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by Raifie Bass
Sometimes you set your sights on something and think it will never happen or if it does it will take a long time and lot of luck. This is one of those times
15 years ago I was lucky enough to pry this beauty out of long time collector. I paid a premium for it. He wasn’t selling but i begged and he finally relented. I didn’t buy it for myself rather as a gift. A gift for a fellow collector/past business partner for doing something exceptional for my family. He was a huge hockey Avs collector and had everything except this shirt. We both knew that at least one home and one road existed but the question was where.
I was almost excited giving it as he was when he opened the box. Forward a year and unbeknownst to me he sold his entire collection to a dealer. Before I knew it ….poof it disappeared into another collection. I literally searched for years, never giving up hope but kinda resolved to never seeing it again. Hopes of the maroon remained but still not sure if it was intact or even in the hobby and not in the players collection.
When Landy got the “C”I decided to at least try and get the 4 captains we all know. Thanks to Jay Vean i was able to complete it with addition of Hejduk “C”. Even though he was captain for 19 games or less(open to confirmation) I still wanted the Lefebvre”C” to complete the captains collection.
Another friend and fellow collector Thomas Oltmans out of nowhere sends me a message with photos of the shirt about 2 weeks ago. I almost fell out of my chair. He put me in touch with the collector. A great guy in Canada. He was interested in selling a number of shirts in his collection but was unsure about moving this one. After a number of texts, assuring him it was going to a great home and letting him sleep on it he decided to sell it to me.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
I’ve long let go of the frustration of giving it as a gift and then having it sold. I harbor no angst toward him. As time passed my anger turned to sadness for letting it go. I sit here in awe of the jersey karma of it finally returning home. The wear and repairs far better than I ever remembered.
Sorry for long winded story but I thought a few of you guys might appreciate the chase
Now all I need is a photo match
