One Player, One Card: Ruslan Fedotenko 2006-07 Upper Deck UD Game Jersey
We highlight a fan-favorite with a card with a little white swatch of a jersey worn by...well, somebody.
“Back in my day, when we bought a box we got something cool in it!” Yes, I’ve actually heard collectors, usually those with grey or no hair, say that exact phrase. If they’re from my generation, late-stage GenXer checking in, this is what they meant.
A single, small patch of uniform, usually white, stuck on a card and slapped into one or two of the packs that you got in a hobby box. For the record, these fell roughly two per hobby box back in 2006. They now reside in dollar boxes across shows from here to Peoria.
Now, these weren’t the only relic cards available in Upper Deck’s flagship product that year, but they were by far the most ubiquitous. According to Trading Card Database there were a whopping 198 cards in this subset with the Lightning represented by Fedotenko, Brad Richards, Vincent Lecavalier, and Marty St. Louis.
There was a UD Game Jersey Patches version serial-numbered to 15 which featured a nicer patch of jersey along with Rookie Materials and Rookie Materials Patches (again serial-numbered). Upper Deck also released a Generation Duals and Generation Triples featuring patches from multiple players that were quite scarce.
In those days, before the short-prints and the parallels, relics and autographs were the chase hits along with whatever rookies we were going after. For the record, in 2006-07 Series One, Phil Kessel and Jordan Staal were the two folks were chasing. Anze Kopitar would build a following later on while Lightning fans were shutout from the Young Guns excitement (Kari Ramo and Blair Jones made it into Series Two).
Of course, in the cynical world we live in now, do we really know if that is a piece of Fedotenko’s jersey? No, no we don’t. Even Upper Deck is a bit ambiguous about its provenance stating on the back that it is “a piece of memorabilia that has been certified to us as having been used in an official NHL game”. Well, at least we know it’s not from an NHL event.
It’s a coincidence that I picked a 2006-07 card for Ruslan “Rusty” Fedotenko since that would be his last season with the Lightning. After four seasons, 313 games, 74 goals, 70 assists Fedotenko signed with the New York Islanders in the summer of 2007. Despite the relative short time he was with the Bolts he is widely regarded as one of the most popular players in franchise history. Now, why could that be?
Oh, and this
“He’s got another one!” is etched in the brains of Lightning fans as Fedotenko provided the two goals needed for the team to clinch their first Stanley Cup. In typical Fedotenko fashion he scored one on the power play and one at even strength. For as much credit as the Big Three of Richards, Lecavalier, and St. Louis get for carrying that team to destiny, Fedotenko was just as important.
He scored 12 goals during the run, with three of them counting as game-winners. He averaged 16:40 of ice-time playing all three phases of the game. The 12 goals are even more impressive considering he missed Games 3 and 4 after Robyn Regehr shoved him face-first into the boards.
The biggest moment of his Lightning career came just over two years from the moment Tampa Bay acquired him. In the summer of 2002, the Lightning were holding the fourth overall pick in a draft that had three really good players (Rick Nash, Kari Lehtonen, and Jay Bowmeester). Rather than take a chance on Ryan Whitney or Joffrey Lupul, Jay Feaster (who was running his first draft for the Lightning), traded that pick to Philadelphia the day prior for Fedotenko and two second-round picks.
With hindsight, it’s one of the great trades in Bolts’ history as the team picked up an ideal John Tortorella player along with a second-round pick that they exchanged for Brad Lukowich on draft day.
On a side note, that pick (the 34th overall) was originally the Lightning’s that they sent to Ottawa as part of the compensation for signing Rick Dudley back in 1999. Ottawa sent it to Philadelphia in 2001 as part of a first-round pick swap. Dallas would use the pick to draft goaltender Tobias Stephan.
At the time there were some questions about the deal. Some thought Feaster didn’t hold out for enough as Fedotenko was considered a nice player, but not quite worthy of the fourth-overall pick. Others thought that the Bolts should have held on to the pick to continue gathering young prospects in Tampa.
In the end, the gamble worked out as Fedotenko and Lukowich were key contributors to the Lightning’s playoff run.
Following the lockout, Fedotenko had the strongest season of his career as he finished with 26 goals and 15 assists. His production would fall off the next season, and in the summer of 2007 he signed a one-year deal with the New York Islanders. He signed in Pittsburgh the following season and had another magical playoff run, scoring 7 goals for the Pens as they won the Stanley Cup.
He’d play a few more seasons in the league, ending up with 366 points (173 goals, 193 assists) in 863 games. At some point in the near future he’ll join Richards, Lecavalier, St. Louis, and Dave Andreychuk in the Lightning Hall of Fame.