These are the two cards featuring Steve Yzerman in the "Signature Renditions" subset that I've gone bonkers over since the release last year of Upper Deck's 13-14 The Cup. Both are in the Combos portion of the subset, which are rarer (numbered to 15 copies) than the base cards (numbered to 35). I don't usually fish in the deep end of the pool, but I've been making exceptions for Signature Renditions cards -- especially these two.
Both cards are beautiful and both include a second Hall of Fame signature. But I think I like the card with Scotty Bowman a little bit more, both because of it commemorates the first Cup Yzerman won (after a years of questions about whether he was a good enough player to succeed in the playoffs) and because of the awesome, impressionism effect used to blur the crowd in the background. Bowman is arguably the best coach in NHL history but he had something of a rocky relationship with Yzerman for years. He even came close to trading the Captain to the Ottawa Senators a year or two before the Red Wings' 1997 Cup run. But the two ultimately proved a phenomenal pairing -- I'm going off memory here, but I believe Bowman is the guy Yzerman credits with helping (forcing?) him to sacrifice some of his all-world offense in order to become a better defensive player and playoff performer.
Of course, this card, from the 1998 Stanley Cup Final, is almost as awesome. It features Yzerman battling with Adam Oates, one of the NHL's all-time great playmakers. In fact, Oates ranks 7th in league history with 1,079 assists -- one spot ahead of Yzerman, who finished his career with 1,063. Though Oates is probably best remembered as Brett Hull's wingman with St. Louis Blues, he was playing with the Washington Capitals when he ran into Yzerman's Red Wings in the 1998 Final. The Red Wings swept, winning their second consecutive cup. Yzerman took home the Conn Smythe award that year as the MVP of the playoffs.
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