2000-01 Koho Road Game Worn
#22 Dan LaCouture
Manufacturer: Koho
Size: 58
Purchased From: Facebook Game Worn Hockey Jersey Collectors Group
Lettered by: The Pittsburgh Penguins
The Story: The 2000-01 season was a magical time to be a Penguins fan. In the course of one season, we saw the return of Mario Lemieux from retirement, the emergence of an unknown goalie known as "The Moose." and a Game 7 overtime winner from the unlikeliest of players. With all of these stories, some people forget that the Penguins made it to the Eastern Conference Final, ultimately being eliminated the New Jersey Devils. But for a team that wasn't supposed to accomplish much that season, they sure defied the odds.
Right around the 2001 trade deadline, the Penguins made what seemed like an inconsequential move, trading defensive prospect Sven Butenschon to Edmonton for forward Dan LaCouture. Bringing LaCouture in was a depth move to prepare for the playoffs, as LaCouture provided a combination of speed, grit, and tenacity that the Pens needed. They were a very skill-heavy team (their top two lines consisted of Mario Lemieux-Jan Hrdina-Jaromir Jagr and Robert Lang-Martin Straka-Alexei Kovalev) and they also had some enforcers on their fourth line, with Krzysztof Oliwa and Steve McKenna as well as defenseman Bob Boughner providing the deterrents against shenanigans. LaCouture filled the role of an extra forward, getting a couple of minutes per game on the fourth line, with some additional time if other forwards were out with injury. That role continued through the 2001 Playoffs, with his ice time being very limited under Pens coach Ivan Hlinka. But when the Pens began the 2001-02 season with an 0-4 start, Hlinka was quickly replaced by assistant and former star forward Rick Kehoe, and this changed revitalized LaCouture's tenure with the Pens. He'd go on to play in all 82 games that season, averaging over 13 minutes of ice time in a bottom-six forward role. He'd play 44 more games with Pittsburgh in 2002-03 before being traded to the New York Rangers in a salary dump trade, as the Pens were struggling financially. In total, LaCouture would play 337 NHL games with six teams, 137 of those game with the Penguins, before bouncing around various leagues in Europe to close out his career. After retirement, it was revealed that concussions played a role in his descent, having had 18 documented, and he was one of the lead plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit against the NHL, alleging that the league exposed its players to "the imminent risk of head trauma" leading to "devastating and long-term negative health consequences." The lawsuit was settled in 2018 and resulted in over 100 former players receiving medical treatment paid for by the league as well as a fund set up for players experiencing concussion-related issues in the future.
Now, onto the jersey. Given that LaCouture only played 19 minutes over four road regular season road games in the Pens Set 2 road jerseys and only eight minutes in one road playoff game, where they'd have worn their Set 3 sweaters, it's impossible to tell whether this jersey was part of Set 2 or Set 3, as that information wasn't tracked back in 2001. Given that Sven Butenschon also wore #22 for three games earlier that season, it's also possible that this one was recycled and worn by both men. I do know that 22 was not LaCouture's preferred number, as he changed to wearing number 33 beginning in the 2001-02 season. Turning the jersey inside out, I see a number of pulled threads around the outline of the nameplate, which indicates that this jersey might have undergone a nameplate switch (from Butenschon to LaCouture?), and there's yellow stitching along the nameplate that's only visible from the inside of the jersey as well. This is one of my favorite styles of Pens jerseys, as the three-layer numbers and glacier twill lettering look really sharp. Visible wear is very minimal on this jersey, limited to a couple of stick marks and popped threads on the sleeve numbers, so this is a fine example of a decades-old jersey that remains in fantastic condition. LaCouture's signature was added to the crest after its service was completed, as there's no sign of the signature being washed out. I'm very happy to have added this one to the collection in September, 2022.
PHOTOS COMING SOON
Size: 58
Purchased From: Facebook Game Worn Hockey Jersey Collectors Group
Lettered by: The Pittsburgh Penguins
The Story: The 2000-01 season was a magical time to be a Penguins fan. In the course of one season, we saw the return of Mario Lemieux from retirement, the emergence of an unknown goalie known as "The Moose." and a Game 7 overtime winner from the unlikeliest of players. With all of these stories, some people forget that the Penguins made it to the Eastern Conference Final, ultimately being eliminated the New Jersey Devils. But for a team that wasn't supposed to accomplish much that season, they sure defied the odds.
Right around the 2001 trade deadline, the Penguins made what seemed like an inconsequential move, trading defensive prospect Sven Butenschon to Edmonton for forward Dan LaCouture. Bringing LaCouture in was a depth move to prepare for the playoffs, as LaCouture provided a combination of speed, grit, and tenacity that the Pens needed. They were a very skill-heavy team (their top two lines consisted of Mario Lemieux-Jan Hrdina-Jaromir Jagr and Robert Lang-Martin Straka-Alexei Kovalev) and they also had some enforcers on their fourth line, with Krzysztof Oliwa and Steve McKenna as well as defenseman Bob Boughner providing the deterrents against shenanigans. LaCouture filled the role of an extra forward, getting a couple of minutes per game on the fourth line, with some additional time if other forwards were out with injury. That role continued through the 2001 Playoffs, with his ice time being very limited under Pens coach Ivan Hlinka. But when the Pens began the 2001-02 season with an 0-4 start, Hlinka was quickly replaced by assistant and former star forward Rick Kehoe, and this changed revitalized LaCouture's tenure with the Pens. He'd go on to play in all 82 games that season, averaging over 13 minutes of ice time in a bottom-six forward role. He'd play 44 more games with Pittsburgh in 2002-03 before being traded to the New York Rangers in a salary dump trade, as the Pens were struggling financially. In total, LaCouture would play 337 NHL games with six teams, 137 of those game with the Penguins, before bouncing around various leagues in Europe to close out his career. After retirement, it was revealed that concussions played a role in his descent, having had 18 documented, and he was one of the lead plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit against the NHL, alleging that the league exposed its players to "the imminent risk of head trauma" leading to "devastating and long-term negative health consequences." The lawsuit was settled in 2018 and resulted in over 100 former players receiving medical treatment paid for by the league as well as a fund set up for players experiencing concussion-related issues in the future.
Now, onto the jersey. Given that LaCouture only played 19 minutes over four road regular season road games in the Pens Set 2 road jerseys and only eight minutes in one road playoff game, where they'd have worn their Set 3 sweaters, it's impossible to tell whether this jersey was part of Set 2 or Set 3, as that information wasn't tracked back in 2001. Given that Sven Butenschon also wore #22 for three games earlier that season, it's also possible that this one was recycled and worn by both men. I do know that 22 was not LaCouture's preferred number, as he changed to wearing number 33 beginning in the 2001-02 season. Turning the jersey inside out, I see a number of pulled threads around the outline of the nameplate, which indicates that this jersey might have undergone a nameplate switch (from Butenschon to LaCouture?), and there's yellow stitching along the nameplate that's only visible from the inside of the jersey as well. This is one of my favorite styles of Pens jerseys, as the three-layer numbers and glacier twill lettering look really sharp. Visible wear is very minimal on this jersey, limited to a couple of stick marks and popped threads on the sleeve numbers, so this is a fine example of a decades-old jersey that remains in fantastic condition. LaCouture's signature was added to the crest after its service was completed, as there's no sign of the signature being washed out. I'm very happy to have added this one to the collection in September, 2022.
PHOTOS COMING SOON