A Triple Shot of Goaltending History? Don't Mind if I do Wet My Whistle!

[IrbeFan4Life]

The recent Meigray sale was too much to resist as several of my most wanted items just happened to be at 50% off, which saves me a lot of money.



Let's jump right into the three newest pieces into my goaltending museum before I make you fall asleep.



The first piece is of a goalie who was very "love him or hate him" in the NHL hockey world. His name: Vesa Toskala. He had some amazing streaks throughout his career and a great playoffs with San Jose in 2005-06, however, he was also known for letting in some real stinkers (a particular goal against the Islanders while he was a Leaf rings a bell?) as well as for going on some real Antarctic cold streaks where nothing he did was right. Regardless, he had a semi-decent career that did not end with a howl of boos from the Maple Leafs fans.



This piece is a 2009-10 Calgary Flames Set 3 road jersey worn in each of Toskala's final three NHL games. The first game he wore this jersey was on March 21, 2010 against the Minnesota Wild. 23 minutes into the game, he was replaced by Miikka Kiprusoff after giving up 3 goals on 12 shots in an eventual 4-3 loss. The next time he game-wore this jersey was on March 27, 2010 against the Bruins. In 14 minutes of ice time after replacing Kiprusoff, Toskala held down the fort, stopping all 6 shots he faced in an ultimate 5-0 defeat. The final game he actually played in while wearing this jersey was on April 10, 2010. After replacing Kiprusoff against the Canucks, Toskala stopped 7 of 8 shots in an eventual 7-3 loss.



Yes, some people said he was an awful goalie, but he was more of a middle-tier goalie that unfortunately got the pressure of being placed on teams that only expected the most elite of goaltending. In 266 games in the league for the Sharks, Maple Leafs, and Flames, he recorded a 126-82-5-25 record with 13 shutouts, a 2.76 GAA, and a 0.902% save average. Not bad numbers at all.



Front of the jersey:







Special 30th Anniversary Patch:







Back of the jersey:







Cut out fight strap:







Notable puck mark on the back-left sleeve:







The next piece is of a lesser known goalie who once made the pipes and creases of the NHL his home. Originally drafted by the Rangers 175th overall in 1997, Johan Holmqvist did not really secure starter minutes until the 2006-07 season. He had played four games for the Rangers between 2000/01-2002/03, but did not really make a splash. He earned the starter spot in Tampa Bay in 2006-07 and even led them to the playoffs with some fairly consistent play. In 2007-08, he was still the starter, but never proved to be solid enough to be a true iron-man goaltender like Martin Brodeur or even Arturs Irbe ever could be. Thus, he was traded to the Dallas Stars that same year (a part of the piece that also sent Brad Richards to the Stars). He played in two games with the Stars and dressed as the back-up during the playoffs.



This 2007-08 set 3/playoff jersey was worn in his final NHL game (not including any backup appearances in which he did not see actual minutes). On April 3, 2008, Holmqvist and the Stars defeated the Phoenix Coyotes 4-2. Holmqvist stopped 21 of 23 shots he faced that day. While the jersey certainly depicts more than 21 saves worth of wear, the jersey was worn during pre-game warmups and during the Stars' playoff run in which he backed up but never got into any game action.



In his NHL career, he appeared in 99 games, recording a 48-34-0-9 record with 3 shutouts, a 2.99GAA, and a 0.890% save average.



Jersey is hammered and I love it!



Front:







Front close (many puck marks):







Front shoulder:







Front left-sleeve:







Front right-sleeve:







Back:







Back right-sleeve:







The final piece of NHL history I am showing today was the number one Meigray item that I had been eyeing since it was listed on Meigray back in 2011. I am surprised that it lasted that long, but I am happy it did, everyone else's loss is my incredible gain!



The jersey in question, belonged to Henrik Karlsson. He was originally signed as a free agent by the Sharks back in 2009, but he was eventually acquired by the Flames.



This jersey was worn on October 22, 2010, in his first ever NHL game, which also turned out to be the first NHL win of his career. On that date, against the Columbus Blue Jackets, he stopped 20 outof the 22 shots he faced in an eventual 6-2 victory.



This jersey was worn in all of his road games up to December 21, 2010. Against the Blue Jackets X2, Devils, Wild, and Ducks, the jersey faced 126 shots and was instrumental in stopping 117 of them (92.9% save average). An incredibly easy to photo-match item with very distinctive wear. Notable photomatch is the 2010-11 Panini Zenith Rookie Card.



His NHL career may not be over yet since he is still active in the AHL.



At the time of this writing, Karlsson has appeared in 26 games, recording a 5-9-8 record with a 0.905 save average and a 2.79 GAA.



Front:







Front right-sleeve:







Front bottom-right:







Front lower-left:







Front left-shoulder:







Front left-sleeve:







Back:







Back right-sleeve:







COMMENTS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME SINCE A THREAD OF THIS MAGNITUDE USUALLY TAKES 2 HOURS TO DO UP THE WAY I WANT IT TO LOOK

[87sluggo]

Amazing stuff Bruce, you're building a heck of an inventory there :D

NO ONE that plays goal for the Flames stands much of a chance, those poooooor guysssssss.....

Do you have some sort of plan or what?? I'd be happy with one goalie from each team myself............

[Hobbybox604]

Awesome pickups bud,i always love ur posts and cant wait to see more and more and more Goalie pieces to ur awesome museum of goalies....welldone once again....

[Jaded]

nice pickups

[IrbeFan4Life]

Amazing stuff Bruce, you're building a heck of an inventory there :D

NO ONE that plays goal for the Flames stands much of a chance, those poooooor guysssssss.....

Do you have some sort of plan or what?? I'd be happy with one goalie from each team myself............

The ultimate plan is to hit at least one game-used memorabilia item of every goalie to ever play in the NHL. I realize the he feasibility of the plan is not the greatest when you look to the 1940s and below. There are plenty of stuff from the 1960s and 1970s out there, and some here and there form the 1950s. New stuff is pie with the exception of some of the teams that just lock away their jerseys and never put them out to the public. Also, contrary to popular belief, the superstar goalies are very easy to find memorabilia of. Its the obscura majora goalies like Gregg Naumenko, Dieter Kochan, Blaine Lacher, etc. which proved the more difficult to find. Once located, however, I am not letting them slip by. Then there are companies like Steiner which charge you an arm and a leg for scrub goaltenders, or players, or charge the cost of a jumbo jet for something of Henrik Lundqvist.

I plan to start out small, just setting up at something like the Summit Show here in Edmonton and Calgary to get the word out and show off some of the stock and then possibly move onto a roaming museum when the stock gets into the 200-300 piece range, and then trying to set up a goaltending display that rivals' the Hall of Fame's (which is a more amazing feat for me since I do not get any donations).

Good answer?

[IrbeFan4Life]

Awesome pickups bud,i always love ur posts and cant wait to see more and more and more Goalie pieces to ur awesome museum of goalies....welldone once again....

Much appreciated, always good to hear that people enjoy my posts!

[BackstromCaps19]

Very cool pickups, I love the amount of detail you put in about each goaltender! By reading your posts you learn a lot!

[87sluggo]

Good answer?

Yah, it'll do :p

Lemme know when your first Summit Show display is happening, maybe I can convince the missus to make the drive & see how you cowboys live, maybe go to that big mall or something!!

[Hobbybox604]

Irbefan where do u live? TO?

[IrbeFan4Life]

Irbefan where do u live? TO?

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Earth, Local Cluster, Milky Way Galaxy... :)