A number of years ago we brought to the hobby the personal collection of Montreal Canadiens Hall of Famer Steve Shutt. One of the jewels of Shutt’s personal collection was Peter Stastny’s 1976 Canada Cup jersey. This jersey was given to Shutt in the famous post game exchange between the Czech team and Team Canada following Canada’s thrilling overtime victory to win the 76 Canada Cup. It is quite a thrill to have the opportunity to sell this historic jersey for a second time. A letter from Steve Shutt will accompany your purchase.

This stunning red knit gamer was worn by Hall of Famer Peter Stastny during the 1976 Canada Cup. Stastny entered the NHL in 1980 following a lengthy professional career in Communist Czechoslovakia where he starred alongside his two brothers. He defected from Czechoslovakia along with his younger brother Anton and was followed a year later by his older brother Marian. Together the trio played for the Quebec Nordiques and dazzled fans all across North America with their immense talent. Peter was awarded the Calder Trophy as the leagues top rookie in 1981, following the first of his 7 different 100-point seasons during the decade of the 1980’s. Due to the late start of his NHL career, Stastny’s final numbers are somewhat tempered, albeit still very impressive. He ended his career with 450 goals, 789 assists and 1289 points in only 977 games and was one of the highest scoring players of the 1980’s, a decade which saw him partake in 6 different NHL All Star games. Peter proudly wore the Captain’s “C” in Quebec for 5 years and will forever be remembered as one of the finest that ever donned a Nordiques sweater.

This fragile gamer is spectacular in every way and is a true reminder of what life and budgetary constraints were really like in the Cold War era. There are no manufacturer’s tags evident on this vintage gamer. This jersey appears to be made of a cotton type material and has a sweater style stretchy neck. The original yarn tie-string remains sewn thru the eyelets, just as Stastny left them that night of the Canada Cup clincher in 1976. The crest is a beautifully stitched reminder of Communist Czechoslovakia’s colors and symbolism. The 3-tiered sewn on lettering and numbering, as well as the body and arm striping, were completed in a way that would never meet with today’s tougher standards. The game wear on this regal sweater consists of typical tournament type wear with stick marks, an un-repaired burn hole and inner pilling.

The significance of this incredible gamer cannot be understated. We believe it to be one of the greatest non North American game worn jerseys in the entire hobby. Were it not for an international gesture of good will between Team Canada and Team Czechoslovakia following the final game of the 1976 Canada Cup, this spectacular piece of hockey history would likely have been lost forever. After the final game ended, the players from each side exchanged the traditional handshakes but also decided to exchange game jerseys with their Cold War counterparts. Steve Shutt happened to exchange handshakes as well as game jerseys with future Hall of Famer Peter Stastny.

This stunning jersey had been impeccably cared for in the personal collection of Mr. Shutt since that very night in 1976 until we acquired it and subsequently sold it to a collector a handful of years ago. That same collector has cared for it since that day and has been this jersey’s only other owner, bringing the chain of provenance up to date.

Shown above are some beautiful photo matches of Peter Stastny wearing this exact jersey during the 1976 Canada Cup tournament. Also shown above are video highlights that show Stastny wearing this exact gamer during the final game of the 1976 Canada Cup. Included in that footage is Steve Shutt with this exact jersey draped around his neck as he shakes hands with Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau who was offering his congratulations during the post game festivities. We can quite confidently say that this is the finest Peter Stastny game worn jersey that exists in our hobby. A Hall of Fame worthy offering that will be an instant cornerstone item in any collection, choice!