This road red knit gamer by CCM was worn by Craig Ludwig during the 1989 Stanley Cup Finals. The Montreal Canadiens selected Ludwig in the 3rd round of the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. After playing his college hockey at the University of North Dakota, this Rhinelander, WI native made his NHL debut in 1982-83 with the Canadiens. Craig spent 8 seasons on the Canadiens blueline before going on to represent the Islanders, North Stars, and the Dallas Stars. All told, this defenseman played 1256 games over the course of 17 NHL seasons. During his career, Ludwig won a pair of Stanley Cups, the first in 1986 with the Canadiens and the last in his last season, 1999 with the Dallas Stars.

Sewn to the left shoulder of this gamer is the 1989 Stanley Cup patch. This was the first year the NHL used a Stanley Cup Finals patch on their game jerseys. The game wear on this sweater consists of stick and slash marks, board burns, board paint transfer, un-repaired burn holes, material pulls and inner pilling. Fight abuse is also evident with a pulled and stitch popped front collar and washed-out bloodstains. A beautiful tough to find example from the inaugural season for the NHL’s Stanley Cup Finals patch program, which is unbelievably now in its 33rd season of existence.