Minnesota Wild auctioning off North Stars warm-up jerseys
The Minnesota Wild are auctioning off signed Minnesota North Stars jerseys Wild players wore during warm-ups before a game this past season.
The auction items can be found here. Bidding ends in three days.
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On April 4 before their game against the Carolina Hurricanes at Xcel Energy Center, the Wild had their players wear 1967 replica North Stars jerseys to honor the franchise that came to Minnesota 50 seasons ago. The North Stars moved to Dallas for the 1993-94 season and became the Stars.
A limited number of the jerseys were also given away to fans selected randomly during the game. The auction benefits the Minnesota Wild Foundation and the Minnesota NHL Alumni Association.
Before the game, Wild forward Zach Parise really got into the spirit of the event, wearing a helmet and gloves used by his father J.P. who was a member of the North Stars for 588 games in the late 60s to mid-70s. J.P. wore No. 11 for the North Stars and Zach wears No. 11 for the Wild.
“It was great,” Zach Parise said. “I was happy my mom was able to dig it out of one of his old bags, and I think the guys got a pretty good laugh out of it. It was special for me, and I know for my mom it was too, and my brother. It was cool to wear his gloves, and his helmet. It was neat for me.”
Along with the North Stars jerseys, fans can bid on other items – like the fastest three goal pucks in Wild history, Eric Staal’s 350th goal puck and Ryan Suter’s ninth goal puck from this season, which set a career-high.
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As of the writing of this blog, Parise’s North Stars jersey was the most expensive item.
Even though the North Stars aren’t technically the same organization as Minnesota’s current NHL team, the Wild haven’t been shy about celebrating the North Stars’ past. For example, before last year’s Wild Stadium Series game with the Chicago Blackhawks, North Stars alum and some early Wild players, played Hawks old timers.
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
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