A brief update

Found this neat, short promo for Guy on RDS the other day.

Also, of course this blog is doing updates on Movember -- here's a good read from the blog Hab It Her Way on why the cause is so important.

The blogger meets Guy

This afternoon I was fortunate enough to attend a Habs alumni game in Ottawa, at the University of Ottawa sports complex.  This event was sponsored by the Franco-Ontarienne foundation and Desjardins.  And yes, Guy was on the roster.  I feel so lucky to have now seen him play "in person," even if it was years after he retired from the NHL.  He may be older and he may perhaps be a little slower, but everything that Diane Lau wrote in her marvelous 1999 essay Carbonneau at Ice Level still holds true today.  The man is absolute magic on the ice.  It is quite easy to imagine him taking flight.

After the game, there was an after-party at the Draft sports pub, which is also located in the sports complex. This is Guy Carbonneau, after all, and I found myself needing a beer to shore up my confidence to talk to him.  (Fortunately refreshments were provided with the price of the ticket.)  I finally made my way to the table where the Habs alumni were signing autographs, got my program signed by the team, and made my move.  I asked Guy for a picture.

I was temporarily thwarted by a malfunctioning camera flash.  Oh no!  "The flash is not on!" said Carbo, attempting to instruct the person I'd enlisted to take the picture.  This man, kind soul, absolute class act that he is, patiently waited through FIVE failed pictures.  In a panic, I hit every button on my camera that I could possibly think of and finally got the damn thing working.  Then, Guy graciously stood for another picture.

Here is the result.

Yes, that is your blogger, complete with blue hair and piercings.  As for Guy, this post could also serve as a State of the 'Stache update as the Mo is coming along quite nicely.  I didn't mention the blog -- I thought that would possibly be overkill -- but I did shake Guy's hand and tell him that I was one of his biggest fans, which I'm sure he's heard a million times before but in my case I believe it is really true.

I wonder if he noticed my necklace.

As a final note on this encounter, while I was waiting in line someone gave Carbo an absolutely beautiful photo of him to sign, a black and white of him when he was quite young.  It's rare when I find a Carbonneau photo I haven't seen before.  I wish I'd thought to ask the person where they got it.

I'd like to thank the Franco-Ontarienne foundation and Desjardins for putting on such a great event.  It was a blast!  Thanks especially to Philippe who was so kind and helpful when I ordered the tickets.

Finally, from heroes on the ice to heroes who I believe are far more important -- today is Remembrance Day.  I capped off my day by attending Poppy Day at my local tattoo studio.  Please take a moment today to remember those who have served and who currently serve, who protect us and fight for our freedom.

Lest we forget.  (tattoo by Genevieve Soulard, The Wizzard's Den, Petawawa ON, Canada)

HHOF talk and Movember

I'd like to thank blog reader James for giving me a heads-up about this:  I haven't been watching TSN much these days due to the lockout but the other day the NHL on TSN crew did a special Quiz feature on players who should next make it into the Hockey Hall of Fame.  Said Michael Peca:

I'm going Carbonneau. We always talk about offensive numbers when it comes to the Hall of Fame, but some guys do just as much with the intangibles to help their teams win championships, and Carbonneau is a great example. You ask anybody from the teams he's won Stanley Cups with, they would tell you that he was as big a part of the team as anybody.  (link)

Way to go, Michael Peca!  Also of note is this Hockey News blog post from four years ago that I recently found, which also makes the case for Carbo.  As of 2013, Guy will have been HHOF eligible for ten years, and pardon my expression but it's bloody ridiculous -- induct him already.

It is also November and you know what that means -- men all over everywhere are growing facial hair in support of men's health.  Guy is once again taking up the cause this year, which means that it's time for the second annual State of the 'Stache.  His Mo was on display the other night on L' Antichambre on RDS:

It's still in the embryonic stages as you can see.   

Game-used memorabilia cards

Anyone who's been reading this blog for any length of time knows that I have a weakness for Carbonneau game-used stuff.  I've been able to obtain a few pieces of my own, but before then I thought that the game-used hockey card market afforded an excellent opportunity for those who might not otherwise be able to own a piece of game-used memorabilia, even if such memorabilia had to be destroyed to do so.  There's nothing quite like owning something that your favorite player actually used on the ice, is there?

I did have a feeling of uneasiness when thinking about the memorabilia being destroyed.  Until this year when I finally obtained one, a game-worn Carbo jersey was my white whale of collecting and it made me a little queasy to think of these jerseys being cut up to make cards.  I had managed to convince myself that most of these were "one-game wonders," or photo shoot jerseys.

Then, the other day, I saw this:

(photo source:  eBay)

It's not a jersey, but it is most definitely a piece of one of Carbo's vintage Artis sticks, with the stick tape still attached.  Seeing this did make me queasy.  In regards to Carbo game-used memorabilia cards, he really falls in the category of "vintage" players, and the school of thought in the game-used hobby is that cutting up vintage memorabilia is blasphemy.  The thing is, there just isn't that much Carbo game-used stuff available anymore.  Yes, he played for 18 years, but there really wasn't much of a market for those collectibles when he was playing, and heaven only knows where most of the stuff is now.  That's why it's really a crime to destroy the vintage stuff for purposes of making cards, many say.

But...it's either OK to cut up memorabilia or it isn't.  Vintage or not.  I saw an argument that the Hockey Hall of Fame doesn't display jersey cards and that's very true.  You can make a million cards, but the actual memorabilia is in limited supply and when it's gone, it's gone.  This, I think, holds true for today's game-used memorabilia as well.  Yes, multiple sets of jerseys are supplied to players nowadays for the purpose of marketing them as collectibles later, and while this isn't a post about value, those jerseys are going to mean something to someone somewhere.  I know how I felt when I finally got my Carbo gamer in my hands.  Name anyone who's playing today, and there's someone out there who loves and respects them just as much as I do with Guy Carbonneau.

That's why I'm not okay with memorabilia cards anymore.

/rant over

Some new finds

I wanted to post about some rare items I added to my collection in the past months.  The first is a signed photo of Guy with the AHL Nova Scotia Voyageurs, ca. 1980-82:

It's authentic vintage -- anyone familiar with Carbo autographs knows that Guy stopped signing his first name fairly early on in his career, opting instead for just "Carbonneau" with his number 21.  (Incidentally, he wore number 10 with the Vees, which may be prophetic as it is the number his son-in-law Brenden Morrow also wears with the Dallas Stars.)  And it has the old-school "This paper manufactured by Kodak" imprint on the back.  Here it is on display in my office:

The second, picked up more recently, is a brochure for Ferland hockey equipment; featuring Guy, Chris Nilan, and Lucien DeBlois.

Also, if you search Guy on eBay, you'll find a treasure trove of vintage game photos.  Here is one of Guy with the St. Louis Blues, ca. 1994.

(photo credit:  eBay)

And while I'm on this memorabilia stream of consciousness, allow me to share this photo I found on Facebook (can't quite remember where) of Guy signing a glove.  I think it's fantastic.

(photo credit:  Facebook)

That is all.  As you were.

A mishmash

With the NHL locked out, the Tournee des Joueurs tour organized by Maxime Talbot and Bruno Gervais and touring across Quebec, has been going strong.  Guy has signed on to coach Team Montreal.  Recent addition to the Canadiens roster, Colby Armstrong, tweeted this photo of himself with his coaches, Guy and Jacques Demers:

My coaches for tonight! This is awesome! Growing up a habs fan as a kid this is pretty great. #habs #latdj #quebec  (source:  Twitter / @armdog)

Meanwhile, Carbo is still maintaining his gig as an RDS analyst.  Recently on L'Antichambre, himself and the rest of the AC gang were up to some '70s hijinks.

(source:  Facebook / L'Antichambre)

And the venerable Canadiens historical website tells of a prank that Guy and Chris Nilan played on teammates Mike Lalor and Chris Chelios back in the day.  You can read the story here.

Beautiful Carbo Dallas jersey on the 'Bay

I've been collecting Carbo things for nearly five years, and I've only ever seen two of these come up on the auction site -- this is the second one.  It's a beautiful 1998 home Dallas authentic, defunct style (before the team moved to the popular "star" design), white with black trim.  Carbo Dallas jerseys are not easy to find in any case, and don't come up on eBay very often, so have at it!

The auction is here, and ends on Friday.