JERSEY#24 – the Montreal Canadiens and the Awesome Power of the Patrick Roy Clock

30 JERSEYS 30 STORIES – JERSEY #24 – THE MONTREAL CANADIENS AND THE AWESOME POWER OF THE PATRICK ROY CLOCK

“Don’t be afraid to steal, just steal the right stuff”  -Mike Monteiro

So at one point I think I mentioned I used to work for a company that was based in Montreal and used to get up there 2-3 times a year for various reasons.

This particular trip would be better than most.  November, 1994.  A recently impregnated Sharon Gacek was puzzled by her increased urination and fatigue.  The Quebec Nordiques were still a thing.  Despite the NHL Lockout and shortened season they had a really good year.  Well, on the ice that is.

I was up in Montreal at a Product Manager conference.  A full week in “La Belle Province du Quebec!”  Definitely a work hard, play hard event.  Long days but fun nights at some great bars, pubs, inns, taprooms, saloons, lounges, ale houses, road houses, and drinking establishments.  Oh, and a restaurant too!

So, Americans would call it The Sports Cage, but Cauge Au Sports Brasserie is fun, loud, packed, and chock-full of sports memorabilia.  “Sports” meaning 99% hockey and maybe a baseball or two.  I was with my fellow Colorado PM, Chuck, who was an incredibly bad influence on Andrew who thought we were going to the church bingo.  After a few Molsons, a Newfoundland Screech, and a whole lot of Caribou, passions were running high and inhibitions were low; and then I saw it, up on the wall.  A Patrick Roy goalie mask somehow creatively formed into a wall clock.  A Roy Clock!  It wasn’t even nailed down or anything!  This would be easy.  But conversely, I’ve heard the stories of what happens in French-Canadian jail and I wasn’t looking to take and bake any baguettes that night.  I was wearing a very long, heavy winter coat, which was the style at the time.  How easy would it be to shove said clock under my garment and head for the door?  A quick risk vs reward analysis ran through my head and Andrew “my middle name is Danger” sprang into action.  I spat out, “Chuck!  I’m taking that clock.  Cover me.”  I grabbed it, hid it, and was off.  I don’t think Chuck knew exactly what his role was in covering me but he did follow me to the door in a brisk manner and we were out!

Heart racing and mission accomplished, we celebrated with some poutine (all dressed of course and a couple Labatts.

Now fast forward 6 or 7 months.  Rumors had been circulating for awhile but this was it:   The Nordiques were moving to Colorado!  Just like the clock had been ripped from its Quebec home bound for Colorado, the team was doing the same!  But wait.  It gets even better.  December.  1995.  Patrick Roy declares that he has played his last game in a Montreal Canadiens jersey.  He ends up….wait for it….in Denver!!  The pull of the clock is so strong it not only brings us an NHL team but the league’s top goaltender as well!  6 months later.  The Stanley Cup is in Colorado.  Truly, the awesome power of the clock’s doing as well…

Oh, and I also bought a Habs jersey!!  Yes, bought it.

This was taken at the Hockey Hall of Fame.  Some folks say that Toronto is the center of the hockey universe, but we all know it’s Montreal and the clock is the gateway to Denver…

JERSEY#23 AVALANCHE / PATRICK ROY

30 JERSEYS 30 STORIES – JERSEY#23 COLORADO AVALANCHE / PATRICK ROY

“It’s time to…put our balls on the table.”  -Patrick Roy

NEW YORK 1997- New York you say?  Why would a Avalanche jersey featuring Colorado’s most successful athlete start off in New York?

The year – 1997.  Springtime.  Rejuvenation.  Rebirth.  Everything’s blooming.  All that crap.  The Avs were defending their 1996 Stanley Cup win.  A beardless, pre-shingles, David Letterman was hosting a series of city-based shows.  For example, for the Chicago show, they’d fly in the entire audience from Chicago and do a bunch of Windy City jokes.  St Louis.  Same thing.  So Denver was on the list and it seemed like everyone in the Mile High City was either a Paul Shaffer look-a-like, had a great Colorado stupid pet trick, or just wanted to be a part of it.  So my brother Michael informed me that The Fan radio, 950 on your AM dial, was running a contest – Top 10 Reasons the Avalanche will repeat as Stanley Cup Champions.  I didn’t know about the contest so I thought I’d submit a Top 10.  Every day they’d read off a few of the entries and I noticed that every one was incredibly serious.  This was for Letterman, right?  I thought I’d take a lighter approach.

I wish I still had the list, but for the life of me I can’t find it.  I can’t remember them all, but it was basically stuff like “Nostradamus foretold the victory in 1533”  and “because our sticks have bigger shafts.”  Anyway, I got the call that I won, they put me on the radio to read my list, and I was off to New York!

But wait – this was a trip for two.  May.  1997.  For you Gacek family trivia experts out there, you’ll remember that Jocelyn was born 05.22.97.  Yep.  Doctor Spoilsport would not allow a pregnant Sharon in her 38th week to fly.  United may not have been very happy about it either.  So, since young Michael had told me about the contest, he got to accompany me on my first ever trip to the Big Apple.

I do have a video of the show – on VHS.  Jeff Goldblum was a guest and the band was the Foo Fighters – here’s a clip of them from that night:

Foo Fighters / David Letterman 05/1997

Anyway, the Letterman people were very generous – tickets to the show, put us up in a great hotel right in Times Square, meals, spending money, and a tour of the city.

It was on this tour that I stumbled on the jersey above – and shockingly, I got a great deal on it.  Not sure why – the Avs were still alive in the playoffs; but so were the Rangers.  Maybe they were trying to move product?

One lucky thing though – thank goodness we both wore the white jerseys – we may have never gotten on TV!!