GET A PIECE OF A LEGEND
Online auction of 66 of his NHL memorabilia items has already raised more than $90,000 for Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation
Stanley Cup champ Bob Gainey is auctioning off memorabilia items from NHL career and giving money to charity
Bob Gainey is auctioning four of his six Stanley Cup rings among 66 memorabilia items for charity.
Miniature replicas of the Stanley Cup and Selke trophies, presented to winners, along with jerseys spanning his National Hockey League career — including Montreal Canadiens, Canada Cup and NHL all-star sweaters — are among the items up for bid until June 16 at classicauctions.net.
Gainey, 66, said he has never worn his Stanley Cup rings in public.
At one point in his life, he said he displayed some of his mementoes but, since moving to his current home north of Peterborough, most of the items have been packed in boxes.
“At one time when my family was around and it was a bigger part of our life, some of this stuff was displayed,” Gainey said.
“It seemed normal and the thing to do at the time. Over time, those experiences get further and further in the rearview mirror and you want to live your current life. Different things that went up on display got packed away some time ago and they’ve stayed like that until every second year or so when that corner of your house gets dusted out and you unpack them and then pack them up again.”
Rather than leave it to his family to sort out in the future, Gainey said he preferred to decide the fate of his belongings.
“I tried to touch base with others who would have interest. I did some stuff with the Hockey Hall of Fame. We discussed some things they might want that they didn’t have and that I had. I did some similar stuff with the Peterborough Sports Hall of Fame. I tried to eyeball some of the local stuff I thought might be of interest to them and gave them the opportunity to have those items if they wanted them,” Gainey said.
“I kept a few items for myself, items I can at some point move onto my family as a memory and a talking piece during their lifetime.”
He kept one of his Stanley Cup rings and donated another to the Hockey Hall of Fame. He kept the puck he scored his first NHL goal with in November 1973 against Cesare Maniago, which is mounted on a plaque.
“I don’t think it’s that valuable an item but to me it was my entry into that part of my life,” he said.
“I kept an assortment of things. I kept a Stanley Cup ring and a mini Cup and a Selke award and some of the things I suppose were the highlights of my time,” Gainey added.
“It is an emotional decision, not only for me but for my family, so I needed to walk gently over that and make sure I didn’t break any more eggs than I needed to.”
He donated some jerseys to the Peterborough and District Sports Hall of Fame along with an MVP trophy he won playing for the Petes and scrapbooks from his youth.
More than $90,000 (U.S.) has been bid so far and the auction company expects that figure to double. Gainey will donate much of the proceeds to the Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation.
“I’ll make a substantial donation to them, which will be decided according to what the amounts are,” Gainey said.
“They have real needs right now with some of their partners for summer programs for kids this year particularly. I’ll work with them to create something that will have an impact.”
It was an easy decision to partner with the Habs’ charity.
“Where would I be without the Montreal Canadiens,” he said. “I know the kind of work they do in the community and I know they will spend the money well and wisely and it will have impact.”
Gainey played his entire 16year NHL career with the Canadiens after two junior seasons with his hometown Petes. He won five Stanley Cups as a player including four in a row from 1976 to ’79 and another in ’86 as captain.
He was the first recipient of the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward, an award he won four times. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy in ’79 as playoff MVP.
His playing career, from ’73 to ’89, totalled 1,160 regular-season games. He scored 239 goals and had 501 points.
Upon retirement, Gainey became a player/coach in France before returning to the NHL in a front-office capacity, first with Minnesota/Dallas Stars and then with the Canadiens. The Stars won the Cup with Gainey as general manager in 1999. Gainey was Montreal’s GM from 2003 to ’10. He was a consultant to the Canadiens from ’10 to ’12 and briefly served as a consultant for the St. Louis Blues.
He is currently a volunteer senior adviser with the Petes.
Gainey was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992 and had his jersey No. 23 retired by the Canadiens in 2008.