1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Jacques Lemaire #77 Montreal Canadiens

Description

1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Jacques Lemaire #77 Montreal Canadiens Serious vintage hockey collectors know the Montreal dynasty years never go out of style and this 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee Jacques Lemaire #77 Montreal Canadiens is a perfect anchor for a Hall of Fame collection or a 1970s Canadiens team set. The early 1970s were a golden age for hockey in Canada with the Summit Series capturing the nation in September 1972, the rival World Hockey Association launching its inaugural season and challenging the NHL for talent, and the Canadiens reasserting their dominance on the ice. Lemaire was at the heart of that dominance as the brilliant two way center behind Ken Dryden, Guy Lafleur, Henri Richard, Yvan Cournoyer and a roster that would define excellence for a generation. His hockey IQ, faceoff mastery and lethal slapshot made him one of the most respected pivots of his era and his later success as a Stanley Cup winning coach with the New Jersey Devils only added to his legend. On the ice Lemaire won eight Stanley Cups as a player with Montreal in 1968, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979, a resume few centers in history can match. He scored 366 goals and 835 points in 853 regular season games while adding 61 goals in the playoffs, including one of the most famous goals in Cup Final history when his center ice slapshot beat Chicago goaltender Tony Esposito in Game Seven in 1971 to seal the championship. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984 and his number 25 hangs in honor for a player who combined quiet leadership with clutch scoring. This classic 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee issue features the distinctive mustard tan border with the team name running vertically on the left, the bright green studio background used for Montreal that year, and the yellow name ribbon with the Canadiens logo at the bottom. The reverse is the true Canadian O-Pee-Chee bilingual back with English and French biographical text, complete NHL career record table through 1971-72, cartoon fact box and the PRINTED IN CANADA line, confirming it is not a Topps single language print and not a later puzzle back variation. High appeal for Hall of Fame, vintage Canadiens and 1972-73 set collectors, this card displays beautifully in a binder page or graded slab and fits perfectly alongside Lafleur, Dryden, Cournoyer and Richard. corners show light touches with slight rounding at the lower left and upper right visible under close inspection, edges show minimal chipping along the tan border with no major nicks or paper loss, surface gloss remains strong with clean green color and sharp registration, centering is approximately 60/40 left to right and 55/45 top to bottom with full borders intact, back is clean tan stock with legible stats and light age toning consistent with early 1970s cardboard, no creases wrinkles or writing observed in the sleeve photos, supporting a conservative raw grade estimate of EX 5 that leaves room for professional grading variance while confirming excellent collector quality for a 50 plus year old O-Pee-Chee card. Add this Hall of Fame center to your cart today to secure a sharp authentic piece of Canadiens history that continues to appreciate with strong demand from Canadian and international vintage hockey buyers. Grade Estimate: EX 5