For true aficionados of hockey, card collecting can become a fun hobby and a long-term way of making money from a young age throughout the decades.
While it may be fair to say that the vast majority of 90’s hockey cards are pretty much worthless, there may be a few worth hanging on to.
During that decade, certain hockey legends made their debut and at the time you may have dismissed their card but now it could be worth quite a bit.
In this guide, we will look at just why so many 90’s hockey cards can have so little value and which specific cards you might want to keep hold of.
Why 90’s Hockey Cards Are So Poorly Valued
The 90’s was a strange time for the game of hockey and the NHL as a league itself.
With that in mind, it is perhaps understandable why hockey cards from that decade are so poorly valued.
There was the 1994/95 lockout which almost saw the entire season canceled.
Also, the Dead Puck Era saw the heightened use of the neutral zone trap and defensive systems also saw a reduction in offensive play and the number of goals being scored.
With interest waning in the NHL, so did the value in the hockey cards from that time.
However, several players made their debuts in that decade and their careers took off.
If you had seen the potential in long-term value then keeping cards from those debuts would have been a sound investment.
High Valued 90’s Hockey Cards
Of course, some rare hockey cards are worth far more than the average one which is more or less worthless.
Some high valued 90’s hockey cards include a 1990 Jaromir Jagr Upper Deck French rookie card.
Several players went on to become legendary players and if you had a card from their rookie era then get it valued. Players like Jagr, Martin Brodeur, Teemu Selanne, and many others made their debut in that decade.
Martin Brodeur
If you were to go right to the start of the 90’s then a card featuring Martin Brodeur, specifically as a Score Canadian Rookie, could be quite valuable.
Brodeur would go on to win three Stanley Cup championships, five Eastern Conference championships, and spend 22 seasons in the NHL.
Back in 1990, he was a first-round draft pick by the New Jersey Devils and Brodeur went on to achieve several NHL and franchise records for wins, shutouts, and games played.
Jaromir Jagr
Also in 1990, the Upper Deck French RC #356 of Jaromir Jagr is worth keeping hold of. Jagr went on to play a staggering 24 years in the NHL and racked up 1921 points.
Topp’s Canadian version of the cards was produced by O-Pee-Chee and a bilingual card adds up to the value.
Teemu Selanne
Another French card to look out for is the Upper Deck card from 1991 of Teemu Selanne.
The player became known as the ‘Finnish Flash’ and starred for the Colorado Avalanche, San Jose Sharks, Winnipeg Jets, and Anaheim Ducks.
Playing for Finland in the Canada Cup tournament, the card features Selanne’s position as ‘Allier droit’ which roughly translates to ‘Right wing’.
Martin St Louis
For a card without a normal border, another Upper Deck RC card has a decent value.
The 1998 #234 of Martin St Louis features a fetching lined border complete with a silver chrome trim.
As such, its appearance alone is striking enough to fetch a price, even more so with either the serial-numbered out of 100 or 1 of 1.
Find the Gold Reserve variation and the price goes up, largely because St Louis won two Art Ross trophies, the second in 2013 was remarkable considering he was the oldest player at the time to lead for scoring in the NHL.
Joe Thornton
For longevity, picking up a Black Diamond RC #160 of Joe Thornton from back in 1996 could be well worth it.
For the San Jose Sharks, Thornton went on to become an all-time leader in assists when he made his debut the next year.
As a lock for the Hall of Fame, Thornton is also likely to go down in history for winning the Hart and Art Ross Trophies after switching teams midway through the season.
The lack of a hard border makes it hard to find such a card in good condition yet if you do keep good care of it.
Final Thoughts
If the game of hockey means so much to a fan then card collecting can become a means of one-upmanship.
Finding the right cards at the right value can be one way of ensuring that your collection means more and keeps going up in value.
The 90s was a strange decade for hockey yet some cards are worth thousands of dollars, specifically because they feature players at the very start of their careers.
As long as the cards are in immaculate condition and the grading is just right then your condition could be worth more than you think.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Hockey Player’s Cards Are Worth The Most?
As the greatest of all time, or simply known as ‘The Great One’, cards of Wayne Gretsky can fetch seven figures.
That’s right, a record sale for a hockey card was $3.75m and it was for a 1979 O-Pee-Chee PSA 10 of Gretsky when he played for the Edmonton Oilers.
Only a few copies have ever achieved a PSA 10 grade so it should come as little surprise that one went for so much money.
However, what may be even more remarkable is how far the card went up in value as in a decade the card increased by 3,882% in value.
If My Hockey Card Collection Is Not Worth Much, What Can I Do With It?
If you do have your hockey card collection valued, and especially if the cards are in poor condition, then there are several ways to deal with them.
You could simply donate them to another hockey fan to start their collection.
Put them in a garage sale to raise a couple of dollars, donate them to a charity or simply hand them to neighbors.
If you cannot find anyone to hand them off to, you could advertise them in a local newspaper and see who wants to take them.
When I was just starting out with my card collection, I had lots of questions about authenticity, trading, and card conditions. But with not that much information available online, I felt quite alone in my queries. Some questions still haven’t been answered to this day.
This site aims to rectify this, and now, I am passing on my knowledge!
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