What Year Is This?
In the chilling dénouement of the 2017 limited series “Twin Peaks: e Return,” the lead character, FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper, having entered an altered timeline, stumbles and asks “What year is this?” before we hear a woman scream and the screen cuts to black.
In the wake of 18 hours of unreliable and sometimes baffling narration, it was one of the most dramatic, and unnerving, scenes in the era of Peak TV.
Now collectors, who’ve been through some jarring times themselves over the past few months, can be forgiven for asking the same question aer paying a visit to their local card shop.
In recent weeks, Upper Deck released a string of new products tagged as 2020-21, 2021-22, or 2022-23 releases.
Which begs the question: What year is this, anyway?
Obviously, these are unprecedented times. Manufacturers like UD already were riding along a perilously thin tightrope as they attempted to manage the increasingly complex work processes that went into even the most straightforward releases. en the pandemic came along and jammed a stick in their spokes, sending them careening over the edge. Some printing plants closed temporarily, others permanently. NHL matches were canceled, which limited access to gameused materials as well as the athletes themselves. Supply chain issues challenged the flow of critical technologies.
at UD managed to get anything to market at all during those early days was both a minor miracle and a testament to their tireless efforts. But here we are, more than two years aer the lockdown, still feeling the effects as 2020-21 e Cup finally hits store shelves.
For those who’ve been following the market closely, that anomaly in the time continuum isn’t a dealbreaker. It just means we have key Rookie Cards of young stars like Alexis Lafreniere, Kirill Kaprizov, and Jason Robertson being issued as the players are immersed in their third NHL seasons.
In the past, a delayed release into the following season might have led to the removal of the critical RC tags. Now? It appears that dialed-in collectors have fully embraced these belated arrivals as rookies, so we’ll respect that.
For those who aren’t as dialed in though, the concept of a product being released in 2022-23 but calling itself 2020-21 might be a little tougher to wrap their arms around. Patient and clear education will be key to keeping them on board and involved.
And maybe, six or 12 or 18 months down the road, things will get back to normal and we won’t have to wonder what year it is anymore.