[press release]
NHL Great Canadian Forward stamps celebrate hockey’s legendary goal-scorers and storied leaders
Hockey heroes in NHL collection contributed to Canada’s national story
TORONTO – On the eve of the World Cup of Hockey 2016 semi-finals, and less than three weeks before the start of the 2016-17 NHL® Season, Canada Post today unveiled the fourth issue in its five-year NHL stamp series.
The 2016 NHL® Great Canadian Forwards stamps highlight some of the greatest goal-scorers ever to play in the NHL: Phil Esposito (Boston Bruins), Guy Lafleur (Montreal Canadiens), Darryl Sittler (Toronto Maple Leafs), Mark Messier (Edmonton Oilers), Steve Yzerman (Detroit Red Wings), and Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins).
“This talented group of star forwards has contributed to our national story beyond the goals they’ve scored and the trophies they’ve won,” says Canada Post President and CEO Deepak Chopra. “They are heroes for what they stand for. They are men of honour and character and represent the best of who we are as Canadians.” 
The six legends hail from five provinces. As a group, they played in more than 8,300 NHL games and scored more than 3,800 goals and more than 5,700 assists – more than a point per game (regular season and playoffs). Between them, they have won 18 Stanley Cup® Championships.
“This year’s collection represents a special group of players; each one a marquee player whose impact was felt by those on the ice, behind the bench, in the stands, and at home,” says NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. “The NHL is proud to congratulate this year’s elite class of honourees.”
Avi Dunkelman and Joe Gault of Toronto designed the six-stamp Canadian issue, which features head-and-shoulder images of the players in uniform. Souvenir sheets in this series resemble hockey cards and feature full images of the players in action. The back of the stamps complete the hockey-card experience, offering career statistics that tell part of the players’ professional story. They are only available in a pack of six, like hockey cards.
All players participated the unveiling ceremony in the Esso Great Hall, home of the Stanley Cup®. The lineup:
Phil Esposito played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers, scoring 1,590 points in 1,282 regular-season games over an 18-season NHL career. Esposito helped lead the Bruins to two Stanley Cup® Championships (1970 and 1972) and Team Canada to victory in the 1972 Summit Series. A 10-time All-Star, Esposito was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984 and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1989. The Bruins retired his No. 7 jersey in 1987.
Guy Lafleur played for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers and Quebec Nordiques, scoring 560 goals and 793 assists for a total of 1,353 regular-season points over a 17-season NHL career. He reached a milestone 1,000 points in just 720 games, faster than any other NHL player before him. He won five Stanley Cup® Championships as a player with the Canadiens and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1996. The Canadiens retired his No. 10 in 1985.
Darryl Sittler played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings, scoring 484 goals and 637 assists for 1,121 regular season points over his 15-season NHL career. He became the first Leaf to score 100 points in a season and also made history by scoring 10 points in a game against the Bruins on February 7, 1976, an NHL record that still stands. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989. The Leafs honoured his No. 27 jersey on February 8, 2003, 27 years plus a day after his historic scoring feat against the Bruins.
Mark Messier played 25 seasons in the NHL for the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks. He is one of the game’s highest scorers, ranking second among all-time points leaders with 1,887. He scored 694 goals and 1,193 assists in 1,756 regular-season games and holds the record for most NHL games played, including playoffs – 1,992. He won five Stanley Cup® Championships with the Oilers and another with the Rangers. A 15-time All-Star, Messier is the only player to captain two different franchises to Stanley Cup® titles. The Rangers retired his No. 11 in 2006 and the Oilers in 2007. Messier was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007 and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.
Steve Yzerman was a nine-time All-Star who played in 1,514 regular-season NHL games and another 196 playoff contests over 22 seasons – all of them with the Detroit Red Wings. He scored 692 goals and 1,063 assists for 1,755 career points. He was named team captain at age 21 and became the longest-serving captain in the history of the NHL – 19 seasons. He led the Wings to three Stanley Cup® Championships (1997, 1998, 2002). In 2007, his No. 19 was retired and lifted to the rafters of Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. He was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009.
Sidney Crosby has played his entire NHL career to date with the reigning Stanley Cup® Champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Drafted first overall in 2005, at age 18 he became the youngest NHL player to notch more than 100 points. Named captain two years after entering the NHL, he was the youngest captain ever to win the Stanley Cup® championship in 2009 at age 21. He won the Stanley Cup® Championship a second time last spring. He has played 707 regular-season games to date, scoring 338 goals and 600 assists for 938 points. He is also a two-time Olympic gold medal winner (2010 and 2014) and captured gold with Team Canada at the 2015 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship.
The 2016 NHL® Great Canadian Forwards series is the fourth of a five-year collection of NHL stamps leading up to the NHL’s 100th anniversary in 2017. The issue builds on the NHL Team Jersey stamps released in 2013, the Original Six™ Defenceman stamps released in 2014 and the NHL® Great Canadian Goalies stamps last year. The series and all related products are available online at canadapost.ca/NHL.
About the NHL Great Canadian Forwards stamps
Available in a mixed booklet of six, containing all of this year’s lineup, the stamps measure 40 mm x 32 mm with simulated perforations, and are printed by Lowe-Martin on Tullis Russell paper with seven-colour lithography. The booklet front features a tightly cropped action shot of Lafleur and Sittler. Oversized-rate hockey-card-size souvenir sheets are available in a pack of six, as well. Each includes a chance to win: one in 40 packs has a signed and authenticated souvenir sheet. Related products: A gummed mini-pane collectors’ item featuring all six players. The mini-pane features embossed, foiled logos of the team each player was best known for. The Official First Day Covers – one for each player – will be cancelled in the birthplaces of the player: Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. (Esposito); Thurso, Que. (Lafleur); Kitchener, Ont. (Sittler); Edmonton, Alta. (Messier); Cranbrook, B.C. (Yzerman); and Cole Harbour, N.S. (Crosby). Limited edition signed and numbered framed prints are available for each player.
The official first day covers for all six players is above. Here are the ones for each player:
Here are the fronts and backs of the hockey-card-size souvenir sheets for each player: 
And the mini-pane for the issue: 
This was not one of the dignitaries! Photo courtesy Todd Ronnei.
All is in readiness for the ceremony. Photo courtesy Todd Ronnei. 
Photo courtesy USPS (video still). 
What’s a first-day ceremony without Chris Lazaroff (center)? The man in the hat is Pete McClure. Photo courtesy Todd Ronnei. 
Another frequent ceremony-goer, American Philatelist editor Jay Bigalke, was caught on USPS video. 
As Pete commented, if you want to get people to show up for a first day ceremony, hold a kids event, like a Halloween parade. FDC collectors say there were thousands at this ceremony.
Photo courtesy Todd Ronnei. 
Photo courtesy USPS (video still).
Look what was across the square! Photo courtesy Todd Ronnei. 
The payoff for collectors. Photo courtesy Todd Ronnei. 
Photo courtesy USPS (video still). 
Photo courtesy USPS (video still). 
Photo courtesy USPS (video still). 
Samantha Jenson, a student of St. Stephen’s Catholic School, who read a poem she wrote, and stamp photographer Sally Andersen-Bruce signing autographs. Photo courtesy USPS (video still). 
Andersen-Bruce having some fun with one of the faux bugs on the autograph table. Photo courtesy USPS (video still).
The position serves as Director of the National Postal Museum (NPM), with responsibility for the overall planning, direction, and management of all programs and activities of the Museum. The Museum stewards the nation’s foremost stamp collection and is dedicated to the preservation, study and presentation of postal history as it pertains to the history of American postal operations and philately using exhibitions, educational public and online programs and research to make this rich history available to scholars, philatelists, collectors, post office employees and retirees and visitors from around the world. The Museum develops collaborative programs and activities with other Smithsonian and U.S. museums and maintains relations with the postal museums of other countries on a national level. The Museum is served by a Smithsonian-U.S. Postal Service Coordinating Committee, a Council of Philatelists and an Advisory Council. The Director is appointed by the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and reports on all matters relating to NPM through the Smithsonian’s Provost/Under Secretary for Museums & Research.
The National Postal Museum was created on November 6, 1990 in a joint agreement between the Smithsonian Institution and the United States Postal Service and opened to the public on July 30, 1993. The Museum is located next to Union Station and near the U.S. Capitol, in the historic City Post Office Building, which was constructed in 1914 and served as the Washington, D.C., Post Office from 1914 through 1986. The Museum occupies 100,000 square feet of the building with 35,000 square feet devoted to exhibition space. The Museum also houses a 6,000-square-foot research library, a stamp store and a museum shop. Admission to the museum is free to the public and annual attendance ranges from about 350,000 to 400,000.
The museum conducts and supports scholarship, research and publication on philately and postal history, participates fully with the philatelic and postal service community, and sponsors numerous activities including the annual Sundman lecture and the Smithsonian Philatelic Achievement Award. It has a robust online presence that is a resource to scholars, collectors, teachers and students. Its online resource, Arago, pioneered curatorial crowd-sourcing, while projects with U.S. Postal Service oral history, and the development of the postal industry invite strong constituent participation. Active educational programs provide activities, curriculum and special programs reaching teachers and students across the nation and around the world. The Museum has initiated and promoted a variety of programs with other Smithsonian museums such as the National Portrait Gallery, the National Museum of the American Indian, the Anacostia Community Museum, that encourage telling the diverse stories of American history and the American people.
Allen Kane, Director of the National Postal Museum (NPM) will be retiring in January 2017. Allen became director of the NPM in 2002 after serving more than 30 years with the United States Postal Service (USPS) in a variety of senior leadership positions. At the USPS, one of the accomplishments of which Allen is proudest was his management of the Gulf War Crisis Team, which ensured the successful delivery of 2.5 million pounds of mail per day to US troops.
It measures 2.88” x 1.46”.
The U.S. Postal Service celebrates a favorite backyard bird with the issuance of the Barn Swallow stamped envelope. This stamped envelope features a large illustration of a barn swallow perching and a smaller illustration showing the bird in flight. The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) originally nested in caves. As man-made structures began to dot the North American landscape, barn swallows adapted by building their mud nests under the eaves of barns, houses, and bridges, thus becoming a familiar sight in farmyards. Barn swallows are acrobatic flyers, and a single bird can catch and consume thousands of insects in one day. Art director William J. Gicker designed the stamp with original art by Matthew Frey.
The California dogface graces the seventh non-machineable butterfly stamp for use on irregularly sized envelopes, such as square greeting cards, invitations or announcements. The stamp is a highly stylized, simplified image of a California dogface (Zerene eurydice) — named for the forewing markings of the male butterfly, which bear a pattern that resembles a poodle head in profile. Greeting card envelopes printed with a silhouette of a butterfly indicate the need for additional postage or the use of a butterfly stamp. Tom Engeman created the stamp and art director Derry Noyes designed it.
It measures 2.87″ x 1.14″.
The stamps will go on sale nationwide January 28, 2017.
Customers have 60 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office, at The Postal Store® website at http://www.usps.com/shop, or by calling 800-782-6724. They should affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:
This postmark measures 2.84” x 1.33”. Keep in mind that, despite the illustration, you only need an additional 28¢ postage for first day covers of this issue.
On February 18, 2017, in Mesa, AZ, the U.S. Postal Service will issue the Uncle Sam’s Hat additional ounce rate stamp (Nondenominated priced at 21 cents), in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 20 stamps (Item 119700).
It measures 2.97″x1.23″.
With the issuance of the new Delicioso Forever stamps, the U.S. Postal Service celebrates the influence of Central and South American, Mexican and Caribbean foods and flavors on American cuisine.
With the release of the new Delicioso Forever stamps, the Postal Service celebrates the influence of Central and South American, Mexican and Caribbean foods on American cuisine. This booklet of 20 stamps features six dishes from an array of Latin American culinary traditions that have found new life and variations in the United States. Each stamp showcases a bright and playful illustration of one of the following dishes: tamales, flan, sancocho, empanadas, chile relleno and ceviche. The names of the six dishes appear in a festive font above each image. Artist John Parra designed the stamps under the direction of Antonio Alcalá.
On February 20, 2017, in Boston, MA, the U.S. Postal Service will issue the John Fitzgerald Kennedy First-Class Mail stamp (Forever priced at 49 cents), in one design, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 12 stamps (Item 474600).
them in a larger envelope addressed to:
Updated January 5th: The USPS confirms that this stamp will be issued February 20th, with Boston as the first-day city.
