2008-09 Curtis McElhinney Game Worn White Set 3 / Playoffs Sweater
*playoff debut worn jersey

Born on May 23, 1983 in London, Ontario, Canada, Curtis McElhinney was a substantially above average goaltender with Colorado College of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. He was drafted 176th overall by Calgary in the 2002 NHL draft. He completed his collegiate career in 2005 and transitioned to the American Hockey League in 2005-06. By the next season, McElhinney had taken over the starting role for the Flames' minor league affiliate. In 2007-08 he finally made his NHL debut. On October 22, 2007, McElhinney replaced Miikka Kiprusoff between the pipes and stopped one of two shots in a 4-1 defeat. Though he played the majority of 2007-08 in the minors, Curtis did manage to get in five games. The following season, he was the full time backup, appearing in 14 games. In 2009-10, he appeared in 10 games with the Flames before being traded to Anaheim for Vesa Toskala. McElhinney played 10 more games that season with the Ducks and then 21 more the following season before being sent to Tampa Bay and being put on waivers before he could even play a game with them. McElhinney was then picked up by the Senators, and appeared in seven games with them. In 2011-12, the Coyotes signed him but he only appeared in two games over the course of the season. In 2012-13, he spent the entirety of the season in the minors before finding new life with the Columbus Blue Jackets the following year. While with the Blue Jackets, he has recorded career bests in almost all categories. However, in 2016-17, he was placed on waivers by the team before the Toronto Maple Leafs quickly signed him. From there, Carolina acquired him in 2018-19 where he formed a powerful goaltending tandem with Petr Mrazek. With the team, he led Carolina to the Conference Finals of the playoffs. He was not re-signed by the Canes in the off-season, so he was acquired by Tampa Bay to be the back-up to Andrei Vasilevskiy. In Tampa, he was a back-to-back Stanley Cup Champ in 2020 and 2021 while serving as the backup. He retired from play following the 2020-21 season.
 
In his NHL career, McElhinney appeared in 249 regular season games, recording a 94-95-20 record with 12 shutouts, 4 assists, a 2.83GAA, and a 0.907% save average. In 7 career playoff games, he recorded a 3-3 record with a 2.40GAA and a 0.913% save average. 
 
The piece you are looking at right now is a 2008-09 White Set 3 / Playoffs sweater worn by Curtis McElhinney in three contests, and backed up in several others. The most notable game he appeared in while wearing this sweater was in his NHL playoff debut on April 25, 2009 versus the Chicago Blackhawks. In that game, he relieved starter, Miikka Kiprusoff and stopped 9 of 10 shots in the team's eventual 5-1 loss. The wear is notable with piling around the cuffs of the arms, puck and stick marks, a repaired lace (burned to prevent fraying) on the front of the sweater, and a cut out fight strap.       
 
Acquired from: Meigray Group
 
Dates of Game Use:
April 3, 2009 v Minnesota (0-0, 4-0L)
April 10, 2009 v Edmonton (3-5, 5-1L)
April 25, 2009 v Chicago (9-10, 5-1L)
Also used in four additional back-up only appearances.
 
Photomatched: YES