Say, if you're the kind of collector who's on the lookout for oddities - like if you get all tingly when you see the famous old stamp with the upside down biplane - then have we got a couple of authentic hockey sweaters for you!
Our first item was made for the above-mentioned Robert Picard, Caps defenseman from 1977-80.
We can guarantee that his 1978 NHL All-Star Game sweater has no game-worn marks or tears. We confidently make this claim because Picard wasn't named as an All-Star in 1978. The Capitals' rep for the game in Buffalo that year was Bob Sirois.
This site that sold the sweater, classicauctions.net, offered this explanation: "The NHL at times, would do up jerseys for players who were on 'standby' because of injuries to players originally selected to play in the All-Star game."
For the record, Picard would later legitimately be a Capitals All-Star, named to the team for the 1980 game.
The same site also showcased the sweater to the left, worn (we hope briefly) by Ron Lalonde, a center with the Capitals from 1974-79. Notice that we wrote "Lalonde", not "Lalonnde" with an extra "n", as spelled on the nameplate. As if the Caps of the '70's didn't suffer enough indignities.
Happily, Lalonde is a rare positive trivia answer from the Capitals inaugural season. In a March, 1975 game against the Red Wings, he scored the team's first-ever hat trick.