-82 Topps, 1984-85 O-Pee-Chee, 1991-92 Upper Deck.  All signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
North Stars great Donnie Beaupre -- my first "favorite goalie" -- signed three cards, including his rookie.  I'm stoked about this one!

Todd Krygier

Sent: 6/11/10
Received: 6/25/10
Time: 14 Days
Address: Home
Item Sent: 1990-91 Upper Deck, 1991-92 Pro Set, 1991-92 Score Canadian, 1991-92 Upper Deck
Item Received: 1990-91 Upper Deck, 1991-92 Pro Set, 1991-92 Score Canadian, 1991-92 Upper Deck.  All signed in black Sharpie.

Notes:
Krygier was the kind of gritty, workmanlike player that I loved.  He also wore the Hartford Whalers sweater, which I loved even more.  I have a fascination with defunct NHL franchises.  I'm sure I'll be sending to plenty of players from the Whalers, Winnipeg Jets, and Quebec Nordiques.  Probably because I still can't get over the loss of my Minnesota North Stars.  Todd added the note "Dan, My Pleasure!  Todd" to the back of my letter.  Thanks, Todd!