Just over one year ago, as I type this, Steve Konowlachuk was hired as an assistant coach of the Colorado Avalanche.  Many people, by then, had forgotten how quietly his playing career ended with the Avalanche in late September of 2006.  Konowalchuk was forced to retire due to a heart condition just before the 2006-2007 season was to begin.  He played 97 games with the Avs and scored 54 points in those games.  He was a true power forward and played with a lot of heart, no pun intended at all.  His retirement created space on the roster for a young second round pick from the previous year’s draft named Paul Stastny.  I suppose everything that came from Kono’s retirement wasn’t bad, but it was still sad to see a career like his end like it did.  Most players say that ending things on your own terms is all they ever want, but sometimes things just don’t work out.

Konowalchuk’s retirement also led to this jersey making its way to my collection.

This is one of the jerseys that was made for Kono to wear during the 2006-2007 Avalanche season, a season that he wasn’t healthy enough to play in.  I love the fact that it was the first size 58 Avalanche jersey in my collection and I also love the alternate captain’s “A” on it.

These aren’t given to just any player on hockey rosters, they are given to players that earn them.

I proudly wear this jersey to games at Pepsi Center for two big reasons.  First, Steve Konowalchuk is actually in the building.  That’s always cool.  And second, I watched Konowalchuk play hockey plenty long enough to know that he would have worn it with pride if he would have had that opportunity.

I’ve made it clear so far that every jersey has a story.  Things that help tell that story can include, but aren’t limited to: game wear, patches, a jersey style, etc.  Here’s a jersey that tells its story with its number.

You may be thinking, I thought Johnny “Hot Pocket” wore number 4.  He does, and has for the past few seasons.  John-Michael Liles wore jersey number 26 for his rookie season in 2003-2004 and for his sophomore season in 2005-2006.  Rob Blake wore jersey number 4 for the Avalanche for those two seasons and in seasons prior for the Avs.  During the 2006 offseason, Rob Blake signed with the Los Angeles Kings.  Then, a fellow by the name of Paul Stastny joined the Avalanche in 2006-2007.  Stastny wore number 62 for the first handful of games during his rookie season.  His optimal situation would be to wear his Dad Peter Stastny’s number 26 which he wore when he played for the Quebec Nordiques.  John-Michael Liles called Rob Blake to make sure taking Blake’s old number 4 was cool with him and Blake had no issues with it.  Then the big number switch was made.  This jersey was made for Liles to wear during the middle part of the season, as indicated by the markings on the tag below.

The two markings on the top of the tag mean that this is a set 2 jersey.  It’s also a game issued jersey.  Game issued jerseys, most of the time, become available when a player gets injured and cannot play for an extended amount of time or if a player gets traded from a team.  This is a rare game issue because players don’t change their numbers in the NHL very often at all.  I’m happy this jersey is hanging in my closet and also excited it has such an interesting story to go with it.

Yes jersey fans, there are particular reasons why huge fans like me like it when Hall of Famers get hurt.  There aren’t many reasons, but jerseys are one.

Let’s start with pricing.  Joe Sakic is a lock for the Hall of Fame on his first year of eligibility.  He is one of, if not the, best clutch playoff performer of all-time.  Any questions?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ujZ_HKkymo[/youtube]

And let’s just add an 8th to that overtime game winner list.  Why not?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNtPYSuk-_s&feature=related[/youtube]

He is, without a doubt, one of the most respected leaders of his hockey generation.  As a result of these reasons, these statistics, and many, many other tangibles and intangibles, his game worn jerseys sell for a TON of money.  (Examples here, here, here, and here.  I think you get the point, they’re kind of expensive.)  Not just anyone has the chance to purchase a game worn Joe Sakic jersey too.  These are for the serious collectors with the serious money, A.K.A. “The Big Boys at gameworn.net.”  As much as I love jerseys, I have a tough time spending over $1,000 on one.  That’s a lot of money.

When Joe Sakic left the game with a back injury against the Phoenix Coyotes on November 28, 2008 little did we know that would be the last time we would all see him on the ice as a player.  But what’s shown below is a direct result of that back injury.

This is the jersey Joe Sakic would have worn in his last NHL games if he would have been healthy enough to play in them.  It is a game issued, set 3 jersey.  For the past few seasons the team has worn three sets of their burgundy and white jerseys during the season.  Here is one other image of one of the huge highlights of my jersey collection.

The three tick marks, made with black marker, on the top of the size tag on the back of the neck indicate “set 3.”  And the Captain’s “C” speaks for itself.  They’ll be other captains for the franchise, but they’ll never be a Joe Sakic.

As far as the game wear, there obviously is none.  This was made for him to wear and he was never healthy enough to wear it in a game.  Lucky for me too because if he played one shift in this jersey I would not have it hanging in my jersey closet right now.  Game issued jerseys sell for a fraction of game worn jerseys, no matter who they’re made for.  That’s another reason why I like game issues jerseys so much.

The story behind this jersey is interesting as well.  The company that sells the Avalanche game worn jerseys has had a summer sale the past few years.  People from all over the U.S. and Canada make their way to New Jersey to take advantage of the sale and to talk and deal with other people with jersey sicknesses remarkably similar to my own collectors.  Just days before the 2009 summer sale this Sakic and the white version of the same jersey became available on their web site.  I knew with the summer sale coming up that collectors would jump all over this piece of history.  I’m happy I saw it when I did because the white version of the jersey was gone the morning of the sale.  Quite simply, I got lucky.

Like I mentioned before, this is obviously one of the highlights of my collection.  I have been a huge Sakic fan through the years as anyone would see with my hockey card collection that features him, along with many customized jerseys that I’ve turned into Sakics throughout my jersey collecting career.  It’s safe to say this jersey isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.  I don’t, and never have, collected jerseys for the money, I collect them for the stories and the memories.  This jersey brings up plenty of both for me.

…And this jersey represents the ONLY reason why I’ll always be grateful that Joe Sakic hurt his back.