Based on the current reality of the Colorado Avalanche it’s pretty difficult to acquire game worn and game issued jerseys for anywhere near what prices used to be a while ago. Dorothy may have said it best to her dog Toto in “The Wizard of Oz.”

It’s difficult to complain about how the team has played, but at the same time things have slowed down to almost nothing when it comes to the jersey collection because the investments are way larger than they used to be. Let’s focus on the “almost” nothing right now though because almost is most definitely enough in this case.

The Avs auctioned off the burgundy jerseys the team wore on the ice for games one, two, and five of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final. The ending prices were predictably off the charts. Everyone wants a piece of history and I can’t blame them at all for that. (Quick and related side note: I haven’t seen anything that would make me believe that the players haven’t kept the white jerseys they wore in games three, four, and six in Tampa.) Apparently, the team sent the high bidder on the burgundy Pavel Francouz Stanley Cup tagged worn/issued jersey a backup/replacement Stanley Cup patched jersey as well. That’s where the person I bought this from came in. More details after the pics.

The tagging makes a bit of a difference here, but the certificate of authenticity say it all. Avs goaltender Pavel Francouz wore this jersey while he backed up Darcy Kuemper during the fifth game of the Stanley Cup Final on June 24, 2022 at Ball Arena. There’s a photomatch to prove it as well. It’s matched, during warmups, to a thread near Frankie’s right elbow. As far as when else it may have been worn, we may never know. Without a lot of use it’s difficult to track its other history. We’ll take whatever we can get in this case and what we have is plenty sufficient enough.

As I said before, I never though this would be possible, but with the help of a willing seller and some support from James “Tapeleg” Gralian this jersey is now one of the highlights in the Colorado Avalanche jersey collection. It sure is crazy how things work sometimes.

Thanks for the read and see you next jersey, whenever that may be. And, as always, #GoAvsGo.