A big part of that is the Canadiens have the same issue as the Yankees in that they’ve retired so many numbers. Only 3 and 8 are left of the single digits, and even the next group of ten don’t have many left; just 11, 13, 14, 15 and 17 are free.
For the Habs, the only single digit numbers available that are still in circulation are 3, 6 and 8. All the other ones have been retired in honour of past greats, as have 10(Guy Lafleur), 12(Dickie Moore and Yvan Cournoyer), 16(Henri Richard), 18(Serge Savard), 19(Larry Robinson), 23(Bob Gainey), 29(Ken Dryden) and 33(Patrick Roy).
Kind of similar to the Yankees, where only 2 and 6 are the only singles available, and there’s a better than even chance that they’ll both be retired someday, too. (Derek Jeter and Joe Torre, respectively)
Kind of like what Raygun said.
Good point. The Habs are the only team I know the players enough to know their numbers, and it didn’t occur to me to think about why they might have those when I posted.
There is an article on a Montreal Canadiens fan blogsite that talks about several players (brief callups) who wore 99 back in 1934-35. In addition to other large numbers.
http://www.habseyesontheprize.com/2009/11/24/1171674/who-wore-the-first-number-99-in
Replying to a old thread, but here’s a piece of obscure trivia for ya.
Mel Hewitt AHL/WCHL/PHL/IHL (never played in NHL) wore jersey No. 111 for Salt Lake (IHL) in 1986-87, making him the only North American pro hockey player ever to wear a number higher than 99.
I guess 888 would not fit on the jersey, so he went with 111. 
The number standards are more prominent in minor league hockey, where players have less of a say.
Its fairly common at an AHL game to see the defensemen wear the single digit numbers, and I notice the centers usually wear the 20s. Im usually able to identify which offensive lines are on the ice at an AHL game by which player on the ice has the 20-ish jersey.
Most lines seem to have 3 guys in double digit jerseys with the twenty, and 2 single digit guys who often do their own defensive line changes.
If attending an AHL game it doesn’t hurt to try and study who is who with what jersey numbers, it helps you understand who is out there and why (for instance, if after 6 line changes, you see a fourth 20ish jersey you haven’t seen before, it might mean the thug line is on the ice, and there might be fight—or the three top lines are winded and they need a blow, and the fourth line is out there to eat minutes)); NHL, not as much so.
Was Neckar still with the team at the time? He would have to have switched from 96.
The rule hasn’t been strictly enforced for years (Comrie and Hemsky both wore 89), but the rule has been followed by almost all established players. Callups tend to get numbers in the 60s with Ottawa, which I think explains Hoffman’s and Stone’s numbers and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them take new ones next year.
Brief hijack from hockey:
In MOST sports, the uniform number tells us nothing about the player’s position or importance.
In the EARLIEST days of baseball, the uniform numbers sometimes pertained to the player’s spot in the lineup. That’s why Babe Ruth wore #3 (he batted third for the Yankees) and Lou Gehrig wore #4 (he batted cleanup). But today, a major league baseball player’s uniform number means nothing.
In the NFL, a player’s uniform number DOES tell us his position. Quarterbacks and place kickers have to wear numbers between 1 and 19 (12 being the most common). Running backs and defensive backs wear numbers between 20 and 49. Wide Receivers and tight ends usually wear numbers in the 80s. Offensive and defensive linemen usually wear numbers from 60-79 or from 90-99.
Defensive players are supposed to know from an offensive player’s number whether he’s a legal receiver. Occasionally, a team may send in a big offensive lineman as a tight end. When that happens, there’s always an announcement saying “Player #68 is an eligible receiver on this play.” The defense needs to be aware that a guy who’s NOT normally a receiver COULD be one this time.
In college football, the uniform numbers aren’t specialized and mean nothing.
Taylor Hall is a foreward, and he uses #4 in honor of Bobby Orr. So while non-defense players using lower numbers are rare, it’s not unheard of even now.
But I don’t think anyone other than a goalie can use 1 or 30.
Hi there, here is a comprehensive analysis of the origins and trends of numbers on hockey jerseys and what they mostly mean. Bear with me as I might miss some stuff. Also this post is long as hell so I put chapters in spoilers.
Goalies:[spoiler] Traditionally, like in basically any sport with a goaltender (Soccer, Handball…) the starting goalie wears #1. In hockey furthermore, originally the backup goaltender would wear a number in the 20’s to 30’s, most often flat out #30 or #35.
In present times, with many number 1s retired throughout the league, Most goalies either wear:
-the number 1, when it’s available and you have the guts to put it on. (7 wear it this year. It’s an unwritten rule that you need to be the star goalie to wear it, or the backup in NJD)
-the number 31, a fusion of the classics #1 and #30 and basically the “new” #1 (13 goalies have worn it in 2013 and in 2014)
-the number 35, usual highest number that was worn by backups. Most wore it first because #30 and/or #1 were taken or retired, and then stuck with it (13 wore it in 2013 and 9 wear it in 2014).
-the number 30, traditional backup goalie number that became a more popular starting goaltender number thanks to Martin Brodeur (20 goalies in 2013, 11 wear it in 2014).
While many Defensemen wear #33 and a couple dozens of players wear numbers in the 30’s, none other than goalies wear the #1 #30 #31 or #35.[/spoiler]
Next, Defensemen:[spoiler] They traditionally wore numbers between 2 and 7, with the most recognized probably being Bobby Orr’s number 4. 2-4-6 are usually clear defensemen combinations and rarely worn by forwards, while exceptions have been made (most notably Jean Beliveau’s #4), based mostly on personal preference or meaningfulness.
Most recently, many trends may seem to have appeared depending on teams. While a team like the Devils mostly keeps their numbers low, which gives many numbers between 2 and 10, the Canadiens for example can be noticed for multiple defensemen wear numbers in the 70’s (Markov #79, Subban #76, Gilbert #77, Emelin #74) that was largely started by Markov’s taking of the #79 .
A doubling of original 2-7 numbers can also be often seen, the most common ones being the #55’s (Gonchar, Boychuk, Dumba, Kronwall, etc.) #33’s (Byufglien, Chara, Goligoski, Diaz, etc.) #44’s and #77’s. #22 has some Defensemen (Boychuk, Boyle, Shenn, Shatenkirk) , but is more popular with forwards, #33 is mixed in addition to being a goalie number, And no one dares to wear #66. Seriously, not 1 player, it might as well be retired. T.J Brodie tried in 2011 and I’m pretty certain he changed because the higher ups went: No you talentless f*ck don’t soil it.[/spoiler]
Finally, and brace yourselves this is long and intricate, Forwards: [spoiler]This is a melting pot of mixes and lotteries. truly. The most iconic is without doubt #9, first popularized by Maurice Rocket Richard and Gordie Howe. Of course, Gretzky then basically created the art of doubling traditional numbers when he became the legendary #99. The rest is history. Or is it?
In present times, #19 is thought to be the successor to #9 because while D-men double the 2-7 numbers, no one is allowed to wear #99 anymore. It is most often worn in tribute to Sakic and Yzerman. Certain talented veterans (Thornton, Doan, Richards before this season) still honor it, while multiple young stars (Backstrom, Toews, Johansen…) also have opted to maintain the tradition. You will have noticed that it is mostly worn by centers, while #9 was traditionally worn by wingers Richard and Howe, and nowadays still worn by many young stars (Duchene, Kane, Forsberg…).
A more recent trend of the last few years is the #91, which has quickly become synonym with sniper or star forward. Steven Stamkos notably decided on taking up the mantle because his preferred #19 in honor of Yzerman was taken, so he flipped the numbers. John Tavares also did the same gimmick, and young stars Tyler Seguin and Vlad Tarasenko have followed suit, and veteran ex-star Brad Richards flipped his own #19 to #91 because Toews was already wearing the iconic number.
In summary, #9 was the original Superstar goalscorer number (Richard, Howe, also Hull), players wore the #19 to honor it and became Superstar centers (Sakic, Yzerman), and finally in the most recent years players have split the route in 2 between honoring the original #19 or flipping it to #91.[/spoiler]
VOILA ! Super long and deep post, so I’ll let you go if you want. If you want to read the final dedicated to some more Unique numbers, read ahead !
Bonus Trivia: [spoiler]#66 Mario Lemieux affected the league almost as much as Gretzky, and he could have possibly surpassed him if it wasn’t for his health. Only 4 other players have worn it and all for only 1 season. Possibly superstition (reffering to the devil’s 666) at first, but now it is surely respect for Super Mario.
#68. Jaromir Jagr is easy to recognize in his legendary #68. Surely the best european-born player ever, this number belongs to him so much Lou the GM of the Devils had to let him wear it (while the rest of the team wore numbers under 30 -35 for goalies).
#69 Only 2 players have worn this number. For obviously immature 18+ reasons. The way hockey players are, you would probably constantly be trash talked to about it.
#79 was worn by 8 players throughout history. All but 2 players for at most 1 season. The only one to wear it for his whole career and is Andrei Markov, and the Center-turned-star-defenseman has made his mark on it as one of the most prolific D’s in the rich Habs history. That’s how you get a number to automatically link to your name.
#84 is worn even less than #79, and with reason: it was the last double-digit number ever worn, for the first time in 2007 by Guillaume Latendresse. If you’re a young star, pick it up and make it your mark, as you will not be mixed up with any legend.
#87 only worn by 4 players ever, only worn by 2 presently, and no one can name the second one. #87 is as much as you can represent a number by a player. The Kid picked it well, and when you get this good no one wants the pressure of wearing “your” number anymore.
#88 is Lindros, Lindros is #88. And who better to honor an amazing talent than another amazing talent in Patrick Kane. Special mention: the promising TBL goalie Vasilevskiy also wears number 88, quite peculiar for a goaltender !
#98 People can’t wear #99, but they don’t even want to get close, so while there has been many #97 and under, #98 has not been worn since 1985. There’s the Great One, a space, then the rest. That’s what it means.
#99 Not even going to bother.
[/spoiler]
Now I’m very tired, this took a while. I hope I enlightened you a bit on Hockey numbers.
Sources: Multiple internet articles and interviews, Awesome website “Hockey-reference” that shows you what numbers were worn by who and when, as well as my brain and 1.5 L of Coca-Cola.
Not sure about college, but in the NFL the rules require at least offensive players to wear certain uniform numbers as if to not to unfairly confuse the defense as to who is or is not an eligible or ineligible receiver unless a player with an ineligible number reports to the referee as eligible. IIRC this was part of the basis of the whole New England Patriots-Baltimore Ravens controversy where the Patriots changed up their offensive line and mixed and matched players with different jersey numbers. Lane Kiffin was accused of something similar in college. I forget the whole controversy already, but of all sports, jersey numbers are the most important in the NFL, though I know in soccer typically goalies wear low numbers and the #10 jersey goes to the best striker.
I always liked the reason that Jagr wore #68, in memory of the Prague Spring and the Soviet invasion.
That’s actually what I came in to contribute. Good for him.
And then he spent 3 years in the KHL.