The Lightning Card of the Week - Mike Smith 2009-10 UD Victory

There is a 78% chance Smith is going to turn the puck over in this photo.

2009-10 Mike Smith Upper Deck Victory. Back to back Victory cards and back to back current Phoenix Coyotes.  Wow, two posts into this gimmick and I'm already in a rut. I like the Victory cards because they usually don't try to be anything more than a basic set. No need to be fancy with the design or photos, just make sure you have the logo, player name and team name on the front and throw a white border around it. Works for me.

How do you remember the Mike Smith era in Tampa? Colossal disappointment? Unfulfilled potential? Have you ever dated someone who was perfect for you, but for some reason it just didn’t work out? Despite the fact that you laughed at the same jokes, she tolerated Star Wars and you didn’t mind Titanic, something was still off.  Either she was coming off a long-term relationship or you were an axe-wielding psychopath, the relationship just didn’t work so you parted ways and wished the best for each other.  To me, that was the Mike Smith experience in Tampa.

Things were rocky from the beginning for Smith in Tampa.  He was the centerpiece in a deal that saw one of the most popular players in Lightning history shipped out because the new ownership group couldn’t afford him.  He was behind the 8-ball from the beginning with some fans because he was traded for Brad Richards and could never live up to their expectations simply because he wasn’t Richey.

On paper he was as close to a perfect prospect for a goaltender. He was big (6’4” 215), athletic, and successful – as the understudy to Marty Turco in Dallas Smith posted a 24-14 record with .909 save percentage and a 2.35 goals against average over two seasons with the Stars.  Most importantly to the ownership group he was young and he was cheap.

There were some good times, his 43 wins places him fifth all-time on the Lightning wins chart and he did post 6 shut-outs through his 3+ seasons with the Bolts. Heck, he even had a shining moment in the 2010-11 Stanley Cup playoff run where he replaced a struggling Dwayne Roloson in Game 4 and stopped all 21 shots he faced on the way to the Lightning’s come-from-behind 5-3 win.

He was a well-liked guy in the clubhouse, Nate Thompson called him “one of our favorite guys” and there was considerable glumness in the clubhouse when he was demoted to Norfolk during the 2010-11 season. There was also his undeniable on-screen chemistry with Ryan Malone.

Unfortunately, in the end there was too much inconsistency.  For some reason he could never grab the number one role no matter how many times it was on the table for him.  He would play well for stretches and then disappear, losing starts to Johan Holmqvist, Karri Ramo, Dan Ellis and finally Dwayne Roloson.

He had pockets full of talent, but perhaps a little too much enthusiasm.  He loved to play the puck, but was so bad at it I advocated chaining him to his goalposts at one point.  He was big and athletic, but technically a bit unsound.  My sister has a dog.  When he was a puppy Milo’s paws were disproportionally huge compared to the rest of his body and he wasn’t the most coordinated animal ever created.  He tended to crash around the house more then run or walk. That’s what Mike Smith was  – a giant puppy crashing around the crease.

Injuries played a large role in his struggles in Tampa, the biggest example being the concussion he hid from the coaching staff for six weeks. The concussion would eventually cost him the last 32 games of the 2008-09 season. During his tenure with the Lightning he would miss time with various knee and neck injuries as well.

When Tampa made it clear they had no intentions of re-signing him in the off-season most fans wished him good luck while others snickered when Phoenix signed him to a 2-year/$4 million deal.  Now that the season is winding down it’s obvious that the Coyotes are the ones laughing as Smith has 30 wins under his belt and is a goalie reborn under the tutelage of goaltender coach Sean Burke.

From the handful of games I’ve watched, he’s calmer, better positioned and under control when making saves.  There is a lot less flailing and desperate scrambling.  Being reunited with Dave Tippet’s defensive system (Tippet was his coach in Dallas as well) seems to agree with his style more so than whatever Barry Melrose and Rick Tocchet put on the ice. Even Coach Boucher’s system puts a lot of pressure on the goalie when it’s not executed correctly by the team in front of him.

He’s only 29-years-old so there is still a chance he can string together a good career in the NHL. Perhaps, the demotion to Norfolk last year served as a wake-up call. Now maybe with a little bit of maturity and discipline he can establish himself as a number one goaltender in the league. It’s a shame it won’t be in a Lightning uniform, but sometimes a change of scenery is best for a young player.

To go back to our earlier analogy I guess now Smith is the ex-girlfriend you stayed friends with and are glad that she’s doing well, but it still pisses you off that she met a doctor and is driving around in a Mercedes.  Especially since at this point the Lightning are still the axe-wielding psychopath still looking to meet the right girl.

The Tampa Bay Lightning Card of the Week - Radim Vrbata 2008-09 Victory

Here we go with another weekly (yeah, right) feature.  I know there are folks out there that have similar gimmicks going on their websites, heck some writers even manage to do a “card of a day”.  First of all, I’m way too lazy to do the same thing every day. Secondly, I figure if I only do one card a week, I can really stretch out my collection for the foreseeable future.

I’ve started slowly organizing the Lightning cards I have up here in my northern compound and figured I’d share a few with you readers out.  After all, there aren’t too many bloggers out there posting about Lightning cards.  I’ll try my best to keep the players and sets varied, Zeus knows there have been enough players sporting the Lightning’s colors over the years to do that.

First up we have:

I bet there were more Lightning cards with "Victory" on it then actual Lightning Victories that year

Radim Vrbata 2008-09 Upper Deck Victory Gold Parallel

What’s that you say?  You didn’t know he suited up for the Tampa Bay Lightning?  Well, some of us are trying to block out his playing days as well.  His one season, well part of one season, was during the dark days. Signed to a 3 year deal on July 1, 2008 he was part of the free agent flurry that signaled that those who will not be named planned on treating the Lightning like their own personal fantasy hockey team.

The former 7^th round pick of the Colorado Avalanche, Vrbata was supposed to be the elite scoring winger that would round out Vincent Lecavalier’s and Marty St. Louis’ top line.  He was coming off a 27-goal season for the Phoenix Coyotes and the $3 million a year contract didn’t seem like a bad bargain at the time.

To say it didn’t work out well would be an understatement.  Vrbata lasted only 18 games with the Lightning (two games more than head coach Barry Melrose) before heading to the Czech Republic to play.  The reason originally given at the time was that he was struggling with personal problems and his confidence was shattered.  Later it would be revealed that his wife was having a difficult pregnancy and her struggle was weighing heavily on his mind.  The chaos that was the Lightning organization probably didn’t help much either.

The fact that he wasn’t producing on the ice helped make the transition a bit more amicable, and the fact that the cash-strapped ownership wouldn’t have to pay his salary didn’t hurt either. Vrbata would spend the rest of the season in the Czech Republic playing for Mlada Boleslav BK and Librec Bili Tyqri HC.

Following the season, and the healthy birth of a baby boy, Vrbata announced that he wanted to return to the NHL. The Lightning, however, had moved on. With Alex Tanguay and Stephane Veilleux on the roster of course there was no room for him (please note the sarcasm meter on the previous sentence was an 8).

So the General Manager gave Vrbata’s agent permission to seek a trade.  Low and behold his previous employers, the Coyotes, were willing to take him back.  So on July 21^st, 2009 he was traded to Phoenix for Todd Fedoruk and David Hale.  The trade didn’t do much for the Lightning, other than provide me with my fantasy hockey avatar.

Honestly, the missing teeth are the scariest part of the picture for me.

Vrbata, on the other hand, flourished upon his return to the desert where he has scored 73 goals and counting for the beleaguered franchise.

It’s a shame that Vrbata’s tenure in Tampa didn’t turn out better. He was a hard working, quiet player who went about his business professionally. As he’s proven in Phoenix he can score goals, and if things had been different the organization’s long-running quest for scoring depth might have not still be on-going.

The Upper Deck Victory set this card is a part of has an interesting history with the company. Sometimes released as its own set, it has also been released as an insert set in other Upper Deck products such as their flagship base series.  It is considered a lower-end set with packs usually costing no more than a dollar or so in the retail market.

 Inserts are limited, as are parallels such as the gold version shown above. They do tend to feature a healthy amount of rookies, so collectors looking to pick up cheap versions of their favorite player’s early cards may turn to this set.