On the evening of Wednesday, April 17, 2013, I’ll be listing 10 vintage hockey cards of decent value on eBay for the incredible low opening bid price of just 1 cent! Included in the ten is the 1976-77 Topps number 67 record breaker card featuring Bryan Trottier of the New York Islanders. The images shown are of the actual card being auctioned.
Full list of the 10 cards being auctioned.
The Card
The 1976-77 Topps number 67 hockey card celebrates Bryan Trottier setting the National Hockey League record for most points in a season by a rookie. Playing the full 80 game schedule, Trottier scored 32 and assisted on 63 for 95 points. The back of the card refers to the fact that Trottier also set the record for most assists by a rookie.
The Topps version of the card is valued at $8 with the O-Pee-Chee version valued higher. The highlight of the set is the Bryan Trottier rookie card which is valued at $35.
Bryan’s rookie records didn’t last. Teemu Selanne of the Winnipeg Jets shattered the record for points by a rookie with 132 in 1992-93. The current record for most assists by a rookie belongs to two players. Peter Stastny assisted on 70 with the Quebec Nordiques in 1980-81 and Joe Juneau accomplished the same feat with the Boston Bruins in 1992-93.
The key word here is ‘rookie’ and not ‘first year player’. Wayne Gretzky had 86 assists and 137 points in 1979-80 with the Edmonton Oilers, his first year in the NHL. However, Gretzky was not considered a rookie because he played a year in the World Hockey Association with the Indianapolis Racers and the Oilers in 1978-79.
Go here to see how the auction is going: eBay Hockey Cards
The Player
Bryan Trottier was a lowly second round pick of the Islanders at the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft, 22nd overall. New York took Clark Gillies fourth overall as their first pick. Gillies turned out to be pretty valuable too. Trottier spent one more year with the Lethbridge Broncos of the WHL before jumping in with the Islanders in 1975-76.
Of course, with his record breaking performance, Trottier was awarded the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year. He continued on in the NHL until the end of the 1993-94 season, playing mostly with the Islanders but also putting in three years with the Pittsburgh Penguins at the end of his career.
Trottier has enough Stanley Cup rings as a player to fill one hand and more. He won four consecutive with the Islanders between 1979-80 and 1982-83. He was the senior man on the roster in 1990-91 and 1991-92 as the Pittsburgh Penguins won their first two championships in franchise history.
Bryan’s top individual performance came during the 1978-79 season when he won the Art Ross Trophy with 134 points. He was also awarded the Hart Trophy that season as NHL MVP. His 87 assists in 1978-79 remain as a New York Islanders single season record.
The Islanders retired Trottier’s number 19 and he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1997. Bryan remains New York’s all-time leader for games played, assists and points. The Islanders all-time leader for goals, of course, is Mike Bossy.
Trottier made a move in 2002-03 that upset most Islanders fans. He took the head coaching job with the New York Rangers, the Islanders bitter rival. However, after just 54 games behind the bench of a Rangers team that was going nowhere, Trottier was canned and his coaching career came to an end.
Articles on other cards being auctioned:
Harry Watson 1954-55 Parkhurst 17
Bobby Clarke 1970-71 Dad’s Cookies 15
Philadelphia Flyers team leaders 1974-75 Topps 154
Darryl Sittler 1976-77 Topps 207