Product Details

An homage, of sorts, to ’90s collecting, 2021-22 Skybox Metal Universe Hockey sees the return of Upper Deck’s retro NHL brand for year two. Similar to Fleer Retro and Fleer Showcase, the throwback-inspired release is heavily geared to inserts and parallels. Although the 2020-21 product specifically mentions one autograph per Hobby box, the ’21-22 box hit can be an autograph, PMG, Jambalaya, or “other coveted cards.”

2021-22 Skybox Metal Universe Hockey Base / PMG Parallels

The main set for 2021-22 Skybox Metal Universe Hockey consists of base (#1-100), Alternate Jersey (#101-150; 1:2 packs) and rookie (#151-200; 1:2 packs) cards. Each pack should have either a base rookie card or alternate jersey edition. Showcasing background artwork from 1997-98 Skybox Metal Universe Basketball, 1997-98 Retros (1:5 packs) also has a Purple Spectrum (#/199) parallel. In addition to Printing Plates, all four subsets come as Precious Metal Gems (PMG) versions, which have long been a hobby favorite. While the Green/Red PMG cards total 100 copies, the first 10 cards are green and the final 90 are red.

2021-22 Skybox Metal Universe Hockey PMG Breakdown

Base PMG Parallels

Red PMG – #/100 (#11-100)
Green PMG – #/100 (#1-10)
Gold PMG – 1/1

Alternate Jersey PMG Parallels

Red PMG – #/100 (#11-100)
Green PMG – #/100 (#1-10)
Gold PMG – 1/1

Base Rookies PMG Parallels

Red PMG – #/100 (#11-100)
Green PMG – #/100 (#1-10)
Gold PMG – 1/1

1997-98 PMG Parallels

Red PMG – #/100 (#11-100)
Green PMG – #/100 (#1-10)
Gold PMG – 1/1

2021-22 Skybox Metal Universe Hockey Inserts

The 2021-22 Skybox Metal Universe Hockey checklist really opens up with the insert selection. One key choice is Skybox Premium Prospects (1:5 packs), adding several rarity tiers. The large insert selection consists of Amped Up (1:10 packs), Big Man on Ice (1:8 packs), a shoutout to the Big Man on Court NBA die-cuts, Championship Galaxy (1:38 packs), for past Stanley Cup winners, and Neon Icon (1:38 packs), offering top active players. That leaves Pitter Patter (1:75 packs), Planet Metal (1:20 packs) and The Cheddar (1:10 packs). Falling one per box, look for acetate inserts in Ice Carvings (1:25 packs), with top stars and rookies, and Skybox Metal Picks (1:38 packs), which utilizes a guitar pick design. All of these inserts feature numbered Gold or Spectrum parallels. The rarest inserts include Jambalaya (1:720), a die-cut classic, as well as Metal-X (1:240 packs) and Platinum Portraits (1:1,920 packs), with laser die-cut images.

2021-22 Skybox Metal Universe Hockey Autographs

Next up, 2021-22 Skybox Metal Universe Hockey turns to the autographs. The base set is home to the majority of the signed cards, including Base Autographs (1:140 packs), Base Alternate Jersey Autographs (1:1,000 packs) and Base Rookie Autographs (#/399 or less). Collectors can chase signed inserts, as well, via 1998-99 Skybox Premium Prospects Autographs (1:135 packs), Championship Galaxy Autographs (1:2,000 packs), Neon Icon Autographs (1:2,000 packs), and Skybox Premium Prospects Star Emeralds Autographs (#/10).