Team Collectors?

[Slyner77]

Hey does anyone collect teams in general, and what do you do if your favorite players get traded or sign with another team?? Just wondering as a couple of the players I collect have done that, (not myself a full team collector) Anyways thought this could make for a good topic : ) So who do you collect and what would you do hypothetically?

[RGM81]

As a Habs collector I tend to be pretty specific with the players that I pursue. This all stems from grabbing a lot of Alex Tanguay stuff in the summer of 2008 only to have him be the biggest disappointment since David Aebsicher. I'm still stuck with a lot of his cards, even the Flames fans won't take them and that was the team most of his cards feature him! LOL

When there's a trade made what I'll try to do is find a collector of the guy that the Habs are getting in return and see what he/she intends to do. When they made the deal with Minnesota, sending out Latendresse for Pouliot, I found a Pouliot collector and we just traded straight across: YG for YG, SPA for SPA, etc. It worked out really nicely.

When Saku Koivu left I did move out some cards but he holds a special place in my heart so I kept most of it. I will still add the odd Captain K item from time to time.

I almost had to confront the possibility of Carey Price being traded. I actually wrote an article here at SCF in which I said the following:

I of course love Price in Montreal and would hate to see him leave, but it might be the best thing for him moving forward; as much as I hate to agree with Don Cherry that he has to get out of Montreal, it might be true. I actually find the Colorado option very interesting and it would be a great opportunity for him to kick-start his career with a very good up-and-coming team. I’m very much torn between my heart and my head on the matter. There is nothing more I want to see than Carey Price in a Montreal Canadiens jersey hoisting the Stanley Cup. I do believe that he will ultimately emerge as a true #1 superstar goaltender in the NHL. However, I very much fear that, like Roy and Thibault and Theodore and every other goalie for the Habs in the past 30 years, the relationship between the player and the fans may have deteriorated to the point that the player simply has to go elsewhere to ply his trade. I want the best for both my favourite team and my favourite player – I fear that the two may be at a crossroads, and that the outcome may see them go in opposite directions.

I have never in my life been so glad to have been wrong. Price has worked out fantastically in Montreal. For at least a couple more years I don't have to confront that nightmare scenario again.

[30ranfordfan]

Well, I can tell you exactly what would happen if my favorite player got traded away from my favorite team...... I would spend the next 15 years collecting him anyway (the 15th anniversary of Ranford's trade from Edmonton to Boston was on Jan 11th).

As far as modern players go, not much would change with my PC. I try and pick up a 'nice' RC, an auto, and a GU from every player they Oilers have had. If Sam Gagner gets traded tomorrow, it's not going to change the fact that I need a RC, and Auto, and a GU in my Oilers collection.

I don't own large amounts of any of the current players, so I'm never going to end up with a bunch of cards I don't want anymore, because of a trade.

[v3rs3]

I collect base, true rookies, and lowest numbered rookies of any player in a CBJ uniform (I even have a few Adam Foote cards) . I won't add them unless they are in a CBJ uniform or card states it's a CBJ card.

[TheBoxBreaker]

If you collect a certain player, it should be because that player is your favorite. If he gets traded, I'd still collect his cards.

As for team collectors, I would just collect cards depicting a player of the team when he was on it. I don't really get why some people collect current [team name] players. What do they do when a player is traded? They sell the cards they have of him and buy others, kind of like starting all over again! I can see the fun in it, but personally I'm not a big fan of it.

[RGM81]

If you collect a certain player, it should be because that player is your favorite. If he gets traded, I'd still collect his cards.

As for team collectors, I would just collect cards depicting a player of the team when he was on it. I don't really get why some people collect current [team name] players. What do they do when a player is traded? They sell the cards they have of him and buy others, kind of like starting all over again! I can see the fun in it, but personally I'm not a big fan of it.

Because they're fans of the team first and foremost. I consider myself a fan first, a collector second. If Mike Cammalleri scores a hat trick in his next game I'm happy because he's helping my team win, and if it helps out the values on my cards so much the better.

[mugatu471]

I collect, here and there, pretty much anyone in a Wing uniform. I do it pretty lightly so I usually pick up players I like and know will be there for a while (Pavel, Henrik, Lidstrom, Franzen, Cleary). If they were to get traded I'd still keep the cards as I was a fan of them for the time they were here so I'll always have the memories.