Here we have once again, the unfortunate Dave Gagner, the patron saint of the bad hockey card. I sometimes wonder if the hockey card photographer’s union has it in for the guy or something, because they have featured Dave at his absolute worst more times than I can count. All Dave is doing is playing his game, and yet he always looks awkward, stoned, asleep or just plain nuts in just about every card featuring his face. It’s not his fault either. I can’t imagine any of us look particularly good when we’re engaged in some sort of strenuous activity. And when we are engaged in something physical like hockey, we don’t have someone snapping pictures of us huffing and puffing, and then selling said pictures to people all around the world.

That said, let’s take a trip down Memory Lane and rejoice in some of Dave’s less memorable on-ice moments, shall we?

First, we have this lovely shot from the 1992-93 Topps Stadium Club set where we find Dave looking rather surprised by the amount of time left on the clock. Either that or someone is about to jump down from the ceiling. Hey, maybe it’s that Fan Guy who ended up getting tangled in the ropes of a boxing ring. Remember him?

Then we have this beautiful photo of Dave catching a glimpse of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders collectively taking their tops off behind the Stars’ net.

And then there’s my personal fave from the 1991-92 Pro Set Platinum set: Dave attempting to skate full tilt through the freakin’ boards, logic and reason be damned! Holy schnikes!

Now do you believe me that there is a group of photographers out there who are laughing it up at Dave’s misery?

But I digress… on to this week’s masterwork, #128 of the 1991-92 O-Pee-Chee Premier set.

So, just to recap, we’ve already seen a wide range of Gagner emotions, namely awe, shock, and rage, and now we get uh, dazed and confused?

Seriously, this shot could have served as the poster for that movie. What do you think?

Here is the original movie poster…

I don’t know about you, but the next time I see a picture of Dave Gagner, I’ll be thinking “alright, alright, alright…”