Former New Jersey Devils Stanley Cup champion Bruce Driver held a public appearance back in March in Lincoln Park, New York as part of an ESPN New York promotion. We were lucky enough to attend the even and what we expected to be a quick, five-minute pit stop for a selfie and an autograph turned into a 45 minute trip down memory lane. Driver was nice enough to hold court with the few Devils fans that had stayed to hang out even after ESPN had left for the day.

Driver was wearing an obviously older jersey with a 1995 Stanley Cup final patch on it, what was then a red “away” jersey. That lead us to ask the innocent question if the jersey was game used. Driver admitted it was, but when he went to prove its authenticity, we ended up getting a unique story about the jersey the Devils wore when they won their first championship.

‘94 and Nevermore

To prove his jersey was an actual game used one, Driver turned around and said, “Check what the jersey says,” along the lower bottom. Driver was referring to the inscription of jerseys at that time that said were from that season’s “official” set. Usually, this could be found on a white stamp to the right of the fight stamp.We found the stamp, but instead of saying it was a part of the cup winning season 1994-1995 set, it said “official New Jersey Devils set 1993-94 season.” At first, everyone was a bit confused, until Driver immediately remember and said, “Wait I know why!”

Why Were The Previous Season’s Jerseys Used?

Back for the 1995 playoffs, the NHL issued newer, thicker jerseys, according to Driver. That seemed fine, until the team went to play in their first round matchup against the Boston Bruins at the old Boston Garden. The then 67-year-old arena lacked air conditioning, much to the dismay of players in thicker jerseys playing in a later than usual playoffs. Remember, the 1994-1995 lockout lead to the playoffs beginning way later than usual as the weather began turning from spring to summer.

One of the team’s equipment managers, Dave Nicols, with assistant Alex Abasto that year, according to NHL records, saved the older jerseys from the previous season. These older jerseys were made out of a lighter, mesh-type material, and a more breathable fabric. If anyone owns an old replica CCM type jersey, the material in Driver’s jersey resembled that to a certain degree.  Those ones were more comfortable to play in considering the circumstances.

What did the equipment team do? They took off all the patches (playoff patches, captain logo, alternate captain logos, etc.) and put them on the more comfortable jerseys. The team continued to wear the jerseys from the 1993-1994 set all the way to their cup victory.

Driver ended the story joking that he once had to tell a fan that had a jersey from the 1994-1995 set that it was unfortunately not the ones they wore while hoisting the cup. Driver also mentioned turning down multiple offers for the jersey. I immediately offered him $20 for it and, spoiler alert, he refused.