A Century of Memories Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/8/2009
Unlike Larry Robinson's #19, the Montreal Canadiens didn't pull Bob Gainey's #23 out of circulation following the longtime Habs captain's retirement from the NHL following the 1989 Stanley Cup final. Brian Bellows wore the number when the Canadiens won the Cup in 1993 and the next player to wear it for the Habs was Marko Kiprusoff, who joined the team in 1995-96 along with fellow Finnish draft pick Saku Koivu. Kiprusoff, Montreal's third round pick in 1994, wore this road gamer while contributing four assists in 24 games in his only season with the Canadiens. A pair of unrepaired holes on the right sleeve and a great board burn on the left elbow offer testimony to this road gamer's active duty. Maska and size 56 fly tags remain in the neck and the jersey's fight strap is intact. Kiprusoff, who went back to Europe the following season, returned to the NHL to play 27 games with the New York Islanders in 2001-02. As for #23, Turner Stevenson and Francis Belanger also went on to wear it before the Canadiens finally retired the number in Gainey's honor on February 23, 2008. Comes with an LOA.
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