Considered by many to be the smoothest skating defensemen of all time, Hall of Famer Paul Coffey wore this jersey early in the 1991 season before being traded to the Kings in February of ‘92. Originally traded to the Penguins on November 24th, 1987, Coffey brought legendary skill and poise to an evolving Penguins team. He would score an incredible 440 points in less than five seasons with the Pens, and help propel them to their first Stanley Cup in 1990-91. Coffey played in eight all-star games, and holds or shares 33 NHL records; he is a true legend of the NHL. His 1,531 points is surpassed only by Ray Bourque. Is one of two players to retire with a points per game average above 1.0, the other being the ubiquitous Bobby Orr.

This jersey is matched to two photographs showing a repair on the yellow stripe of the right elbow, a loose thread hanging from the upper left corner of the second seven on Coffey’s right arm, and a mark on the front of the jersey. The jersey is otherwise littered with stick marks, board burns, and seven team repairs!

While wearing this jersey, Coffey surpassed Denis Potvin to become the highest scoring defenseman of all time. On October 17th 1991, Coffey brought the puck into the offensive zone and dumped it to Lemieux before taking a hit. Lemieux set up Kevin Stevens for a tap in goal, which earned Coffey the record-tying assist. Then, early in the third period, Coffey took a shot from the point that was gathered in by Bob Errey, who in turn beat Glenn Healy to register Coffey’s record breaking assist. The record would stand for nearly a decade.

The jersey can be seen in screen captures from the Penguins 1991-92 season recap video “Against the Odds,” as Coffey stands next to Lemieux as the ‘91 championship banner is raised, and then again in footage from his record breaking game. While it’s too early in the season to match the jersey to obvious wear, this jersey is still distinguishable as the 75 patch is nearly parallel to the sewing of the jersey yoke, but tilted slightly counter-clockwise. His set two jersey from later in the season had the 75 patch placed lower and rotated slightly clockwise. The Badger Bob patch was not added until November.