The Nashville Predators played the Dallas Stars in the 2020 Winter Classic, and this game worn jersey was used by Roman Josi during the second period of that historic matchup.
The game was a momentous occasion for the league and for “non-traditional” hockey markets like Nashville and Dallas. While we’ve seen these marquee matchups in places like California, we had yet to see one featuring teams located in the South. We’ve come a long way from the Great Fire Sale of 2007 and potential relocation to Hamilton, folks.
The Preds jumped out to an early 2-0 lead thanks to some idiocy from Corey Perry, however they spent a good portion of the rest of the game on the back foot and ultimately lost 4-2.
While the game was disappointing, the on-ice look at the Predators Winter Classic threads changed a lot of opinions from “meh” to a thumbs up. Sporting a Dixie Flyers inspired throwback look, the new sweaters brought three new logos to the fold and a new wrinkle to the franchise’s rather unique uniform heritage.
I was able to acquire the jersey Roman Josi wore in the second period via MeiGray.*
I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of wear that was found on the jersey once I had it in hand.
The front of Roman Josi’s 2020 Winter Classic Second Period Set game worn jersey along with photos of Josi and the wear from the game.
The jersey has notable marks on the left collarbone, multiple marks on the left sleeve, and another sizable mark on the hem below the stripes.
As a collector investing a tremendous amount of money in this one single jersey, it was very important for me to be able to photomatch this jersey. Thankfully, every mark has been matched to a photo from the second period via Getty Images.
Josi did not tally a point while wearing the jersey. He did have two points in the first period, however, and continued his trend of being the lone player earning his paycheck and then some for the 2019-2020 Nashville Predators.
Given the unique collection that I’ve cultivated, it was a must have and sits proudly among a collection of some of the rarest jerseys worn by the seven Predators captains over the years.
It also looks damn good hanging up on the wall.
As is now tradition with Winter Classic memorabilia, MeiGray receives the second period jerseys worn by their affiliated teams from the game. The first period jerseys were auctioned by NHL Auctions, and the pregame jerseys go to the NHLPA. The players themselves keep the jerseys worn in the third period.