This item comes from the personal collection of longtime New England/Hartford/Carolina equipment man Skip Cunningham.

This road burgundy air-knit gamer by Starter was worn by Patrick Roy during the 1997-98 NHL season. Roy is considered by many as the best goaltender in NHL history. He retired with an NHL record 551 wins, having surpassed the great Terry Sawchuk’s longstanding mark of 447. To go along with his 4 Stanley Cup rings he carries 3 Conn Smythe Trophies as most valuable player of the playoffs. The first of those playoff MVP’s came as a rookie in 1986. Also to his credit are 3 Vezina Trophies and 4 Jennings Trophies, noting his excellence between the pipes. Patrick was 5 times a 1st or 2nd team NHL All Star while also appearing in double digit NHL All Star games. Following over a decades worth of tending goal and 2 Stanley Cups for the Montreal Canadiens, Roy was dealt to the expansion Colorado Avalanche where he continued his dominance and led his brethren to another pair of Stanley Cup titles. Roy is a legendary all-time great and a first ballot Hall of Famer if there ever was one.

This gamer shows solid goalie usage that consists of a good many stick and puck marks, which are most easily visible on the crest and white piping, but are by no means limited to those areas of the jersey. Due to the deep burgundy and blue coloration of the body of this enormous goalie cut sweater, many of the other game used marks appear only under up-close inspection. In addition to the aforementioned markings, there are some nice areas of pilling in exactly the proper places. Also of note are the snaps on the fight strap which have clearly lost the battle to salt and rust. Just above the hem, there exists what appears to be a skate slice measuring a couple of inches in length that went un-repaired and was the likely reason for the retirement of this beautiful gamer. Worn during the heart of the Avalanche’s era of dominant play in the 1990’s, this gamer will serve as a beautiful representation in any serious collection.