2009-11 Arturs Irbe Coaching Worn Gloves
Arturs Irbe, born in Riga, Latvia on February 2, 1967 was drafted 196th overall by the Minnesota North Stars in 1989. Upon the collapse of the USSR, Irbe made his way over to the NHL and became the first legit franchise goalie for the San Jose Sharks from 1991-1996. After dismal final season with the team, he was signed by the Dallas Stars to back up Andy Moog in 1996-97. The following season, he was signed by the Vancouver Canucks. After a couple of decent back-up stints, Irbe was signed by the Carolina Hurricanes. There, Irbe recorded some of the best years of his career. From 1998-2004, he led the team to the playoffs several times, and even led the underdog 'Canes to the Stanley Cup Final against the stacked Detroit Red Wings. Though the team fell in five games, Irbe's numbers were the best of all playoff goalies that year, even getting better numbers than Hasek. The following season, Irbe regressed substantially and he was eventually placed on waivers, before the team gave him a final shot in 2003-04 to hopefully trade him. In the off-season, he was traded to the Blue Jackets, but due to the lock-out, he never played for the them. He continued to play in Europe until the end of the 2006-07 season. Arturs Irbe became the goalie coach for the Washington Capitals in 2009-10 and stayed on until the end of the 2010-11 season when he left the team due to their outright refusal to ever give him a chance to be more than a goalie coach for the team.
In his NHL career, he appeared in 568 games, recording a 218-236-79 record with 33 shutouts, a 2.83GAA, and a 0.899% save average. In 51 playoff games, he recorded a 23-27 record with a 2.91GAA, one shutout, and a 0.900% save average.
Sometimes the end of a playing career does not signal the end of a goaltender's career. Such was the case with Irbe. He took over the role of goalie coach in Washington for two seasons from 2009 until 2011 and then coached for the Buffalo Sabres in 2014-15, even dressing as an emergency backup to Jhonas Enroth on November 18, 2014.
This set of gloves was used by Arturs Irbe while he was the goalie coach for the Washington Capitals. His name is embroidered on the cuffs, and there is some consistent wear on the right glove where he would be teaching stick-handling (though I don't know if you would want to learn stick-handling from Irbe...sorry). The gloves also smell putrid showing that it has been used in some sweaty training sessions with the team.
Acquired from venusdoom27 on eBay
Photomatched: No, referenced
In his NHL career, he appeared in 568 games, recording a 218-236-79 record with 33 shutouts, a 2.83GAA, and a 0.899% save average. In 51 playoff games, he recorded a 23-27 record with a 2.91GAA, one shutout, and a 0.900% save average.
Sometimes the end of a playing career does not signal the end of a goaltender's career. Such was the case with Irbe. He took over the role of goalie coach in Washington for two seasons from 2009 until 2011 and then coached for the Buffalo Sabres in 2014-15, even dressing as an emergency backup to Jhonas Enroth on November 18, 2014.
This set of gloves was used by Arturs Irbe while he was the goalie coach for the Washington Capitals. His name is embroidered on the cuffs, and there is some consistent wear on the right glove where he would be teaching stick-handling (though I don't know if you would want to learn stick-handling from Irbe...sorry). The gloves also smell putrid showing that it has been used in some sweaty training sessions with the team.
Acquired from venusdoom27 on eBay
Photomatched: No, referenced
