Good News For Hockey Fans?

In what could amount to good news for NHL fans, ITG has submitted a proposal for an NHLPA license. If they are approved they would be able to make cards using current players, though no logos or team names.  They actually had a one-year deal in the works with the NHLPA last year but they were instructed to only produce two sets during the lockout so Price turned down the deal.

 

I had been a serious hockey fan for years but after the 2004-05 lockout, the second in ten years, I had enough. I still keep an eye on the Islanders and Coyotes but I rarely watch games and almost never pick up packs but I think this should be a no-brainer for the NHLPA, ITG produces some of the best hockey cards each year. I do not like limited licensing, it has led to stagnation in some products, I can understand not handing out licenses to everyone but one or two companies controlling the majority of licensing is serious overkill.

The NHLPA's Major Rookie Card Announcement

Yesterday the NHLPA released a statement that will greatly affect Panini and Upper Deck’s 2012-13 NHL release calendar. The announcement states that the only rookies that are eligible to be included in 2012-13 products are players who debuted after the 2012 NHL All-Star game (1/29/12) through the end of the 2012 Stanley Cup Final (6/11/12).

This means that there will not be any cards of players who were drafted in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft in June and there will not be any rookie cards of players who will make an appearance during the upcoming shortened season that begins on Saturday. This will result in a double rookie class in next year’s releases, similar to what happened following the 2004-05 lockout.

Panini has cancelled Titanium and Dominion but they still have Limited, Rookie Anthology and Prime on the calendar. Upper Deck has not made any announcements about upcoming products. The big question being asked is how the companies intend on dealing with redemptions in sets that have already hit the shelves.