No country for old jerseys
BRIAN MILNER
Globe and Mail

Doug Wilson wasn't the only San Jose Sharks executive who had a hectic trade-deadline day.
While the Sharks' general manager was making a big splash with his acquisition of all-star defenceman Brian Campbell from the Buffalo Sabres, Malcolm Bordelon, the executive vice-president of business operations, was working behind the scenes to set in motion a marketing strategy for the team's newest prized asset.
Within hours, the team had replica jerseys in its store and was ready with a few T-shirts and player pucks, Bordelon said between meetings after the big trade.
The team website also featured a photo montage of Campbell in action (as a Sabre and an all-star), as well as backup goaltender Brian Boucher, the team's less illustrious acquisition on trade day.
The Sharks and other NHL clubs have to scramble when name-brand players arrive or depart, because trades can have a huge impact on marketing plans and merchandise sales, the latter of which is becoming an increasingly important source of club revenue.
"We can do things almost instantly," said Bob Wagner, the Anaheim Ducks' chief marketing officer.
In San Jose, only ardent fans of the sport would even know what position Campbell plays and many have never seen him in a game.
For the less hockey-savvy, "we'll spend a little more time doing some things like educating people as to who this player is, his calibre and his expertise and what he brings to the team," Bordelon said. "That will be emphasized on our weblogs and website videos, as well as on our broadcasts over the next few weeks."
By the time San Jose plays its next home game, on Monday, Campbell will also have done a spate of interviews and will be a much more familiar face.
Back in Buffalo, the value of Campbell-related merchandise will plummet and he will fast disappear from all Sabres' marketing, if past experience is any guide.
Whether his Sabres jerseys will be worth more down the road will depend on the kind of career Campbell ends up having and whether his Buffalo days are considered a significant piece of it, memorabilia experts say.
Meanwhile, in Toronto Maple Leafs land, those diehard fans looking for a Wade Belak, Hal Gill or Chad Kilger jersey (which would truly be the definition of diehard) will find them already heavily marked down in price.
And there won't be another trace of the players to be found anywhere in and around the Air Canada Centre. And that includes videos shown during games.
"What we do is prepare for those situations, should they happen," said Beth Robertson, the vice-president of marketing and community relations with team owner Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. "And they do. That's the nature of our business."
When the Toronto Raptors dealt away Juan Dixon last week at the NBA trade deadline, his jersey went on sale the next day at 50 per cent off.
"We would do that with any player traded," she said.
That's just smart business. No matter how good the player, apart from the superstars, the value of their old uniforms crashes once they leave through trade or free agency.
Just ask Brian Ehrenworth.
"This is a tough time of year for us, because we'll surely be stuck with inventory on our shelf for whoever got traded," said the president of Frameworth Sports Marketing in Toronto, which specializes in hockey memorabilia.
"It will pretty much kill the sales on almost everybody that we have who moves to another team."
Sidney Crosby might be the only NHL player whose merchandise value would remain unchanged, Ehrenworth said.
The collectible value of most other players, even stars such as Alexander Ovechkin, would be severely impaired.
Ehrenworth points to the example of Joe Thornton, who was a rising star with the Boston Bruins before his surprise trade to the Sharks in 2005.
Just before the trade, Frameworth bought about $10,000 worth of items featuring Thornton as a Bruin.
"I still have about $9,000 worth of that product. And Joe is one of the premier players in the league."