Sunday, April 27, 2014

Stéphan Lebeau: 6 Autographed Items (Part 1)

Here is the second part of my amazing return from yesterday, with 1993 Stanley Cup winner Stéphan Lebeau:
Undrafted after improving in four consecutive juniors seasons with the Shawinigan Cataractes, posting 79 points (41 goals) in 66 games his first year then 146 points (69 goals) in 72 games, 167 points (77 goals) in 65 games and a whopping 188 points (94 goals) in 67 games, he was signed to a minor-league contract by the Montréal Canadiens, who sent him to their AHL affiliate.

In his rookie year with the Sherbrooke Canadiens, he scored 70 goals, assisted on 64 more for 134 points in 78 games, winning the points race, the MVP trophy and being named rookie of the year - enough to ensure he would never again play in the minors.

He became a regular with the Habs in 1989-90 and had 15 goals and 35 points in 57 games. The next three seasons, his goals totals improved to 22, 27 and 31, and his points followed the same path at 53, 58 and 80 - good for fourth on the team in both categories, behind Vincent Damphousse (39-58-97), Kirk Muller (37-57-94) and Brian Bellows (40-48-88), established veterans with All-Star pedigree. That was 1992-93, the year the Habs last won the Cup - and the last time a Canadian team won the championship.

I have four cards to show for that period, first with the Canadiens' white (home) uniform, from Pinnacle Brands' 1990-91 Score (card #262), calling out for a pass to get on the attack (and showcasing his signature blue skate bottoms):
Notice how he's not sporting his usual #47 jersey but is wearing #50 instead? That fits him right into my Habs Numbers Project...

I also have three relatively different variations of the classic red (then-away) uniform, first the ''regular'' one, from Upper Deck's 1990-91 Series 1 set (card #51):
 And also two from the league's 75th anniversary:
The card on the left, from Pinnacle Brands' 1992-93 Score (French Canadian Version, card #246), is the regular jersey with the commemorative patch; the card on the right is a throwback jersey (with the commemorative patch thrown in for good measure) from the 1925-35 era, when the team's logo was also present on the left sleeve whereas numbers weren't, and is from Upper Deck's 1992-93 Series 1 set (card #213).

        (continued in the following post)

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