By the numbers
Every once in a while, I stumble upon useless information and pass it on to you. This post is one of those times.
Jersey numbers are a funny business in the NHL, and these days there are a whole lot of wacky numbers in use. Amazingly, the only seven digits from No. 1 to 98 that didn't have a sweater last season were 62, 66, 69, 86, 90, 95 and 98.
Gretzky's 99 is, of course, retired for everyone. No one's been bold enough to wear Lemieux's 66, either. (Mel Angelstad did don No. 69 for two games with the Capitals in 2003-04, however. According to Wikipedia, it took more than 80 years before he became the first player to wear the number.)
Here's my picks for the top players from 2007-08 by jersey number:
| 1 | Luongo |
| 2 | Keith |
| 3 | Phaneuf |
| 4 | Lecavalier |
| 5 | Lidstrom |
| 6 | Wideman |
| 7 | Seabrook |
| 8 | Ovechkin |
| 9 | Roy |
| 10 | Gaborik |
| 11 | Alfredsson |
| 12 | Iginla |
| 13 | Datsyuk |
| 14 | Plekanec |
| 15 | Heatley |
| 16 | Horton |
| 17 | Kovalchuk |
| 18 | M. Richards |
| 19 | Thornton |
| 20 | Nabokov |
| 21 | Higgins |
| 22 | Boyes |
| 23 | Brown |
| 24 | Frolov |
| 25 | Pronger |
| 26 | Stastny |
| 27 | Kovalev |
| 28 | Rafalski |
| 29 | Pominville |
| 30 | Brodeur |
| 31 | Price |
| 32 | Backstrom |
| 33 | Chara |
| 34 | Legace |
| 35 | Giguere |
| 36 | J. Jokinen |
| 37 | Samuelsson |
| 38 | Huet |
| 39 | Ellis |
| 40 | Zetterberg |
| 41 | M. Smith |
| 42 | Backes |
| 43 | Biron |
| 44 | Timonen |
| 45 | M. Stuart |
| 46 | A. Kostitsyn |
| 47 | Radulov |
| 48 | Briere |
| 49 | Fritsche |
| 50 | Crawford |
| 51 | Campbell |
| 52 | Green |
| 53 | Morris |
| 54 | Ranger |
| 55 | Gonchar |
| 56 | Zubov |
| 57 | Perron |
| 58 | Letang |
| 59 | LaRose |
| 60 | Theodore |
| 61 | Nash |
| 62 | none |
| 63 | Ribeiro |
| 64 | Meyer |
| 65 | Greentree |
| 66 | none |
| 67 | Goligoski |
| 68 | Jagr |
| 69 | none |
| 70 | G. Stewart |
| 71 | Malkin |
| 72 | Schaefer |
| 73 | Ryder |
| 74 | S. Kostitsyn |
| 75 | P. Vandermeer |
| 76 | Peters |
| 77 | Gilbert |
| 78 | M. Pouliot |
| 79 | Markov |
| 80 | Antropov |
| 81 | Kessel |
| 82 | Straka |
| 83 | Hemsky |
| 84 | Latendresse |
| 85 | Olesz |
| 86 | none |
| 87 | Crosby |
| 88 | Kane |
| 89 | Comrie |
| 90 | none |
| 91 | Savard |
| 92 | Nylander |
| 93 | Franzen |
| 94 | Smyth |
| 95 | none |
| 96 | Bouchard |
| 97 | Klesla |
| 98 | none |
And there's five minutes of your day you'll never get back. Carry on.
.
by James Mirtle @ 11:58 AM
Trackbacks
| Permalink |
36 comments
36 Comments:
James,
You should seek immediate psychiatric help
You definitely have a lot of spare time to waste lol
I remember when Latendresse made his debut, he was apparently the first #84 in NHL history, and that was the last number that had never been worn.
More useless facts to keep you through a slow news day.
I also noticed a disproportinate number of Habs or ex-Habs from #60 and up (I counted 7, though Ribeiro wore #71 in Montreal, not #63). I know a lot of the best numbers are retired in Montreal, but a lot of those guys could've changed their numbers to something like 36 or 21 upon making the team, but chose to keep their random high number given to them in their first training camp.
Hee. This post is fun.
Nobody debating Mirtle's picks? Ok, I'll start:
Boyes over D. Sedin at #22? I know he got 40+ goals last year, but that was one year. Sedin still got more points last year and has done better over his career.
James, as time-wasting as you claim this post is, I am hopeful that you are working on a follow-up to this post: the worst (dollar value?) player for each sweater number.
It'd be funny when guys with unique numbers make both lists.
34 Legace
If there was ever a clearer indication that Kipper needs a bounce-back year in a big way, I haven't seen it.
Huet is #38 now? Actually, that was what he wore with Washington, I think. He was #39 with Montreal.
I was going to argue Ellis wasn't better than Huet and then I saw Huet's name right above it.
You've been rather kind to the Habs in this one, but I still say Jaro is a better goalie than Mike Smith for #41. And if they're equal, Halak gets the win due to his name and hilarious ramblings on Four Habs Fans. :)
I think NHL hockey is the only sport where #69 goes unclaimed for more than 30 seconds.
Yeah, 22 and 34 are tougher to call, but (a) Boyes was fifth in the league in goal scoring and (b) Kiprusoff had a rotten year while Legace was an all-star.
I don't think Halak played enough.
And my info says Huet wore 38 all year, but that might be wrong.
#38
Huet over Demitra?
RUFNKIDDINGME?
Oh, I'm gonna smack you so hard >:(
People you missed:
Homer should be #96
Hossa should be #18
You need a new #47. Pretty safe bet that Radulov won't be in the league this year (he's not even in NHL 09 for goodness sake). I'm guessing maybe Nagy?
These are the best players from last year; we don't yet know the jersey numbers for next season.
And Nagy's gone to the KHL, too.
#52 Green > Foote?
Okay, 2 more:
# 19 Burnaby Joe over Thornton
# 21 Forsberg over who-ever you have there
Uh, Thornton over Nicklas Backstrom at #19 WTH?
So who was the best player in the league last year not on this list?
And which is the best number? My ballot says #19. Thornton, Sakic, Spezza, Arnott, Toews, Doan, Naslund, Backstrom, MacDonald (before the trade), Hartnell, and others.
MA Fleury > Pominville
Derek Roy? #9 has fallen on some hard times. 19 is the new 9.
This Kiprusoff guy must be quite a goalie?
39-26-10 and a "rotten year"? Hopefully he can bounce back to a some kind of form.
With decent numbers he could be soon alltime best #34 with Flames before Jamie "Moose Kill" Macoun.
I know it doesn't affect the overall rankings, but I'm taking issue with
(Mel Angelstad did don No. 69 for two games with the Capitals in 2003-04, however. According to Wikipedia, it took more than 80 years before he became the first player to wear the number.)
Maxim Afinogenov wore #69 during the preseason (probably why it "doesn't count") in his rookie year before switching to #61.
I only remember this because I was 15 years old and I thought it was the greatest thing ever.
Baseball player Richie Sexson should realistically wear 69
Wideman over Redden (#6)? Well, ok... maybe...
If we want to get real technical, I know nobody's worn 66 since Lemieux retired, but Yanick Dupre wore it in 91-92 with the Flyers.
Somebody should play with #66 because I don't think any #4 is better than Bobby Orr.
now, that's really useless...
but somehow, why does nobody wears 90?
i think it's a decent number, also if it's not your year of birth.
Joe Juneau is a player that comes immediately to mind historically that wore #90.
Goligoski really had to compete for that #67, didn't he?
I can't believe that you picked Crosby over Brashear.
It's because Crosby won more fights last year isn't it?
MA Fleury is the best 29!
Comrie @ 89? Must be the only 89. Wait a sec...Gagner West has the same number. Sam Gagner over Comrie is an easy call from where I sit. Post All-Star game at any rate. Maybe you got tired near the end of the list. Carry on.
This was a funny read. Nice try, hard to do list and it comes down to personal preference when it comes to hard decision. The interesting part was to see players wearing higher numbers and how some were the best because they were (Smyth, Markov...) and other because... well... not many choices. Stewart is a great example, playing only the last game of the season.
Also, they could as well retire 66 league-wide already. Nobody will wear that number for a very long time. #4 is a lot different because at the time (and since) pretty much every team has a #4 in their team. 66, like 99, is unique. It`s Super Mario. Nobodsy else has it so it takes more guts to decide to take it now.
Legace over Kipper? uhhh I dont think so
Andrew Peters made the list as the best #76, huh...Let me guess - the only one?
Post a Comment
<< Home