The Strangest Piece of Canes Memorabilia I Own

     Ron Hainsey does not get enough credit! There I said it! The journeyman blue-liner is in his 18th year in the league and currently playing on his seventh team. He did not participate in his first playoff game until 2016-2017 when he helped the Pittsburgh Penguins win their second consecutive Stanley Cup. However, his lack of credit has nothing to do with his lengthy career in the NHL, but everything to do with his work in Raleigh. For three and a half years Hainsey served as the resident graybeard on a young and developing Hurricanes blue-line that featured a young Justin Faulk, Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce. While the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs have brought the Canes Blueline national attention, one would be hard pressed not to see Hainsey's fingerprints as a patient defenseman all over them. Whether it be Justin Faulk's patience on the point during a power play, or Jaccob Slavin's ability to "stay at home" and still contribute offensively are both Hainsey staples. This can be further stated in the fact that in his first full year playing without him Justin Faulk had the worst year in his career. Since his departure from Pittsburgh, Ron Hainsey has continued to play a valuable role on young teams as he has  helped the Toronto Maple Leafs make the playoffs the last two years, and I own his laundry bag!

     How did I acquire his gym bag? Ignoring the fact that I am in fact a big germaphobe, so big of one that I clean my razorblades daily with alcohol and change toothbrushes weekly. I acquired this by using sarcasm on a PNC Arena sales clerk with a good sense of humor. The last summer at the Canes annual summerfest my son and I crashed the team equipment sale to look at things we cant afford. Now I know you think retired Navy Vet turned teachers assistant means millionaire but sadly this is not the case. As we were walking out I noticed these linen bags on a table and inquired about them. The clerk working the table told me they were team laundry bags, and they were on sale for ten dollars a piece. I wondered aloud "who would pay ten bucks for something that held someone else dirty drawers" I jokingly looked at the clerk and said "Ill give you two bucks for the underwear bag." He looked at me strange, and I followed up with " I am going to use it to carry my lunch in to work because paper bags were bad for the environment." He laughed hysterically and said we had a deal. So I now own Ron Hainsey's dirty laundry bag for just two dollars and it hangs on the wall in Hurricane Alley to this day.

     On a positive note the Eastern Conference Finals start Thursday and the Bruins look to be a tough out with Tukka Rask playing great in net and the Bruins are a deep team that registered over 100 points during the regular season. No matter what happens this season has exceeded my expectations, but that does not mean I am ready for it to end. So until next time thanks for reading and Redvolution!

The Caniac Collector.